Thoughts I've thunk while sippin' at a cup of tea and reading something provoking, often get dropped here for the benefit of humanity and my own hubris.
Except where otherwise noted, all original content is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
See details.
I’m sure of it. November 3rd will not solve any of our problems.
In fact, it will just make it worse. I mean, whatever the outcome, whoever wins, there will be 1/2 the American public upset, angry and fearful.
Yeah, fearful.
Today I was talking to a close friend who just happens to be on the other side of the fence… politically speaking. He said that he didn’t put up any political signs in front of his house for fear that the liberals would attack him and his house.
“That’s really funny,” I said. “I felt the same fear about the conservatives.”
No matter how we got here, it is clear— both sides fear the other. Where does this fear of our neighbors come from? The Unknown. We don’t know our neighbors, we don’t understand them. In this election, we have initiatives designed by some neighbors to hurt other neighbors. How is this possible? Clearly, the initiative-making neighbors are fearful of the others and want to get a jump on the attack they must feel is coming.
One of the political pamphlets I got in the mail stated that if we don’t ban gay marriage, homosexuality would be taught in our schools. Granted, I couldn’t quite connect those dots, but it shows to me that these neighbors are scared. They are so scared of them that they want to hurt them. Fear, anger, and hatred breeds more fear, anger and hatred.
But discussing the initiatives is not what I want to bother with now. I want to discuss how to heal. For that’s what time it is. It is time to heal.
Politics is just our organized way of living together. The house rules, so to speak. And while we all agree to flush the toilet when we are done, what time we eat is up to us to decide. The problems before us are the most difficult. If they weren’t difficult, we would have solved them years ago. But the only way we are going to work through them (call it marriage counseling for the nation) is to get to know each other. This includes their views, their ideology, their perspective.
Perhaps, continuing with my earlier example, neighbors scared of their gay neighbors should have them over and get to know them. Perhaps, the gay neighbors should go to church so that the members that fear them could see what nice neighbors they are. I know, I know, few gays would feel welcome in church, but I think you get the idea… in order to heal ourselves, we have to get to know ourselves.
So you’ve picked your initiative, your ideology, your political slant, and now it is time to get to know the neighbors on the other side of that fence. We aren’t that different. We all seem to have similar goals, but we have different ideas on the route to get there. And let’s face, none of us know. We’re all in the same fog. So let’s hold hands and try to figure our way out by talking. By understanding.
And a bit of tolerance is a great place to start.
© 2004-2005, Howard Abrams • Except where otherwise noted, all original content is licensed under a Creative Commons License (see details).
Thanks for writing this Howard. I agree with you. Hope you’re doing well.
Frank
Comment posted on Saturday, 30 October 2004Try sitting just the other side of that border, quaking with every shudder your mighty neighbour makes and completely unable to do anything about it. As Canadians we sometimes have to treat the US Government like a friend treats a drunk about to get into his car and drive. We can only politely, but firmly suggest that he take a taxi. Once in a while he does; sometimes he gets angry at us and accuses us of hating him, but most of the time he just mumbles to himself and drives home anyway. Occaisionally this decision costs a lot of lives.
Please, please, at least vote Bush out on Tuesday. Healing the domestic rift that a close election will cause will be a lot easier if Kerry is president and the rest of us can breathe a sigh of relief and get off your backs.
Comment posted on Sunday, 31 October 2004“It’s absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we’ll get hit again and we’ll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States.” VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY
I don’t usually express my political views here, but Cheney’s recent, stark comments regarding the likelihood of a terrorist attack being more certain if Kerry is elected makes one wonder what this administration — if, nightmare of all nightmares, they do get reelected — will say in another four years. Perhaps not everyone remembers the movement to keep Guiliani on in New York City after 9/11 even though his term was up and his successor soon to be elected. New York City has been fine ever since, in spite of the fact that there is a different mayor AND the same president in charge. What magical combination of sameness and difference will result in danger rising or falling? This group did not prevent 9/11, so why does it matter if they continue on or not so far as safety is concerned?
In ancient Greece, when a leader’s popularity and power reached the point where it threatened to turn them from elected powers to dictators (of the “please be our king” or “conquerer” variety), they were exiled from Greece to prevent this end. Anyone who clings so tightly to a power they didn’t manage to win without blemish in the first place is someone who cares far more for that power than they should. I say we exile them. Our country has survived far worse than this and is plenty strong enough to survive more no matter who is supposedly running the show.
blog from www.canarynoir.com
Divide and conquer? Peace comes from the common ground of core beliefs. America was built on the belief of freedom in speech, religion the press etc. What has happened? When we speak out, we are traitors, when we oppose decisions of an administration that refuses to listen to the United Nations, we’re not supporting our troops. When we stand up and have to ask for the basic rights that are granted to any man and woman that met that night in a casino in Las Vegas and get married—something is wrong. Families come in all colors.
Why is it denied? We say it’s about preserving the sanctity of marriage? I don’t understand—then people shouldn’t be allowed to marry without the scrutiny of others. And who will make that judgment? Maybe that should go to the vote of the people! Maybe we should amend our constitution and place television ads that portray untruths and scare the electorate. I wonder if White America voted on what Black Americans should have in the way of rights, that all would be equal. Imagine the ads! Sometimes, the right things to do are not up for a vote.
I think that anytime we choose to vote against another group of people, we all loose. Funny, some people like to use their children as their excuse for discrimination. It wasn’t that long ago that it was illegal in some states to marry a black person if you were white. I know that children were used as a reason why this shouldn’t happen. Families come in all colors.
Some say gay marriage is different. I say 2 adults that want to make a commitment to each other, pay their fair share of taxes, contribute to the community, unite a family, work and live next to you should be given the basic opportunities as the next. Heck, they could even be the Governor of New Jersey!
Comment posted on Wednesday, 3 November 2004If you folks are going to bash the Cheney quote, at least include the whole thing:
We made decisions at the end of World War II, at the beginning of the Cold War, when we set up the Department of Defense, and the CIA, and we created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and undertook a bunch of major policy steps that then were in place for the next 40 years, that were key to our ultimate success in the Cold War, that were supported by Democrat and Republican alike—Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower and Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon and Gerry Ford and a whole bunch of Presidents, from both parties, supported those policies over a long period of time. We’re now at that point where we’re making that kind of decision for the next 30 or 40 years, and it’s absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2nd, we make the right choice. Because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we’ll get hit again, that we’ll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we’ll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind set if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts, and that we’re not really at war. I think that would be a terrible mistake for us.
We have to understand it is a war. It’s different than anything we’ve ever fought before. But they mean to do everything they can to destroy our way of life. They don’t agree with our view of the world. They’ve got an extremist view in terms of their religion. They have no concept or tolerance for religious freedom. They don’t believe women ought to have any rights. They’ve got a fundamentally different view of the world, and they will slaughter—as they demonstrated on 9/11—anybody who stands in their way. So we’ve got to get it right. We’ve got to succeed here. We’ve got to prevail. And that’s what is at stake in this election.
The AP only sent out the bolded piece of the above.
Comment posted on Thursday, 4 November 2004The election is over, the results are now known.
The will of the people has clearly been shown.
We’ll show by our thoughts and our words and our deeds
That unity is just what our country now needs.
Let’s all get together. Let bitterness pass.
I’ll hug your elephant.
You kiss my ass.
| Excerpt: | My friend Howard posts that it's time to get to know your neighbors and not be afraid of them because they might be opposing you ideologically. Me, I like my neighbors that are voting for Kerry. And they understand why... |
|---|---|
| Weblog: | Josh's Weblog |
| Tracked: | October 30, 2004 08:02 AM |
|
|
|
|
|
|