Two Realities and the Need for Civil Discourse

A lion has been shot.  Videos of baby parts crowd our timeline.

Chris Christie tells of the aftermath of the bombing of the World TradeCenter and his commitment to make sure it does not happen again.  Rand Paul warns of the dangers of trading Liberty for Security.

Bernie Sanders draws large and impassioned crowds of fans eager for change; and so does Donald Trump.  Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush scratch their heads and lose ground.

All sides are certain of the rightness of their cause.  The reality, to each, is self-evident.  Perhaps everyone is correct.

The other night I was flipping channels and caught Susan Sarandon and her son being interviewed by Tavis Smiley.  Susan was talking about the plight of the homeless.  Her son related the difficulties of doing well in a job interview when you have no home or address or means of transportation.  They spoke of the effect of homelessness on children.  They noted how many people are dangerously close to being in that situation themselves, as many live paycheck to paycheck.

And it is true.  It is all true.  Regardless of how they arrived there the reality is that many people find themselves in seemingly hopeless situations, perhaps couch-surfing for a time, maybe living in shelters.  They may come from dysfunctional families or they may have developed an addiction to heroin living in the suburbs and been kicked out by parents who would not “tolerate” certain behaviors in their home.

Susan wanted laws to make homeless people a protected class.  Tavis wanted to know how many were black or women; as if being a protected class would keep the rain off or bad folks away.  As though your skin color or gender make a difference when the wind blows.  Many of these folks are veterans, and they are having a hard time with PTSD or just trying to cope…

It is easy for me as a middle aged white man to talk about the sanctity of life.  It is quite another thing to be a 12 year old girl who just got pregnant from her older brother and cannot let her parents find out.  If we ignore these realities, then we will never solve the problems we face.  It may be the reality of an older adult living alone and out of money, still needing expensive medicines but not knowing how to pay for them.  It may be a child coming to kindergarten every day tired and unprepared because Daddy is gone and Mommy has a drinking problem.

We need to acknowledge the sincerity of people who are upset about the seemingly needless death of a lion at the hands of a dentist.  We do not need to reflexively jump to defend all hunters and hunting.  We do not need to belittle people for having feelings for a beautiful creature.  Perhaps it is a good time to discuss why it is ok to eat a hamburger at Wendy’s but not to shoot a deer during deer season?  Why is it ok to shoot a deer but not a dog or cat?  What about fishing?  What about using Raid to keep the roaches out of the house?

There is a difference between attacking people and asking legitimate, substantive questions.  There is a difference between debate and ridicule.

There are other realities.  For example, our federal government is nearly $19 trillion in debt.  Some of us see debt as a moral issue.  We see debt as a threat to our security and the prosperity of our children.  We do not feel we should have to be party to massive government overspending.  It is more than a practical matter; we see it as a matter of character for us as a people.

Similarly, many people see evidence that the global temperatures are rising and climate is changing as the concentration of CO2 rises in our atmosphere.  They see this not just as a practical problem but as a threat to the security and prosperity of our children.  They see the need for us to act on this issue as a matter of character for us as a people.

We must stop allowing our passion to cause us to doubt the sincerity of others or the validity of their point.  We must not let name-calling or “taking of sides” to allow us to be blind to reality.

All of our good intentions must be paid for with the money we have available.  Most of our problems will not be fixed by passing laws or throwing money at problems.  Most of these issues have been deal with by societies throughout the millennia and their wisdom is written down for us to consult.  By “we” I mean all of us, a collection of individuals that need to be able to get along and provide for our needs while leaving everyone free to pursue their own interests.

It is no mystery that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are drawing huge crowds and lots of support.  They are tapping into the anger and frustration coursing through our society.  Both are articulating, without apology, the particular reality that so many people feel is being overlooked – on each side – and giving a voice to the people who share the concern.

Bernie Sanders is correctly pointing out the vast disparity between the incomes of the very wealthy and the very poor.  He correctly points out that this disparity does not correspond to the value produced and that our country is having trouble because it is too difficult for the poor to make it and too much power is in too few hands.  Before you start attacking Bernie, we should acknowledge that he is right.

Bernie Sanders has correctly identified A PROBLEM.  For that he deserves credit.  His remedies are, IMHO wrong-headed, but that is a different discussion.  My view is that we can correct many of these concerns by getting rid of every corporate subsidy and deduction and exemption and loophole and bailout and restriction to competition and watch the problem dissolve.  Reform the tax code.

Trump, too, has tapped into the same anger, albeit on the other end of the scale.  We know that government is by its nature inefficient and cumbersome and ineffective but nobody expects government to SUCK THIS BAD.  Donald Trump is simply pointed out how bad the system sucks and how incompetent our leadership is.  Because they are, and he is right. 

Of course all of the swagger about how he will just fix it all because he has been successful is nothing but showmanship and everyone knows it.  But he is giving voice to the concerns of so many, and shining a spotlight on their very real concerns.

But Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders both ignore other realities.  Bernie ignores the fact that all of his social programs and punitive taxation will come with a cost.  Trump ignores any reality that doesn’t fit his narrative.

God bless the people on the ends of the spectrum and their love of fresh red meat to keep the battles going…but I need to speak to the rest of you.  Not the “moderates”, mind you, but those of us who realize that both of, ALL of these realities need to be addressed.

We need to realize that the vast majority of us are sincere.  When I say I believe all life is sacred, I want you to believe that instead of just wanting to somehow impose my morality on you, I am just trying to stick up for what I see as a defenseless human.  When you tell me you believe that Black Lives Matter I will listen to more than the specific words or try to think of a politically correct response.  I will understand that you want people to see the very real problem with how young black kids are treated.

In most of these cases it is not laws we need.  We need to change our culture.  Banning abortions or raising minimum wages will not solve the underlying social and economic problems. Simply banning guns or drugs will not solve our problems with guns and drugs.  Check the history books.  We need a return to character and integrity in society.  Once the people shift the paradigm the problem corrects itself.

Start listening and acknowledging the wisdom coming from your fellow humans.  Ignore the ignorance coming from the same source.  We need to separate out the problem descriptions from the proposed solutions.  We can be concerned about income inequality without favoring laws to make us all equal.  We can work to decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies regardless of our view on abortion.  We can buy a more fuel efficient car even if we don’t buy into every global warming theory.

Let’s open our hearts and minds and raise the level of rhetoric to a higher level.  Let’s rely more on community and less on government.  And let’s bridge the gap between the Teabaggers and the Libtards.  We don’t have to abandon our principles, we just need to come together and listen.  Because there is a good chance we are all right about something.