This is my plea. Its kind of long, but I hope youll read it and take it to heart. Technically, I havent been a Democrat for several years now (I registered unaffiliated/independent when I moved to Maryland), but for the purposes of general sentiments this morning, I more or less commiserate with those on the losing end of yesterday. When I talk about us and we, thats who I mean. Today, those of us who would have preferred a different agenda, a Congress under different control, or a country otherwise moving in another direction basically get two viable choices: OPTION 1 - Lying in wait for two years. This seems to have been the most popular option for the last decade or so, and is largely the reason why things work - or, really, dont work - the way they do. This option means we get to take all of our disappointment and bitterness and parlay it into being as uncooperative as possible. We take every prejudice we had against those we didnt want to see get elected yesterday, but somehow still did, and cement it into a constant narrative of their failure before they have even begun to act. Of course, that prophecy of failure is easily fulfilled by our own unwillingness to cooperate in any way, lest we do anything that might reflect positively on our adversaries ability to govern. Ideally, if we take this route, we can somehow use its result to potentially fuel our own return to power. If this plan sounds familiar, its probably because those of you who are disappointed today are fresh off of the receiving end of this tactic. Or... OPTION 2 - Embrace the process in furtherance of the greater good. This is clearly the less popular choice. This means we set aside our preferences and our prejudices because we recognize that our democracy stalls when we hold onto them too long. This means we dont just accept, but actively embrace the will of the people. We abandon our excuses about who showed up or didnt show up to vote. We even bite our tongues about who tried to vote but couldnt (always offensive, no doubt, but statistically the absence of those few votes cannot shoulder the blame for todays results). It does not mean we wholeheartedly get on board with a political agenda we oppose, but it does mean we try our damnedest to find common ground and accomplish productivity in our governance. The inherent risk in this is that it will work. Things might get done. Those in charge might even get the credit and this then hinders our chances of eventually being in charge and setting the agenda. Still, to choose this option means to suck that up because power isnt really the end goal. Good governance is. And if we can achieve *some* measure of that, would it be worth giving it up just to get - or keep the other guys from getting - the credit? More years ago than I fully realize some days, my 11th grade English teacher, Kaye Mullen Jones gave our class an extra credit opportunity in which we memorized a quote from the writer Charles Swindoll. Im not sure Ive still got it word for word, but I never forgot the idea, which in relevant part, went something like this: ...We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes. Yesterday happened to us (10%). The 90% of how we react to it begins today, and I hope for the sake of our country that we can react productively. I strongly encourage option #2 above. (P.S., Terrill A Wilkins, thats my positive spin on yesterday.)
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 12:57:13 +0000
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