…
which I won’t watch, again. As little point as I see in using my time listening
to political punching and counter-punching, from a lame duck president this
reality-TV drama seems an even bigger waste of my time. Then tonight and
tomorrow we’ll be treated to being forced choose which narrow slice of right or
left wing real estate we’re going to inhabit.
I
never liked forced choice questions, A or B, True or False, Good or Evil. I
don’t live in a black and white world; mine is a (fuzzy) shades-of-grey
world-view. Thus, I find there are no easy answers and am increasingly suspect
of those who claim to have a monopoly on the truth, be they Islamic radicals or
Fundamentalist Christians, right-wing Republicans or left-wing Democrats, Clint
Eastwood or Michael Moore …..
Life is
no longer simple (if it ever was), probably (at least in part) because people
are complicated. Seldom, if ever, do we really have an either/or situation, at
least when it comes to how we feel about something. While our personal choices
may often appear to be a forced choice, if we’re honest with
ourselves we’ve had a variety of paths to take before arriving at H-Hour.
Why do
I have to go “all in” on an issue? Are you really telling me I can’t support
both the 2nd Amendment and background checks? That I
must pick between the 1st Amendment freedom of (pick one of the 5) and
reasonable limits that protect society? Can I not support the police and
those who are concerned about whether “black lives matter”? Can I not
appreciate the service and sacrifice of our military men and women and
have concerns about where and why they are deployed?
On
these big issues we seem to be at the mercy of the absolutists and extremists
who take no prisoners, admit no middle ground; they manipulate issues and
events trying to force the majority of us into their particular small corners.
We are also at the mercy of those political consultants who energize voters and
contributions by polarizing every issue. And we wonder why Congress can’t find
any middle ground?
I almost envy those who live in their narrow black and white worlds. It
cuts down on listening, thinking, analyzing, concluding. I’ll finish by sharing
a meme that has been posted by both conservatives AND liberals and the cartoon (above) that seems to sum it all up.* Have we
finally found something we can all agree on? Nah….
* You might also try to check the cartoon on the mast-head.
I'm often conflicted because I see myself as a liberal conservative with varying degrees of both.
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