United We Stand, Divided We Fall
It’s We the People, not We the (insert party name here)
Imagine two eight-year-olds playing on a playground. Then the two have a dispute. Let’s say an argument over who gets the ball. One pushes the other. The other wrestles the first one to the ground. They kick and punch each other, and then a teacher comes to the rescue. She pulls them apart and marches them to the principal’s office. They receive all manner of lecturing and punishment. Parents are called, detention, restriction of privileges, etc. And we tell them, “This is not how we solve our problems. We don’t fight each other; we talk things out.”
What we don’t say to them is, “As you grow up you will see grown-ups making many mistakes. They won’t always get it right, but they will strive to be good people. They will strive to do the right thing and not resort to name calling or fighting over their differences. And that’s what you must strive for — to be the very best versions of yourselves.”
We don’t say that, because we don’t do it.
Collectively . . . as a society . . . as a culture . . . by demonstration . . . we are not striving, we are descending when we give way to division and polarization.
We have forgotten the axiom, passed down through the generations, in fables and stories, from…
