I keep
in my mind a picture of my friends who
are on the other side of the aisle constantly when I am angered about something
that the administration has done or about their policies. Not because I feel I
should blame them for all the faults and disagreements, but to keep in mind
they have another way of looking at the same issues. We may not be right all
the time, or wrong all the time, but we know that we share some common ground
on many things.
We all
want what is best for the democracy. Lord knows, getting there is a battle, but
we are all in the same boat. If there is a disaster, I call my friends for
support and advice. They call me when they need help, or they know they can ask
a favor. We don’t shun each other because we are in different political
parties, and we are on the other side of the aisle. That’s the way it should
work.
Some of
my friends are older, and are not on the constant drumbeat of Twitter and
Facebook. I don’t post overtly political messages on my personal FB page. I try
to moderate my tone, and I don’t use foul language or call the other side nasty
names. If I’m angry, and want to storm and rail, I do it in the privacy of my
own home, where only my dogs or my mother, who feels as I do, can hear. I vent
at meetings with friends and colleagues who feel as I do.
But
when there is a national crisis, and one of my best friends calls to talk about
it, I LISTEN to her. I don’t call her names, and I don’t interrupt (or try not
to.) I try to remember to temper my anger about some of the more egregious policy
decisions, and to moderate my language. But I DO vent.....
We need
to know how to get along with the other side. Some of the hot button issues
are: Abortion, Immigration, Racial issues, Income Inequality and Military
Defense/Foreign Affairs. In the coming weeks we will talk about some of these
issues that are in play during the fall election season, and are volatile
campaign issues that we habitually disagree about.
Hope to
hear from you on both sides of the aisle, From Red State/Blue State America,
till we meet again, peace to all-ML
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