ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE SOMERS RECORD (11-15-18)
A few thoughts are about all I can rally before I get a severe headache. I've never been a particularly political person, I've voted Republican, I've voted Democrat, and I've voted Independent, and I've made a conscious effort to avoid overt politics here, other than to make a joke or two that I couldn't resist. This week's column is not meant to be funny, and same could be said about my skiing. I am writing it before the mid-term elections have taken place, so I don't know who took the House, and who took the Senate. I only know that when I went to Las Vegas the House took ME. But in my opinion, a combination of the Supreme Court decision known as The People v. Citizens United, and the proliferation of Social Media and its disproportionate value in society have caused such polarization that the middle is a place that is quickly going out of style, like my hair. Okay, my wife has just informed me that my hair was out of style way before political polarization. Our democracy is a bit of a mess right now, even more so than my hair.
I'm going to bring up something a little unusual, possibly radical. I'm going to propose that we think of politics differently, not as the enemy, not as a tribal divide, but as something to help us solve all our problems. Maybe not solve them totally, but each one just a little bit. The rest has to come from the inside outward, first through ourselves, then our families, our communities, and finally to our federal government. And in order to do that, we have to turn 180 degrees (remind me to preheat the oven) and focus not on how much I hate you (because chances are I don't), but on how much we actually agree on. We're all humans on this Earth, right? Now that that's settled, let's go further. Do you think every single person in this country should be allowed to have a gun? If not, then who shouldn't? Do you think hunters should be allowed to use an AR-15? Maybe you don't, maybe you do. Hey, the animals can use them too if they want. What about a Sherman tank? Does the Second Amendment protect that right? Probably we'll have to agree on what the limits are, or whoever can afford a Sherman tank will probably get one, now that I gave them the idea. Can we agree that no one should wear socks with sandals?
Let's look ahead: Do you want your granddaughter's children to enjoy two weeks in a row without a "hundred-year" storm? If so, then we're going to have to agree to adopt science as a national standard, and not goofy science. Another thing: If, because of more mainstream intermarriage, most people turn out to be more-or-less the color of cafe con leche in a few centuries, does it really seem so important to be racist now? Would you agree that there probably always have been and probably always will be people who are homosexual, or non-sexual, or willing to flip whatever your script is? If so, do you think you can get over it and worry about the Kardashians instead? I've seen your issues, even your back issues, and they could use some attention too, I'm just saying. What about the federal government, does it spend too much? Do you think anyone in the world should arbitrarily be allowed to enter and reside in the United States at any time? Whatever your opinion is, let's distill it to the very locus of where we converge, and work backward. And let's focus on what and why rather than who. Anyone who needs to resort to name-calling just to make a point is an idiot.
I am here to tell you: polarization is the long-term enemy. I believe that some of what's on Fox is true. Some of what's on SNL is deplorable. Don't be afraid to admit it; when you recognize the value in someone else's opinion, it reflects back to you from others and increases the value of your own. Crowdsource your own happiness by learning something from someone who doesn't agree with you.
Did you ever have the experience where you thought someone was a total jerk, but then that person did something to help you or compliment you first, and before you had the chance to elbow them away, you were best friends? I bet you have, and it is a basic trait of human relations. If you do something positive towards someone else, it will make you feel good, and it will cause that other person to then think about you and about someone else more kindly. I'd like to see the statistics, I bet they are telling. I'd also like to know the percentage of strikeouts by Yankees with men in scoring position and two outs, as long as we're on statistics, but actually I am trying to stay positive.
Are we willing to grant the possibility that the record economic picture is not a coincidence? Are we willing to accept the blame if it proves to be a disaster in the future? Almost nothing is totally one way or the other, so let's continue the debate, but this time let's concede points on both sides, then build something useful out of them. We've done it before.
If I've offended a few people, let me just say that that's way fewer than usual. Now I'm going to go back to making fun of stuff, so I will issue this disclaimer for the above: Void where prohibited, your mileage may differ, and please talk to you doctor before taking any medication. And when by the time this column is published the results of the nation's mid-term elections are known, I will either be heartened, or be disappointed, and I'll be lucky to live in a country where I can tell you so.
A few thoughts are about all I can rally before I get a severe headache. I've never been a particularly political person, I've voted Republican, I've voted Democrat, and I've voted Independent, and I've made a conscious effort to avoid overt politics here, other than to make a joke or two that I couldn't resist. This week's column is not meant to be funny, and same could be said about my skiing. I am writing it before the mid-term elections have taken place, so I don't know who took the House, and who took the Senate. I only know that when I went to Las Vegas the House took ME. But in my opinion, a combination of the Supreme Court decision known as The People v. Citizens United, and the proliferation of Social Media and its disproportionate value in society have caused such polarization that the middle is a place that is quickly going out of style, like my hair. Okay, my wife has just informed me that my hair was out of style way before political polarization. Our democracy is a bit of a mess right now, even more so than my hair.
I'm going to bring up something a little unusual, possibly radical. I'm going to propose that we think of politics differently, not as the enemy, not as a tribal divide, but as something to help us solve all our problems. Maybe not solve them totally, but each one just a little bit. The rest has to come from the inside outward, first through ourselves, then our families, our communities, and finally to our federal government. And in order to do that, we have to turn 180 degrees (remind me to preheat the oven) and focus not on how much I hate you (because chances are I don't), but on how much we actually agree on. We're all humans on this Earth, right? Now that that's settled, let's go further. Do you think every single person in this country should be allowed to have a gun? If not, then who shouldn't? Do you think hunters should be allowed to use an AR-15? Maybe you don't, maybe you do. Hey, the animals can use them too if they want. What about a Sherman tank? Does the Second Amendment protect that right? Probably we'll have to agree on what the limits are, or whoever can afford a Sherman tank will probably get one, now that I gave them the idea. Can we agree that no one should wear socks with sandals?
Let's look ahead: Do you want your granddaughter's children to enjoy two weeks in a row without a "hundred-year" storm? If so, then we're going to have to agree to adopt science as a national standard, and not goofy science. Another thing: If, because of more mainstream intermarriage, most people turn out to be more-or-less the color of cafe con leche in a few centuries, does it really seem so important to be racist now? Would you agree that there probably always have been and probably always will be people who are homosexual, or non-sexual, or willing to flip whatever your script is? If so, do you think you can get over it and worry about the Kardashians instead? I've seen your issues, even your back issues, and they could use some attention too, I'm just saying. What about the federal government, does it spend too much? Do you think anyone in the world should arbitrarily be allowed to enter and reside in the United States at any time? Whatever your opinion is, let's distill it to the very locus of where we converge, and work backward. And let's focus on what and why rather than who. Anyone who needs to resort to name-calling just to make a point is an idiot.
I am here to tell you: polarization is the long-term enemy. I believe that some of what's on Fox is true. Some of what's on SNL is deplorable. Don't be afraid to admit it; when you recognize the value in someone else's opinion, it reflects back to you from others and increases the value of your own. Crowdsource your own happiness by learning something from someone who doesn't agree with you.
Did you ever have the experience where you thought someone was a total jerk, but then that person did something to help you or compliment you first, and before you had the chance to elbow them away, you were best friends? I bet you have, and it is a basic trait of human relations. If you do something positive towards someone else, it will make you feel good, and it will cause that other person to then think about you and about someone else more kindly. I'd like to see the statistics, I bet they are telling. I'd also like to know the percentage of strikeouts by Yankees with men in scoring position and two outs, as long as we're on statistics, but actually I am trying to stay positive.
Are we willing to grant the possibility that the record economic picture is not a coincidence? Are we willing to accept the blame if it proves to be a disaster in the future? Almost nothing is totally one way or the other, so let's continue the debate, but this time let's concede points on both sides, then build something useful out of them. We've done it before.
If I've offended a few people, let me just say that that's way fewer than usual. Now I'm going to go back to making fun of stuff, so I will issue this disclaimer for the above: Void where prohibited, your mileage may differ, and please talk to you doctor before taking any medication. And when by the time this column is published the results of the nation's mid-term elections are known, I will either be heartened, or be disappointed, and I'll be lucky to live in a country where I can tell you so.
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