What Divides Us?

I just got done watching a documentary called “Split: A Divided America”. It follows a young man across the country who asks questions to everyday people regarding what they thought divided us. There were many answers and many different perspectives.

Some thought it was mostly media… others, money… and for, still, other people, they were certain it was faith. In the end, the only thing we can be sure of is that we are divided…

And something must be done.

I’ve written a few posts myself regarding partisanship and how to arm ourselves against it (like this post that actually directly addresses the partisanship in our politics, or this one that begs us to check our news sources… even if they are the sources we trust the most), but this documentary actually brought me to the realization that partisanship is not merely disinformation and political spinsters… it is what we, as Americans, hold as our values and how we want those values to be represented by our politics.

So what is there to do? How do we, or as an individual, I, fix a situation that has spiraled impossibly out of control?

The only thing I could think of to do is force myself to the realization that I hold more in common with those I disagree with, ideologically, than I thought.

So, Where Do I Stand?

Firstly, in order to find out how poorly these extreme partisan parties fit me, I need to find out where I stand on key wedge issues.

-I am for some kind of Health plan that covers people who don’t already have health care and some kind of regulations that make it so, if you get sick, you don’t spiral into bankruptcy.

Here, I am obviously Liberal…

-I believe in the principals of free enterprise and think that, to a certain extent, our industry should be allowed to operate without boundaries set up by our government. This does not mean I think they should be tax free when I have to pay, nor does it mean I think they should be able to move their jobs overseas without any kind of additional tax burden applied to their imported goods when the only reason they were able to become behemoths in the first place is because they were given opportunities only available in the U. S. of A.

I think this is actually more moderate…

-I am pro-life. I think the whole, “a fetus is not viable until it can live outside of the womb” stuff is complete garbage. A baby is a baby at conception. It grows, it feeds, it lives. There is no denying that. But I think contraception should be freely available and I think that, if a pregnancy threatens a mothers life, that mother should have the option to abort the pregnancy.

Here, I think that I am slightly conservative… but the contraception leaves me more in the middle… again…

-I think that we should respond to threats world-wide with military force if the safety of our nation is at stake. Also, I think that if there is a humanitarian crisis somewhere in the world, we should enact the proper sanctions to make that country pay for its crimes against humanity. But, I also think that war should be a final option… and that the war in Iraq was poorly thought out and waged without reason.

What am I here? I don’t even know…

-I think that there should be a separation of Church and State… but realize that church is an inevitable part of our nations fabric. I consider myself to be a Christian.

Am I Liberal here… conservative?

-I think that we need a free college system that allows all of our children to get their post-secondary education. But, I think that some kind of private option should be available for people who want to pursue a more distinct, narrowly defined post-secondary education. We also need to make sure that the public education system is better monitored and held accountable… I hate standardized tests and the systems that revolve around them.

Uh… conserva… liber… what do I do here?

Where Do I Fit In?

I think that, after looking at my own political philosophy, that it’s obvious I don’t fit into the cookie cutter description of what a Democrat is or what a Republican is. So what do I do? Do I bend my views so that I fit perfectly into one of these two parties? Do I abandon one party and go it alone in the third party world? Do I just give up on politics?

The answer to all of these questions is no.

What I need to do is have conversations with people who disagree with me. What I need to do is debate and find a place where I can agree with those who oppose me.

What I need to do is call out politicians who are only concerned with getting reelected and the media talking heads that feed the frenzy (FOX? MSNBC?). What I can do is get my education and use it to benefit my fellow man. What I can do is continue writing this blog with a strict non-partisan tone (and I admit that sometimes I lean a little to the left) and use it as a means to call out the people who are only concerned with making a quick buck at our expense and the expense of our future generations.

What I can do is drop out of the Partisan war and try to find a common ground with people who actually care about this country and the direction it is headed.

I’m sick of hearing about socialism, communists, idiots, liberals, and conservatives. I want to hear about Americans and the things being done to make this damn country a better place. I want to meet the people who are worried that the previous generation has left the country in worse shape than they received it and, I’m telling you right now, we are well on our way to messing it up even more.

It is up to us, as Americans, to make this a better country. Not as conservatives, liberals, Democrats, and Republicans. It us up to us… as Americans.

Whew….

Okay… I’m done with my rant about partisanship for now. I just wanted to bring to light this splendid documentary and the valuable information it provided me about how deeply divided we are as a nation. I hope you go and watch it and emerge as disturbed as I was.

Please comment me about what you think about this partisanship and how it has damaged our nation… and whether you think it’s an issue at all.

Thank you,

C.J. Swanson

Advertisement