A long-time friend popped in yesterday just as I was setting a hot lunch to the table. His welcomed presence at our meal was illumi-nating to me, a slow learner.See, he's very conservative. Listens to all the conservative talk radio available, reads right-wing periodicals. He's very intelligent and worth listening to. We did the Il Dolce Far Niente thing by lingering long after the food was gone, so riveting was the discussion.
"Interesting," I said to Tom this morning. "My very liberal friends have the same opinion of the government and big corporations as this, our very conservative friend. They say basically the same things. Distrust. Frustration. Confusion. All over the same stuff.
"And yet, liberals and conservatives behave as arch enemies. Most of the time these really avid 'wingers' - left or right - have no room for kindness toward one another. Bickering. Name-calling. Anger.
"They basically agree on most subjects yet have hissy fits over a few. I think it's the government's way of keeping us at odds with one another so that we won't wake up to realizing how much we have in common. I mean, if we did, we'd be standing shoulder to shoulder, picking up rocks, turning to face the real enemies, hurling and knocking them out of the way."
One square foot of disagreement in an acre of commonality.
We need to celebrate our agreements, focus our energy on the real matters at hand, stop letting the powers that be manipulate us with fear, and talk radio, and babbling news shows, and constantly pointing out our few differences, stoking those feelings of helplessness, even hopelessness.
Who knows? Maybe if we common, everyday citizens learned to work together to wrestle power from the hands of the elite few, then set about to restore our freedoms, well, just maybe we'd find that the one square foot of differences becomes reconcilable.
7 comments:
Excellent point, Cherie. It seems to be much easier for us to point the finger and play the blame game than find commonalities.
Hate sells air time!! And papers!! And speaking tours!! Just look at the present fiasco, the Conservative right dislikes McCain and Clinton/Obama sound as if on opposite sides of the spectrum at times.
Of course, when Clear Channel and Rupert Murdock own such big media shares, why am I surprised.
The people ceded their right to choose government by not voting, and the ones elected followed suit in search of campaign $$$.
When only about 30% of the voters elect the Government, you get a government 30% up to the task of governance!
Blame game is right, WC. Pointless, time wasting, and as you said, much easier.
Mike, Good points all, especially the last one about 30%. Shocking and sad all at once.
I loved reading Brian McLaren's book "A Generous Orthodoxy"... talks about the good we can take from each of the different Christian perspectives. Also "Partly Right" by Tony Campolo... more about secular philosophies than theologies. Makes me think about the good in all the different view points. Hopefully I'm becoming a more thoughtful, mellow, even, balanced person! Hopefully.
Good points. I've often said liberal and conservative thoughts might very well compliment one another, if the people on each side sought to understand the other. Kinda like marriage, no?
Amen, and Amen again,.
Cecily: It's certainly worth our time to contemplate such things as one another's perspectives. "Hopefully I'm becoming a more thoughtful, mellow, even, balanced person! Hopefully." Me, too, Cecily, me, too. Hey, I'm reading about Slowness - loving this book. Thanks!
Deanna: It's all about seeking understanding and you are right on the nose that's it's similar to the marriage relationship. It's people having consideration for others, really. As simple as that.
Gardenia: Thanks for the support from the Amen Corner! :)
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