If you choose not to
decide, you still have made a choice. - A line from Freewill by
Rush
Our elected officials
have abdicated their responsibility to choose a sensible path for our country
here in America. People are standing on principles that don’t make any
sense. The government has the charge to enact laws that are best for the
majority of the people. This means that no one particular ideological
stance is going to make sense for everyone. People need to talk to and listen to each
other and try to find win-win solutions.
I am dismayed by adults
that act like 5-year old children throwing a temper tantrum and refuse to
listen to others or even acknowledge that others might have a different and
valid point of view. Please note that I am not “taking sides” here; I’m
blaming everyone who has been elected as a public servant but fails to understand
their duty to said public.
Of course I think a big
part of the problem is how much time people in general spend ranting and raving
about their pet soapbox (and yes, I’m fully aware of the irony here), rather
than having rational conversations and attempting to understand another’s view.
Internet comments tend to be filthy with negative comments and
name-calling, rather than calm discussion about disagreements.
Can’t we all choose to
do better than this? I wonder what we, as the human race, could accomplish
if, instead of putting each other down, we propped each other up. What if we
all helped each other to identify our strengths so we could spend our time
using them and thus feel successful and happy? What if, when we have the
inevitable difference of opinion, we calmly and respectfully disagreed and
listened, rather than devolving to name-calling and personal attacks? Perhaps I should stop following politics and reading internet comments
which seem to bring out the very worst in people so that I can retain my faith
in the inherent goodness of people.
Alright, I’m now
stepping off of my soapbox and choosing to be the change I want to see in the
world. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments, respectfully of
course!
Image: Creative Commons Photo "Argument between daughter and mother" by Tambako the Jaguar
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