For those out there that watch The West Wing, you understand that it gives you a feeling that our leaders seek to do the best by us, and even when we do not agree, we all can connect behind the following ideal: America is good.
With the 2012 election on the horizon, I am thinking about the many ways we are not the nation we used to be. Maybe this is me thinking that the past is better than the present, but I have to believe that the country my parents grew up in, and its promise, is much different than the one I am inheriting.
I know the issues facing our country are complicated. Many things need a revision, from tax code, to medicare, to social security. But what I have come to understand, as both a student of history, and a watcher of politics, is that no one answer works for all our problems. If I had to classify myself, I would say I was a progressive; but I am not a progressive that thinks all republicans are evil. I get that people believe different things for different reasons.
So, given that I can hold a conversation with a conservative republican without it dissolving into me calling him a bigot and he calling me a pinky liberal, why can't our elected officials do the same?
I get that politicians have reelection to worry about...but for once I would like to see these people doing the work of the American people, rather than doing the work that they think gives them the best chances of not losing the next election.
Listening to:
Tweet
With the 2012 election on the horizon, I am thinking about the many ways we are not the nation we used to be. Maybe this is me thinking that the past is better than the present, but I have to believe that the country my parents grew up in, and its promise, is much different than the one I am inheriting.
I know the issues facing our country are complicated. Many things need a revision, from tax code, to medicare, to social security. But what I have come to understand, as both a student of history, and a watcher of politics, is that no one answer works for all our problems. If I had to classify myself, I would say I was a progressive; but I am not a progressive that thinks all republicans are evil. I get that people believe different things for different reasons.
So, given that I can hold a conversation with a conservative republican without it dissolving into me calling him a bigot and he calling me a pinky liberal, why can't our elected officials do the same?
I get that politicians have reelection to worry about...but for once I would like to see these people doing the work of the American people, rather than doing the work that they think gives them the best chances of not losing the next election.
Listening to:
Tweet
No comments:
Post a Comment