When will we stop quibbling as a nation and world, and begin to move forward?
Photo: badlogik
I will attempt not to stray too far in the direction of ‘political’ in this post, but there will certainly be politics involved.
Mostly US politics in fact, so I will go ahead and apologize to those outside America, or who are trying to stay away from the madness. I’m not here to make anyone’s head explode.
But, there has been quite the ruckus about President Obama’s supposed “socialist agenda” stay-in-school speech being shown in classrooms, which finally occurred yesterday. The Obama administration has also had a tough week with what I see as the forced resignation of Van Jones, the Green Jobs czar, over the fact that several years ago, he signed a petition asking that the Bush administration be investigated for allowing 9/11 to happen.
The specific issues don’t really matter when it comes down to it; there will always be something. For me, it brings up the question of how we, both as a nation, and as a world, plan to ever move forward.
We don’t all have to believe the same things, and we never will, but we need to be respectful of each other in the process, whether the question be about religion, our sexual orientation, or our politics. We are 99.9% genetically identical, and doesn’t that count for something?
Or really, most everything?
Thinking Critically and Repectfully
I was moved by a piece by Terrance Heath on Huffington Post entitled, How To Think. In it, Health talks about a high school teacher he once had named Mr. Harrison. Mr. Harrison was politically conservative and a devout Christian, while Heath was a gay teenager who was reading the The Gnostic Gospels
Photo: Capture Queen ™
But instead of pushing a particular agenda, this teacher was doing what all teachers should do: showing kids how to think critically, and then make up their own mind.
For example, Harrison was supportive of Heath and other students as they wrote letters to the school board opposing the banning of certain books, even though Harrison didn’t approve of some of the books in question.
To think critically, we must see and hear both sides of the story, and come up with our own truth. This truth may not coincide with the truth of the person next to you, but hopefully in the process, you’ll come to understand, at a least a bit, where they are coming from.
Blogger Munz spends this whole post trying to convince us of Van Jones “socialist” and “communist” roots, which are just so anti-American. I certainly have quite a bit to say about this, having worked in the same social justice circles as Jones. But instead, I’ll just ask, so what?
How many openly racist, sexist, and/or classist conservatives have held office over the years, and are those things that the US was supposedly founded on? No. Can these people still do their job? Probably. Because each and every one of us holds some “extreme” beliefs that other people will not agree with.
Stop Blaming, Start Listening
I’m not trying to blame only the right in America – the left is just as guilty in spouting inflammatory remarks. Same goes for either side of a belief system in just about every country in the world.
Maybe the deeper question here is why do we continue to have these snide and unapologetic discussions?
Maybe the deeper question here is why, as a world facing economic hardship, fear of persecution on just about all sides, and environmental implications that could easily mean the end for us all – really, really soon – do we continue to have these snide and unapologetic discussions in mainstream media? Why are we burning our brain cells on standing in place?
Critical thinking, and listening on ALL sides, is necessary now more than ever.
What do you think it will take to make the world move forward instead of stand still? Share your thoughts below.
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10 Comments... join the discussion!
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I would love if the far right would at least choose a better issue to get fired up about (without getting me started on the whole healthcare drama). Encouraging education? Really? I know they want Obama to look as bad as possible but I wouldn’t have even able to get mad at George W. Bush for promoting staying in school, despite not being a fan at all.
But like JoAnna, as liberal as I consider myself to be, I would love to find more middle ground. Even if the left “won” every issue, I don’t really like the idea of so many people being angry and unhappy. Freaking 2 party system.
Oy. Okay, I’m done!↵ -
Unfortunately, my solution has been to become nothing but a listener and keeping any opinions I have to myself. Certainly not the best way to affect change, but works well for the individual and “keeping the peace”.
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Education is the answer. People have to be taught how to respectfully debate one another and actually listen to what the other side is saying instead of shouting over someone, walking away, or tuning them out. They need to also learn that it’s also okay to disagree and even fight for the opposite. It’s just learning how to do these things in a responsible and thought-out way instead of in response to a knee-jerk emotional reaction. People who are easily swayed by fears and emotional manipulating by others are often used to further causes they may be only dimly aware of. Proper education of kids and lifelong self-education of adults is necessary to facilitating healthy debate, no matter what the topic.
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Nice article bringing up an important point. I think it’s one of the negatives of democracy: parties often say and do things just to win elections, rather than doing the right thing, and this means that issues just go round in circles rather than getting sorted.
If you could get a load of politicians that were trustworthy and had the best interests of the people, country and world as their first priority then that nation might get sorted.
And if you could multiply that by all the countries in the world, the world may then get sorted too!
You would also avoid months of false promises before elections then too!!
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Your final question, Christine, reveals a lot about your politics. “What do you think it will take to make the world move forward instead of stand still?” Silly girl. The world IS moving forward, though it’s apparent from your essay that you’re after certain outcomes…the ones supported by the current administration, it would seem. Whatever. But if today’s voices are loud and strident and at times “disrespectful” — well, there’s a lot at stake and it’s foolish and tragically short sighted of you to think that we should be walking hand-in-hand into the future singing “Kumbaya.”
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Ann, you say it is moving forward, but you don’t say how. Me, I see tax payers money wasted as politicians on both sides “debate” healthcare, how much the environment can be ripped to shreds, where we will cap the large bonuses of the execs that got us into a financial quagmire in the first place (oh, only $2 million now? I feel so sorry for them), all while these politicians pockets are lined by the companies for which they “debate”.
I have no problem with my politics being clear, but hardly consider myself “silly.” The Supreme Court is *this* close to overturning 100 years of campaign finance protection, ones in which politicians have to disclose where their money came from. So then which industry they are fighting for will only be obvious by their loud shrills.
So, maybe you’re correct, I was *silly* to think we are standing still, when in fact, we are moving backwards.
Thanks for your comment, which obviously shows which “side” you support.
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O.K.! Enough sarcasm and poking at each other’s politics! Let me clear this up: when I said that the world is indeed moving forward (and not standing still), I meant it in a cosmic, “que sura, sura” sort of way. Discussion, debate — even the disrespectful voices and behavior — propels us along the path to where we’re heading. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not condoning that behavior — I think it would be great if we all put on our big boy pants and behaved ethically and with some measure of empathy for others — but just because we haven’t reached our destination or “final outcome” (is there ever such a thing?) doesn’t mean we’re not moving closer to it. Think of it as an evolution, not a revolution.
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All government action–even a seemingly innocent speech about staying in school–ultimately involves aggressive violence.
“Every Communist must grasp the truth, ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.’” — Mao Zedong
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” — George Washington
Political discourse will never be tame because some people will benefit from certain government actions, while others will be disadvantaged by those same actions. The brutality of the state can not be reconciled by polite conversation, nor should it be. Let those who fear victimization at the hands of the state scream brazenly.
In the case of Obama’s education speech, one could easily argue that Obama is supporting mandatory education (If you disobey the mandate, your parents will be beaten by the police and imprisoned, and you’ll be sent to a government-approved foster home.), federal involvement in education (which has no Constitutional basis), and encouraging the public education system (which gives the state an opportunity to brainwash children into supporting the state’s actions for the rest of their lives. Why do you think so few Americans put up any meaningful resistance to Obama’s merciless slaughter of innocent, poverty-stricken brown people in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere?)
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Right, because Obama was the one who started the whole thing. Ever run a war? Try figuring out the logistics of withdrawing from those countries without leaving them some sort of internal support and then judge the president.
Are you serious? you really think he was advocating “mandatory education”? Wow. you’re one paranoid guy. I guess you’d rather the poor kids stay stupid.
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