For All Americans: One Moderate's View

 

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.  People are so angry!  People are so happy!  I’m not thrilled with last night’s outcome for President, but neither would I have been thrilled if the ‘other guy’ had won.  The reason is that both candidates are too polarized.  When you have that great a divide between candidates you end up with a country divided.  Each side is looking to win, entirely, instead of looking to choose someone who is best for this country….in all her polarity.  It shouldn’t be a ‘our side wins, your side loses’ game.  It can’t be if we are to remain a great country.

I’m upset with the American people.  We are so concerned with focusing on our differences that we aren’t seeing our similarities and electing people to public office who will move those similarities into the spotlight and then move us forward as a United States.  It’s clear, just from facebook, that the Democrats believe they won last night and the Republicans believe we are headed to hell.  Sigh.  Yes, a Democrat won the election last night.  Congratulations.  However, his win is a loss for America because we are still stuck on being divided as a Nation.  We are up a creek.  Yet, had the Republican won, we’d be in the same creek, just with a different paddle.

Here’s what Democrats and Republicans need to do in order to restore America, in my very humble, average person mind:

1)  Realize that we can’t afford to pay for everything. 

  Just as you run your household budget (if you aren’t living in massive debt, that is) you have to pick and choose what you can afford and so does this country.  What you deem important may not be what the majority deems important. 

2)  Realize that the American dream was never sitting on your couch watching the ‘Jersey Shore’ in a house that was paid for by others, providing you free food.

3)  Realize that equal rights are supposed to be just that, equal.   

In this country everyone is allowed to pursue their happiness and that should include getting married and electing to not have a child.

4)  Realize that if you have enough faith in your God to post facebook statuses that say “God is the real leader” and so on, that your God is powerful enough to deal with folks that violate His ‘laws’ in His own way.  You don’t need to be judge and jury.

5)  Realize that we shouldn’t be policing the whole world for our own personal gain and interests.  But, in turn, realize that when the shit gets serious enough in some other part of the world that it can affect the USA we will need to send competent, well-trained, well-equipped, well-paid military service members to do a job that you would never dream of doing.

6) Realize that as long as you keep voting along party lines, the party is never going to expand and grow to meet the needs of the many.  Democrats will still say anything to appease their base and Republicans will be doing the same.  Find a moderate position on issues that you can live with and then vote accordingly.

Then, maybe then, we’ll have a better selection of politicians to elect into office and then, and only then, will we have a snowball’s chance of getting our country back on track for all America.

7)  Lastly, realize that you are not going to be happy with policy all the time.  Decisions will be made that will upset or anger you.  The folks in office aren’t gods.  They don’t have crystal balls.  Mistakes will be made.  Maybe if we learn to elect more moderate individuals into office, who truly know how to lead, and we learn to not be so quick to viciously attack, our elected officials will not be so afraid to speak the truth to us, instead of hiding behind political rhetoric and lies.

Moderation isn’t weakness.  We know how to be strong and show force, clearly.  It just isn’t always the time or issue to do so.  When you are a hammer you see every problem as a nail.

In the end folks, we have what we created.  We are all responsible; we are all ‘to blame’.   

I predict that four years from now one side or the other will be saying, ‘I told you so!’

I predict that four years from now, we’ll be finding ourselves right back here, because we refuse to find the middle ground.  

‘Everything in moderation, including moderation.”  ~Emerson

‘The ideas are louder when there are fewer of them.”  ~David C. Day

~Mari B.