The Day After the Day After

It's been a while since I've posted anything political, but I’ve had a day to reflect on the election, and, well, here we go:

Unity. I see so many calls for “unity,” mostly from the winning side. Principally, I agree with them. One of the beautiful things about our country is the peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. But unification isn’t made any easier when the call goes something like “you lost, fair and square, now get back in line (or leave the country).” I’ve got a theory on something that might help with the unity thing, though, and that’s empathy. I’m grateful for those of you who have attempted to empathize with the pain and anguish that some of us feel. I would sincerely love, and appreciate, seeing more of that. Saying things like “I see how this has been a rough campaign, I know the winning candidate said and did some awful things, and I can’t imagine how hurtful that must have been, and how hurtful it is now that he will actually be our president,” could go a long way. I truly believe that. Same goes for the losing side: if some of my liberal friends would seek to understand the emotions, concerns, and feelings behind those who voted for the President-elect, it could only help. Honestly, I can’t think of anything that would help unify us more than seeking to understand one another.

To be clear, I’m not talking about anyone changing their beliefs or ideas. I’m not even talking about compromise. Empathy isn’t a meet-in-the-middle sort of thing; it’s a temporary journey to see something from another perspective. Sometimes, sure, that journey can make you want to change your position. But, more often than not--and as quickly as you like--you can return to where you feel comfortable, but hopefully having become more open and understanding in the process.

Stereotypes and generalizations are the enemies of empathy. They obstruct our ability to relate to one another, to acknowledge the humanity in all of us. I’ve seen liberal friends, in their anger and despair, post scathing rebukes of all conservatives or all of those who voted for the President-elect, and I don’t think that’s right. One of my own posts, while not intended to target any specific group, was nevertheless emotionally charged and generalizing, and I’ve since deleted it because it only engendered divisive comments. On the other side, I’ve seen many of my conservative friends post condemnations of “liberal logic” or complaints about how all of their liberal friends have only been posting angry attacks on conservatives. It seems clear that these generalizations--that “all those who voted for the President-elect are racist,” for example, or that “all liberals think in a fundamentally flawed way”--cannot possibly be true. Please, everyone, let’s stop with the generalizing. That is only harmful, and it hurts our ability to empathize.

For my part, I’ve been seeking to understand those who may have voted for our President-elect, and believe it or not, I think I’ve been making some progress.

I can understand, on some level, those who voted for him just because he was the Republican nominee, and Republican ideals still reflected most accurately their own, and they considered a third-party vote wasted. I can understand that.

I can understand, on some level, those who voted for him simply because they did not want HRC in the White House. While I, quite clearly, would not have minded HRC in the White House, I can acknowledge that she was a very flawed candidate, and certainly not my first choice from the Democratic Party. I can understand simply not wanting her in office.

I can understand, on some level, those who voted for him out of fear--fear of an imbalanced Supreme Court, fear of a liberal agenda, fear of losing aspects of their nation that they value highly. I’ve felt that same fear (although probably for different reasons), and can understand it.

I can understand, on some level, those who voted for him out of anger. I acknowledge there is an entire class of people in our country who feel they have been marginalized, who feel their voices have been forgotten, and are absolutely done with it. I can understand wanting to throw the now-proverbial molotov cocktail into our political structure in the hopes that something better will rise from the ashes.

I’m sure there are many other reasons why people voted for the President-elect, reasons I don’t yet understand--and some, perhaps, I never will--but I think, for the most part, it’s worth the effort.

In my ongoing efforts to understand, I haven’t changed my mind much. I still disagree, on many levels, with those who voted for the President-elect. But, again, that’s one of the wonderful thing about empathy: I don’t have to change my views to try to understand someone else’s.

Now let’s look at the other side of things. There are people hurting right now. Many of them are liberals. Many are conservatives who voted for a third-party candidate. Some of them even voted for the President-elect. There is a lot of pain going around, and it does no good to criticize it, marginalize it, or sweep it under the rug. We should talk about it, why it’s there, and figure out how to ease it, make it better.

As for the why: Please acknowledge that racism and misogyny played significant roles in this campaign. Please acknowledge that hurtful things were said and done--by both sides, I’ll absolutely admit it, and corruption still worms its way through our political structure like a cancer--but chiefly, and most publicly, by the President-elect. Acknowledge the fear that those targeted by his language must feel. I mentioned above an entire class of people who feel they have been marginalized, and hopefully now their voices will be heard--but please don’t forget about the many groups of people who were marginalized further (“further” because many of them have been discriminated against for centuries already) by the President-elect’s rhetoric. Please, don’t dismiss your brothers and sisters who are hurting. You may not have similar views, but express your desire to stand up for them. To protect them. To make sure that their voices are heard, too. We can champion our own causes while standing up for the rights of those that oppose us. We can hold to our values while empathizing with the views of those opposite us. That's the unity we’re seeking, I think. Not a unity of ideals, but a oneness of compassion and humanity.

I hope the President-elect proves those of us who are hurt, frightened, and numbed by his election wrong. I hope his presidency is wildly different from his campaign in all of the best ways. But, whatever the President-elect’s actions--even, and especially, if our worst fears come true--it’s up to us to stand up for one another. Both sides of the isle. All religions. All races. All genders. We are the people. We all are the people.

Let’s not forget it.

I Voted (Yesterday)

And I haven't been stuck by lightening yet.  Also, I'm quite happy with the results.

I'm a Mormon. And I'm voting for Barack Obama.

So, it's election season.  Oh, you didn't know?  Kind of sneaks up on you*, I guess.

Which means it is time for me to get vaguely political, attempting to care about issues I don't really know much about, and trying to sound as sophisticated as possible when I talk about them.  (In other words, DISCLAIMER:  I'm an ignorant person.)

But allow me to attempt to rise above my ignorance, if only for the briefest of moments.

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormon Church (which is how I'll refer to it hereafter for the sake of clarity).  I consider myself both a religious and spiritual person, with an emphasis on the latter term**.  I agree with the majority of the teachings of the Mormon Church and its prophet, Thomas S. Monson.  Do I think either of these entities (the Mormon Church or its prophet) is perfect?  Certainly not.  President Monson is still just a man and therefore inherently flawed; the Church's stewardship is given to regular men and women, who are also inherently flawed.  But, that said, I've found a whole lot of joy, peace, fulfillment, and comfort in the Church's teachings.  I believe strongly in the Mormon Church, and particularly--and most importantly--Jesus Christ (yes, I'm a Christian).

Now, some of you may have heard that Governor Mitt Romney is also a Mormon.  I think that's great.  I think it's cool that a Mormon has garnered such popularity in mainstream politics; I feel more validated as just a regular person who happens to have a certain set of beliefs, rather than a walking stereotype of Mormonism, because of what Gov. Romney has accomplished.  I feel an affinity towards him because of our shared faith.  I suspect (although I can't say for sure, of course, given that I don't know the man) that he is a genuinely good person.  I think he wants the best for himself, his family, and his country.  And, I have to admit, I'm strangely touched by crazy Facebook trends like this one.

But I'll be voting for the other guy.

Now, to be fair, this has a lot more to do with my personal politics than with either of the men running for president.  I believe equality is important, and that it should be an indispensable part of our society.  I believe that women who work the same jobs as men should be paid on the same scale as men.  I believe that women should be able to do what they want to do with their own bodies, and not be dictated to, in that regard or any other, by anyone else (And if men get Viagra covered by their insurance, BY ALL MEANS, give women birth control!  The logic behind that whole situation is outrageous to me.)  I believe that people should be able to love who they want to love, and be in the relationships that make them happiest.  I think of healthcare in terms of "right" rather than "privilege."  While I have the utmost respect for business owners and entrepreneurs, and think it takes a tremendous amount of tenacity, drive, and creativity to do what they do, I don't think they would be able to accomplish what they do without the help of friends, mentors, teachers, and--dare I say it?--government.  I think it is everyone's responsibility, but particularly that of the successful and the wealthy, to support others in turn, through charity, education, and taxes.***

And, honestly, the rhetoric of the conservative side of things is just bothersome, sometimes.  Saying things like "legitimate rape," and "Obama is a Muslim and will ruin this country" just doesn't seem helpful.  Now, I'm aware that the left has had their share of rhetorical diarrhea (forgive the imagery).  But, at least to me (and why not?  I'm biased, anyway), the fault seems worse on the conservative side of things.

What I'm NOT saying, here, is that Mitt Romney doesn't care about any of the aforementioned ideas, or that he endorses the crazy things extremists say.  Let me repeat:  I'm NOT saying that.  I think he probably does care a great deal about a lot of those things.  But the way he wants to approach them really doesn't strike my fancy.

President Obama's approach does (strike my fancy, that is).  And there's a lot more I like about him, besides.  I agree with him when he says that our national defense is no longer based strictly on the size of our navy.  There are a lot of other factors that go into it nowadays (let's be honest; there always have been), and I think he knows what those factors are and how to make them work for America.  I think that balancing the budget requires a lot more than a vague five-point plan.  And I think Pres. Obama has handled the last four years remarkably well, considering what was dropped in his lap in the first place.  In his next term, I think he'll continue to strengthen and lead our country through recovery and into success.

Now, I recognize I've focused, mostly, on pathos in this post.  And I don't feel bad about it.  This is how I feel about things.  I COULD cite a bunch of facts (and I'm sure a lot of people who disagree with this post will view that as a sleight; I'm not posting the facts because there ARE no facts that support Obama, right?).  I COULD point you towards the 31 straight months of economic growth, or show you how unemployment is the lowest it's been since December of 2008, or demonstrate how housing starts are at an all time high.  But I won't.  Because facts are boring, and I don't want to, and this post is long enough as it is, and this is my blog and I can do what I want.  So there.  And, ultimately, this post is about how I feel about the upcoming election.  My point of view on things, nothing more, nothing less.

So, even though I'm a Mormon, I'm voting for Barack Obama (and look!  I haven't been struck by lightning yet!  I'll have to wait until election day to tell you for sure, though).  Even though I don't think Gov. Romney is an awful guy--and I admit, I think he would do some good things for our country as President--I think Pres. Obama is the right man to lead in the next four years.  He would do . . . more . . . of the good things . . . ahem.  Hey, don't look at me like that.  I told you I was ignorant.

That's how I see things.  If you feel otherwise, feel free to let me know!

And, in the spirit of friendship, you should watch this, because it is hilarious, and will make your day.



*  And by "sneaks up on you," I mean "hits you over the head with a giant hammer, Super Smash Brothers style, like a year and a half too early."

**  Hopefully this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway:  I also consider myself a seriously flawed person; my attempts to give up those flaws and weaknesses are a large part of what I consider spirituality, and one of the driving concepts behind my idea of religion.

***  A brief tangent:  I'm always just a little bit astounded that the majority of Christians tend to choose the Republican platform over the Democratic one.  While I was in church just this last Sunday, I listened to a scripture-oriented discussion on how people are so prideful these days that they think whatever they own, create, and accumulate for themselves is theirs and theirs alone, when in reality they should be thinking of all of the people that helped them accomplish and receive all of the blessings they have, and of ways they can share those blessings with others.  I'm sure that a whole lot of the people involved in that discussion also posted memes like this one on their favorite social media sites.  So, yeah.  I just don't get it.  Jesus' only requirement for healing was something called faith.  That sounds like a pretty good healthcare system to me.  He seemed to be in favor of helping the poor, afflicted, and downtrodden--not putting the rich on a pedestal.  When the most basic idea behind Christianity is becoming like Christ, I'm astounded at how many people seem to ignore His actions.  Maybe I just have the wrong idea about Christianity.