Moderate. Such a nasty, dirty word these days. But I hear it
used to be the norm. JFK, Eisenhower, even George H. Bush, those guys crossed
the aisle. Today that aisle is a canyon. Everyone has a side, and when you don’t
stick to your guns and shut your ears--if you dare think that it might do some
good to listen to an opposing or perhaps another point-of-view, well, welcome to no-man’s-land.
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| The Problem We All Live With |
So here we are. Left with two choices very few people admit to
liking. But it’s the path we’ve chosen.
Someone once told me this fairy tale. They said that congress used to
eat lunch together. Seriously. Republicans and Democrats, chewing the fat and
treating each other like human beings. I’m not sure if I buy it, but it makes
for a good story. And don’t you just love nostalgia?
You know, those old timey fifties commercials, black and white, all the kids hopping around saying things like gee whiz
and awe shucks. Or Norman Rockwell and those cozy pictures of simpler times. No
problems, right?
Well, for people who look like me maybe. But for a black guy who couldn’t share a
bathroom or water fountain or pool? Yeah, not so much cozy, feel good times. More like church bombing, back of the bus, cross-the-street-because-a-white-lady-is coming kind of times. And acting like it didn't happen obviously isn't doing a whole lot of good.
So what's this got to do with politics? Everything. And nothing. One person can only do so much, the rest is on us. It’s about hate. It’s about assumptions. It’s about, well,
yeah it’s about race. Hate it or love it.
Most of us want to raise our kids to love
everyone and everything. Of course we want to teach them right from wrong. I was on vacation with my family and we were driving in the car when I heard the news and learned of Alton Sterling. Then the shootings in Dallas. My son is three, but he's quick. He started asking questions. About guns, or,
shooters as he calls them. He heard the worlds kill, police, and white people. Black people. Hell, I
don’t know if my son knows he’s white yet, or what in the hell it means. But he knows police. And he's quickly
grasping the fact that guns kill. So I shut it off, because it
was just too much for me to explain. Because what do you say, you know?
Look, you might not agree with me about politics, opinions. America and greatness. That’s
fine. I’m no expert. I’m not on any panels or study groups. I’m just some dude
who’s been around people for forty years. This shit is complicated.
Greatness. Take World War II, when American freed the world from big
bad Nazi’s. Great? Absolutely. The greatest generation, yes. We’ve never
been so brave, with D-Day and coming together as a country. But again, not great
for Japanese Americans. Oh and don’t forget Mr. Black Guy, who served admirably
and did all those brave things with your grandpa? Yeah, his welcome home?
The colored entrance is around back.
So, yeah, I can see why some might take issue with
the whole Great Again part of Mr. Donald’s
slogan.
An Norman Rockwell knew it too.
I’m not America bashing either. I think the concept of
America is a gorgeous thing. Give me your tired and weak and whatnot. I’m proud
to be an American because even with all of her faults, her impurities, it’s the
idea of this country makes it so
special. Yes, exceptional. The cultures,
the sights, and even the struggles that have made us who we are today. Other
countries can look at us and point and say that we don’t get it, and maybe we
don’t, but damn, when it works, when the good in our communities outshines the
bad and it all comes together and people forget they disagree or said all
of those nasty things in the comment section and just sit back and watch their kids
play and don’t try to interfere and mess everything up with labels, well, that’s my America.
Sure, our county was built on a foundation of shaky hypocrisy
and revolutionary zeal, from the first sentence that declared our freedom we
were turning a blind eye to the obvious but at the same time paving the way for
our futures. We have to open the lines for a discussion. If we don't, then what?
We’re in this together. All of us. Black, brown, and white
and tan. Liberals and Conservatives. We can implode, just end it now and make
it easy for the terrorists, we could prove all of those other countries right,
that we’re nothing but a bunch of fat bigots. Or…
Or we can be great.
Being great means starting small. It means smiling once in a
while. It means letting that asshole over in traffic because who cares? It means actually listening to what someone says without assuming the
worst in each other. It means not thinking that one person can “fix” everything
by getting elected.
And yes, it does mean raising our kids not to hate each
other. It means opening up dialogue with police officers. It means all sorts of
things that I won’t claim to know. It means there’s no easy fix. It means that
if America is going to be great, then we’re going to have to work at it.
Now Begin.
