uplifting Fitz! I, too, have struggled with "patriotism" throughout my adult life. Tears during the playing of the National Anthem for an Olympic gold medal, yet utter disgust for the actions of our government in our name over centuries of turbid history. I guess one thing we can all agree on , Lady Gaga was bomb!
Thanks, Fitz! I'm hearing a lot of optimism this week, which is completely understandable. Personally, I'm not as optimistic about the fortunes of our nation.
First, I don't see a lot of evidence that leaders in this country, be they political, religious, academic or in business, have really grappled with why 46% of country voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020. And no, simply leveling the "racist," "misogynist" or "generally backward" accusations won't due any more than calling liberal young adults "snowflakes" is a sound judgment. One could say that President Trump was those things, but it would neither be fair nor prudent to say as much about nearly half the U.S. population. Who is truly going to do the work to understand why half the country believed Trump may have been a better alternative to the platform or personalities offered by the left?
Second, I don't foresee a Biden administration, nor a democrat-controlled Congress, having the incentive to do the kind of work necessary to achieve real unity, despite the ubiquity of the word this week. Will President Biden, Speaker Pelosi or Leader Schumer pause to understand the opposition and their concerns? It's doubtful, in my opinion.
Unity hasn't been a hallmark of the United States for some time, not in the last four years nor for a long time before that. So this isn't meant to be some indictment that may fall anew on President Biden and his incoming administration. I'm simply not optimistic that this transition truly marks a real change in the "soul" of America.
Over the next couple years, the newly elected democrat majorities may take the country in directions progressives applaud, and for folks on the left that would be cause for optimism. But it won't be because we're a unified country. It will be because they have at their fingertips all levers of political power and can choose the short-sighted luxury of turning a deaf ear to half the nation. Then again, they could surprise me.
Anyway, I always enjoy reading your reflections. I happy you're offering them in a public forum once again.
Thanks for these thoughts, Mike. I share your concerns about the possibility of unity. What I hear you saying here is something that I've been thinking a lot about too, which is the need for greater understanding across the political spectrum. Or, to put it more concisely, we need to learn how to empathize with those who have drastically different views of the world. I think that President Biden is as well-equipped to do this as any politician in recent memory. Beyond that, I think that when we come out of this extended quarantine, we need to find our way back to common ground via common spaces. That is, I don't think unity comes from the top-down, rather it comes by interacting with people who have different heritages, views, opinions, beliefs, backgrounds, etc. Unfortunately, our offline spaces are coming to mirror our online spaces, which is to say, segregated. I don't really know where I'm going with all of this, but I think the point is that I am optimistic because for the first time in four years the news out of Washington isn't making me nauseous and I hope that at least the spirit of unity from the top (if not the real thing) will meet the actual work of uniting on the ground.
uplifting Fitz! I, too, have struggled with "patriotism" throughout my adult life. Tears during the playing of the National Anthem for an Olympic gold medal, yet utter disgust for the actions of our government in our name over centuries of turbid history. I guess one thing we can all agree on , Lady Gaga was bomb!
Thanks, Fitz! I'm hearing a lot of optimism this week, which is completely understandable. Personally, I'm not as optimistic about the fortunes of our nation.
First, I don't see a lot of evidence that leaders in this country, be they political, religious, academic or in business, have really grappled with why 46% of country voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020. And no, simply leveling the "racist," "misogynist" or "generally backward" accusations won't due any more than calling liberal young adults "snowflakes" is a sound judgment. One could say that President Trump was those things, but it would neither be fair nor prudent to say as much about nearly half the U.S. population. Who is truly going to do the work to understand why half the country believed Trump may have been a better alternative to the platform or personalities offered by the left?
Second, I don't foresee a Biden administration, nor a democrat-controlled Congress, having the incentive to do the kind of work necessary to achieve real unity, despite the ubiquity of the word this week. Will President Biden, Speaker Pelosi or Leader Schumer pause to understand the opposition and their concerns? It's doubtful, in my opinion.
Unity hasn't been a hallmark of the United States for some time, not in the last four years nor for a long time before that. So this isn't meant to be some indictment that may fall anew on President Biden and his incoming administration. I'm simply not optimistic that this transition truly marks a real change in the "soul" of America.
Over the next couple years, the newly elected democrat majorities may take the country in directions progressives applaud, and for folks on the left that would be cause for optimism. But it won't be because we're a unified country. It will be because they have at their fingertips all levers of political power and can choose the short-sighted luxury of turning a deaf ear to half the nation. Then again, they could surprise me.
Anyway, I always enjoy reading your reflections. I happy you're offering them in a public forum once again.
Thanks for these thoughts, Mike. I share your concerns about the possibility of unity. What I hear you saying here is something that I've been thinking a lot about too, which is the need for greater understanding across the political spectrum. Or, to put it more concisely, we need to learn how to empathize with those who have drastically different views of the world. I think that President Biden is as well-equipped to do this as any politician in recent memory. Beyond that, I think that when we come out of this extended quarantine, we need to find our way back to common ground via common spaces. That is, I don't think unity comes from the top-down, rather it comes by interacting with people who have different heritages, views, opinions, beliefs, backgrounds, etc. Unfortunately, our offline spaces are coming to mirror our online spaces, which is to say, segregated. I don't really know where I'm going with all of this, but I think the point is that I am optimistic because for the first time in four years the news out of Washington isn't making me nauseous and I hope that at least the spirit of unity from the top (if not the real thing) will meet the actual work of uniting on the ground.