It’s been a while since I updated, but I’ve been concocting this post in my brain, trying to decide how best to phrase these words.
To start with – wow, it’s been a heck of a summer, politically speaking, no? At least the whole month of August with all the town hall meetings and so much anger and frustration, and lately with President Obama’s speeches about school and health care. For me, things got pretty interesting at one point too – I was given a very sharp reminder of the fact that the internet is inherently a public place, not a private one. I made a very poor judgment by exaggerating a situation in recounting it, and one of the parties to that situation caught wind of my tale and did NOT take kindly to it.
Definitely an “open mouth, insert foot” moment for me.
But I was thinking a lot lately about the power of words, and, perhaps more importantly, the intent behind words that gives them their power. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, ” I guess the scripture goes, which further reinforces that as long as they have existed, words have had significant power over us. Words are more than sounds – they are concepts, oralized and codified as a way to ensure that the proper information and motives were conveyed from one person to another.
So I have to wonder, what is the purpose of so much of the partisan rancor of late? And I don’t direct my question at one particular party – it’s offensive to see that both sides have been carefully selecting their words so that the reputation of their opponents is tarnished in the eyes of the public. It seems that, rather than the promised bipartisan cooperation, we have chosen the lower road of planting our feet in the sand, thumbing our noses at each other, and declaring, “No Compromise!!! And your mother’s a whore besides!”
I think it’s one thing to stand firm on an issue that you’re passionate about. I’ll be honest – I think the health care situation in this country is pitiful, and I support a public option so long as it remains just that – an option. But I think it’s truly another thing altogether for liberals to try and shame conservatives into passing the legislation, and for conservatives to fearmonger and lie about what the legislation truly says. And mocking people like those who say, “Keep the government out of my Medicare” – laughing at them because they don’t understand how the system works – does nothing for anybody. It breeds resentment and even more partisanship.
And again, the intent of all this partisanship. I’m sure that those who participate in this ping pong battle of zingers and one-liners feel that the intent of their words and actions is to make their voices heard and change minds and hearts. But I have to wonder – is that the real intent? Or is it simply to make yourselves feel clever and superior? What does that say about you? Certainly not that you are an individual who is confident in yourself and your beliefs. More than likely, you aren’t really that sure of what you believe, and so you must tear others down in order to keep your confidence bolstered.
I have my beliefs, and I will hold to them. But I also respect that you have your beliefs. When we have to find the happy medium, I hope we do just that – find a compromise that respects our mutual intent to improve the situation, not win debate trophies.
AlliMonster Speaks 