America Has Cancer

This morning I had a waking dream. Imagine that we are part of a national family.  This family is called The United States.  Imagine that about 33% of this family is not involved at all in politics, but just focuses upon their lives, making a living, taking care of their personal families and friends. They may have opinions about it and may vote, but they are not attached either way. They also don’t despise Obama or Trump.   Imagine that another 33% of this family really loves Obama and believes that he was the greatest president of their lifetime and really made America Greater, and they despise Trump and his supporters. Imagine that the other 33% of this family really loves Trump and believes that he is the greatest president of their lifetimes and is really making America Greater ,and they despise Obama and his supporters.  That would mean that 66% of your family is at complete odds with each other.  This is a real challenge if we want this family to thrive and function as a healthy unit. That is like having 66% of our body plagued with CANCER.

Unfortunately, I woke up and was not given any answers.  So, I will try and come up with some and hopefully, you will join me in adding some as well.

1.     Don’t call those that despise Obama racists or those that despise Trump deranged.

2.     Stop using mean-spirited words like redneck, deplorable, libtard, snowflake, racist, Nazi, communist, anti-American, and idiot (used by the entire 66%).

3.     Call out those that are using mean-spirited words etc.

4.     Open your mind and heart to empathize with why the opposite 33% feels and thinks the way they do without insulting them with comments like “they only think that way because they want everything for free” or “they only think that way because they are bullies”.  (I admit this is easier for me since I am not part of the 66%.

Remember that a large part of the American problem is a result of the two-party system, which assumes that we are either liberal or conservative without creating a political space for nuance and full spectrum ideology. As a result, it has become a political football game where the only concern for 66% of Americans is how we can get the ball into the other side’s end zone.  Remember, Obama and Trump both represent leaders that are effective at, and committed to, dramatically moving the ball.