Pickabar on Politics 2012

Ok, my one and only political post for the year.

Most people are hardworking, decent people who just want to earn a living, take care of their kids and have a few beers on the weekend. The people who put forth the idea of a divided republic have an economic interest in fanning the flames of disharmony. Every election cycle the talking heads, chattering pundits and the angry demagogues from all parts of the political spectrum beat their drums as if we are on the brink of a Civil War. We are not.

The fact that someone has a different opinion than you doesn’t make them ill informed or kool-aid drinkers or anything of the sort. The fact that someone else is voting for a different political candidate than you are doesn’t make them a bad person or a bad American.

We face tough choices about the way we want to address the future. Ignore the fantasies of simple answers to complex problems. Ignore the calls to shut your ears and ignore anyone who dares to speak opinions that don’t march in lockstep with your own. Our disparate viewpoints are a strength that we should embrace. Our capability to empathize and learn from those we disagree with is the tool that will help us to meet the challenges ahead with the determination and inventiveness that has always made this a great nation.

The conspiracy theorists and professional cynics who sully the good name of meaningful skepticism won’t help us. The purveyors of ad hominem attacks cheapen our discourse and make it clear that they don’t have faith in their own grand pronouncements.

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, we are still in a deep hole and we are still going to have to come together to pull ourselves out of it. Not any particular politician or political party, but the American people together. Let’s vigorously argue the merits of the different paths ahead without losing sight of the bonds that bind us together as one out of many.