To everything there is a season
A time to laugh and a time to mourn
A time to mend and a time to rend
A time to love and a time to hate.
—Ecclesiastes
* * *
We are many. They are more. I don’t like them.
They laugh. We mourn.
They are hopeful. We are fearful.
They think Trump will fix things. We think he will break things.
They think he’s morally despicable. Amen! We do too.
Okay, not all of them. But many of them do. I heard them say so unabashedly on camera.
He’s despicable, but I’ll still vote for him.
We call that crazy. They call it sensible.
After all, sometimes you have to work with unsavory people to get a critical job done. I’ve done that. I’m guessing you have too.
They see a leader. We see a führer.
They see a champion. We see a con.
They call us aloof elitist snobs, living privileged lives high on the hog. We call them racists, misogynists, Neanderthals—and that’s just for starters.
There’s truth in those assessments. On both sides.
Still, they built a coalition that “looks like America.” We did not. It hurts me to say this, but they did a better job.
All my friends voted for Harris. My plumber voted for Trump.
They are one tribe. We are another. They love Hulk Hogan. We love Taylor Swift. And that’s okay. E pluribus unum is a perennial project.
They see America one way. We see it another. We each want different things. But there are a lot of things we both want. They want a less corrupt government. We do too.
They want a rational border policy, lower grocery prices, less crime, less drug addiction, less money wasted on wars, more affordable health insurance, more affordable housing, more living-wage jobs, more equality, more freedom. We do too.
Maybe we could say just once to each other: I agree with you. That needs fixin’. Let’s find a way.
I know we don’t like each other, but we both love our country. And who knows, maybe we could learn to love each other too.
There’s a time to rend and a time to mend. This is a time to mend. Let’s get past “Us Against Them” to “Us With Them” for the sake of our country.
I don’t know how to do that. But I know name-calling doesn’t help. Listening helps. Empathy does too.
I will never respect their leader.
But I won’t completely disrespect them.
_______________________
See Paula’s photo (“Dahlia Serenity”) on the home page.
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