Middle Ground
It feels like sad times for our nation to me. We are wounded. And rather then pull together and heal thyself, instead we turn on each other and rip our wound apart. A tug of war so grand that all must choose a side or be uncounted; so preposterous we can’t remember what we are fighting over, or more importantly, what we are fighting for. And like a tug of war there are only two sides – the left and the right; the liberals and the conservatives; the democrats and the republicans. With every next issue raised, with every next law passed, with every next right trampled, the divide grows wider, the wound deeper.
“I used to consider myself an independent, but Bush has made a die-hard Democrat out of me.” Only that’s not true, I’m not a die-hard Democrat, but it’s the statement I can make, the persona I can wear, that will tell the world that I am as far away from agreeing with this administration as I can be. So there I go, grabbing hold of the left side and pulling with all my might.
So I ask you comrades – all comrades – left and right, liberal and conservative, democrat and republican – what are we to do about this? Shall we rip and pull until one side is completely defeated and we are left with no choices at all? Or shall we rip and pull until the rope breaks and there is no longer even the finest of threads to bind us together?
Or can we do better then that? Can we make the choice to change? Can we make the choice to pull together and heal thyself? Can we meet on middle ground, and there agree to disagree on the details but also agree to find a compromise that we can all live with? Can we be not left or right; liberal or conservative, democrat or republican, but rather, somewhere in the middle, flexible, independent?
You see no middle ground? Only one extreme or the other? Choosing one of the multitudes of “others” is like throwing away your right to choose? Wait! Stop! This is still a democratic society – votes DO count – we can make a difference if we want to. But we have to stand together; we have to work together to create this middle ground. I’ll take two giant steps forward if you will too! If we don’t both do this it won’t be a middle ground, you see.
Here’s the plan – next election vote Independent for every candidate! Everyone who wants to heal this wound – vote Independent. Will this guarantee that the best people are in office? NO – but it will make those who think they run this nation – on both sides – sit up and take notice. It will remind them that THEY do not decide – WE decide. Isn’t THAT what our forefathers fought for? Isn’t THAT what is supposed to make us proud to be Americans?
“I used to consider myself an independent, but Bush has made a die-hard Democrat out of me.” Only that’s not true, I’m not a die-hard Democrat, but it’s the statement I can make, the persona I can wear, that will tell the world that I am as far away from agreeing with this administration as I can be. So there I go, grabbing hold of the left side and pulling with all my might.
So I ask you comrades – all comrades – left and right, liberal and conservative, democrat and republican – what are we to do about this? Shall we rip and pull until one side is completely defeated and we are left with no choices at all? Or shall we rip and pull until the rope breaks and there is no longer even the finest of threads to bind us together?
Or can we do better then that? Can we make the choice to change? Can we make the choice to pull together and heal thyself? Can we meet on middle ground, and there agree to disagree on the details but also agree to find a compromise that we can all live with? Can we be not left or right; liberal or conservative, democrat or republican, but rather, somewhere in the middle, flexible, independent?
You see no middle ground? Only one extreme or the other? Choosing one of the multitudes of “others” is like throwing away your right to choose? Wait! Stop! This is still a democratic society – votes DO count – we can make a difference if we want to. But we have to stand together; we have to work together to create this middle ground. I’ll take two giant steps forward if you will too! If we don’t both do this it won’t be a middle ground, you see.
Here’s the plan – next election vote Independent for every candidate! Everyone who wants to heal this wound – vote Independent. Will this guarantee that the best people are in office? NO – but it will make those who think they run this nation – on both sides – sit up and take notice. It will remind them that THEY do not decide – WE decide. Isn’t THAT what our forefathers fought for? Isn’t THAT what is supposed to make us proud to be Americans?
posted by 10-8-ious | 10:19 PM
3 Comments:
A noble cause, middle ground. Yes, I agree that we need to de-polarize our country starting with the elected officials that run it. Our destination, like all great societies before us is ruin. Driven be secular extremists that operate only to suit themselves. In the end logic is cast to the wind and trampled by surge to be in charge!
But let's all vote independant? Ok, I know what you are getting at. And on the surface it sounds good. Throw the bums out and replace them with..... more bums? I have yet to be convinced that "Independants" are nothing more than those who can't their agenda pushed through the two main parties. If they were to actually win in mass would things change? Probably not. We would shift the agenda into a slightly different direction, but the quest to
control and dominate will still exist.
Ok so what do we do about it? Here is the hard part folks. It takes work and commitment. It is far, far harder than simply showing up at the poles
on the second Tuesday in November and yanking the Independant lever in the voting booth. First you must become educated. Not just informed, but educated. You have to take a look at the issues that you think are important, find out everything about them, what are all the details, what agendas are involved and where do the politicians that control these issues vote on them. That is key by the way, how do they vote, not what do they say. Talk is cheap.
This kind of education takes work. You won't get it sitting on the couch watching the evening news and 60 minutes. You won't get it from NPR or the headlines in the paper. You have to dig. You've got to push through the
bias and hidden agendas to find the facts.
Then you look at the options. What really makes sense. What will work and what is a bad dream waiting to happen. And when you've got your set of
solutions, you need to find out who, really supports them. You need to write letters to incumbants and candidates. You need to get past the rhetoric and find out the truth.
Then you must debate these issues. Not some rhetoric driven show for National Television. Real debate, with those friends and collegues that you see everyday. How do they view the issues? Do they agree wth your
assessment of the situation and proposed solutions? Do they agree that the candidates you have chosen are the best to do right thing to turn this country around? NO? Why not? Do they bring to light facts you haven't
thought of? Or are they un-educated about the issue, giving you an opportunity to enlighten them and bring them over to your side? Oh yeah, this debate must be civil, open-minded and informed. Or it is nothing more
than the rhetoric we see daily.
And when you've done all that. When you've become and expert on those issues near and dear to your heart and the candidates true feelings on them, when you have debated the issues until you are sure that you are right, you
go to the poles. And you leave those top levers alone. You pick the individual people that you think best represent what you believe to be the solutions to mess we are in. And you don't care anymore whether they are
Democrat, Republican, or Independant. After all these are just labels, not people. And if you've done a good job, so will your friends and family.
And their friends and family. And we will effect true change, for the better, a new order, elected into office by an educated electorate with specific goals
and direction to find that middle ground.
Hard work? Yup. It is. But if you really want to do more than pay lip service than that is what it takes.
So what would you like to debate over beer tonight?
Micro - You are very right - the best path is an informed decision, HOWEVER my problem with that is this - - there is a vast majority of the American public that is fed up but would NEVER take the time and energy to do as you suggest -- that is sad, but true. And if we don't get a very large number of people to do this, then it will not work, OR if we all scatter off with different little parties, it will not work.
I am NOT proposing that this will give us the best immediate result - we might be stuck for a few years with some somewhat inept people. However, as polarized as our two-parties are now - they are both completely inept. This is a way to START the change – to rattle the big boys and make them realize that we will not be ignored! Once we get them rattled THEN we can start making the informed decisions; THEN they will start offering us a middle ground instead of the extremes.
Your not wrong -- I just think it's idealizing to say "get educated and make an informed decision" to the American masses. We have a much better chance of electing a third party if we launch a "campaign-for-dummies" --- JUST VOTE INDEPENDENT.
I voted for a third party throughout the 90's (Libertarian) and only started voting for a major party again when Bush ran. My problem with voting 3rd party at this point is that the pendulam has swung too far towards social conservatism which is probably going to effect our civil liberties for decades. Until the republicans can put up a candidate from the more fiscal conservative & libertarian side of the party (like McCain) I will have to vote against them. It seems that we are battling Islamic fundamentalism abroad and Christian fundalmentalism at home.
I completely agree that it is our responsibility to educate ourselves and there are a couple of great web sites that I have found for this. The first is www.vote-smart.org which provides the voting records on all bills before congress It is completely non-partisan and has expanded to include many other items such as public statements, interest groups, etc. Damn! I am having a total brain cramp on the other site. It follows statements made by candidates, investigates them, and reports their findings. Dick Cheney mis-named then in one of his debates as a '.com' instead of the correct '.org'. If anyone can remember this I would realy appreciate it.
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