Opening Day, 2011, Dodger Stadium: two men attack Bryan Stowe from behind on the way out of Dodger Stadium.................because he is a Giants fan. The attack has left him with severe brain damage and in need of constant care for the rest of his life.
About 20 years ago, in my mid-twenties, I began to feel like our political debate and rancor in our country resembled sports fans, having little to do with political ideology, and more to do with our team versus your team, and vice versa. We approve of and support everything our team does or says, and disapprove and distrust everything the opposing team does or says, even if they've done or said the same thing. Example? Leading up to the 1992 election of Bill Clinton, there were various rumors and even allegations of sexual infidelity and impropriety against then candidate Bill Clinton. Clinton supporters suggested that those indiscretions were unimportant, insignificant, and frankly, anyone who would say that they mattered was actually the offender. Republicans painted Clinton as a womanizing misogynist and hoped the scandals would derail his candidacy entirely. They didn't. Fast forward to the 2016 candidacy of Donald Trump. The republicans, even some clergy, suggested that his similar attitudes and indiscretions were unimportant, insignificant, and frankly, anyone who would say that they mattered was actually the offender. Democrats painted Trump as a womanizing misogynist and hoped the scandal would derail his candidacy entirely. It didn't. Both parties spun the exact same sort of man as either a leader and visionary or a lecherous philanderer, depending on whether he was their candidate or their opponent's. It was never, and rarely is, about the deeds or who committed them; it was all about which side of the aisle the perpetrator stood on. (Strangely, somehow, former vice presidential candidate John Edwards' political career was completely ruined by the extramarital affair that he'd had and worked hard to cover up. What does that make it, like, a triple standard?)
I think we're blinded by the Us vs Them mentality in our current political mindset, and I don't mean the politicians are blinded, I mean we the people are blinded. There are far more than 2 opinions on issues, on where money should be spent and on how much of it should be spent there. But with our 2 party system, we pick a side, and tend to believe any and everything on their agenda or platform. We have to go all in for our team, right? Life isn't like that, it has way more colors than 2. But worse than blindness about our politicians, by far, is the blindness that the Us vs Them mentality has caused when looking at our fellow Americans who happen to vote differently than we do. It seems that, recently, we vilify not only the politicians of the other party, but anyone who supports them, too; that anyone who votes differently than you do is evil. Hillary Clinton called many Trump supporters, a "basket of deplorables." Really? Obviously, she isn't the first American to vilify others for believing differently than she does. But it was coming from such a high position, Secretary of State, Democratic Candidate for President, saying that Americans with different views are deplorable. Deplorable. And it helped to ratchet up the anger, and the division, and the hate of American toward American. It legitimized the attitude that not just other views are questionable, but that the people who espouse them are deplorable. It shouldn't be this way. And the Us vs Them mentality, team mentality, has helped drive the hate wagon, and it's driving us to deeper and deeper division, to the extent that I actually fear for the continued stability of our republic, our democracy. I really do.
How different is a Dodgers fan from a Giants fan? They have far more in common than they do in contrast. Those men lived in similar sized cities on the west coast of the United States of America, in California to be specific, and each loved baseball. I would contend that the typical democrat in Missouri, where I live, has more in common with the typical republican in Missouri than they do in contrast. For example, about 6 years ago, my parents decided to move back to the family farm near Branson, MO. I had lived here in the Branson area for 7 years by then; and we began planning to build a house on their 3 acres of the family farm. The 3 of us have lived together in that house for about 5 1/2 years now. We love Jesus, baseball, music, and many of the same TV shows and movies. But there are 2 democrats and 1 republican in this house, if we assume the dogs have no political affiliation. How alike, and how different do you think we are? Very much alike, very little different. (Full disclosure: I'm the republican..........and I voted for Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party.)
How different is a democrat from a republican? Well, in my house, it's hard to tell the difference, without the media telling us we're different, the politicians shouting that we're different, the activists screaming that we're different, and the Us vs Them team mentality that blinds us to how very much we're alike. Are there differences? Yes. Are there similarities? Yes. Do the differences justify hate? Not in the least. We are better than this, America. We are stronger than this, America! Don't let the Us vs Them blind you to the fact that most of the other party's rank and file are culturally identical to you, just like the Dodgers and Giants fans. Forget Us vs Them. There are beautiful and wonderful people all around you on each side of the political aisle. Think for yourself. Feel for yourself. Love...............for us all. That's what we all need, regardless of political affiliation. Refuse to hate. That's what the devil wants. That's the dark side, the side that threatens to destroy us from the inside out. That's how all great nations fall. From the inside out.
I don't know if there's any way to change the political monster machine the 2 party system has become. But if we can change our attitude about the "rightness" of our own party and the "wrongness" of the other, and especially of it's constituents, then maybe we can heal the great hurt and span the great chasm that was caused by it. If you think your party is 100% right on 100% of the issues 100% of the time, you've been blinded. Because no human being or group of human beings is all right all the time. No one and no political system is perfect. But I know we can do better, love better, learn better, lead better, be better. So let's be better.
I hope you'll join me in praying for our great nation: for open eyes, ears, and hearts; for forgiveness; for love; for hope; for healing. I truly believe that's the most important first step we can take. I love you all!
