Moving Forward

Well, it’s over. The overwhelming coverage of the 2010 Midterm Elections is finally winding down. CNN is putting away all its new toys and the pundits are cashing their very fat overtime paychecks. The hecklers on the right are reveling in their apparent victory, and the hecklers on the left are licking their wounds. What seems to be left out of the tallying of the “chicklets”is the very basic question: what happens to the Middle Class now? What happens to the 9.6% that can’t find a job? What happens to the mothers who pray their children just don’t get sick? What happens to the homeowners who are so far underwater that drowning sounds like a good thing? We can only wait and see. We can wait to see just how much “anger” can be turned into governing. We can wait to see how the Middle Class will benefit from the privatization of Social Security and the demise of Medicare the Tea Party candidates were calling for. We can wait to see if the Obama administration will continue to acquiesce too much in the name of bipartisanship to the conservative establishment that refuses to move anywhere near the center. But, we can’t wait for long. Yes, let’s hope that now that this election cycle is over, we can actually begin the real work that it will take to save the Middle Class. Let’s hope that now that the Republicans have a personal stake in the success of the country, the will begin work on the side of the American people. I know, I may be holding my breath until 2012.

Stop.Listen.Think.

Are we listening or thinking anymore? Have we turned such a deaf ear that we can no longer see the humanity in each other? How can a group of people participate in the beating of woman because of her political views? This is still the United States of America, right? By now we have all seen the video of young woman from MoveOn.org being thrown to the ground and trampled by Rand Paul supporters after a debate in Louisville, Kentucky. From the latest reports the Rand Paul campaign has distanced itself from the ring leader of the beating. Great, but my question is, where does the responsibility lay for putting this group of people in such a mind state that they would literally beat a person for disagreeing with them. This election cycle has been so riddled with hate speech and violence, that I am not really surprised that it has brought out the worst in its participants. When you can have someone like Sharron Angle call for a 2nd Amendment solution to her possible defeat, the envelope has been pushed to bursting. In the next couple of days this country is going to feel the turmoil of an election that will further divide a country already at a breaking point. We don’t have to agree, but we at least have to listen to each other. We have to meet each other with facts not anger. We need to rely on mutual respect for each other’s humanity to keep us from delving into violence. Both sides feel as though the other side is misguided, and both sides feel neglected and misunderstood. When defensive meets defensive, nothing gets done and the futures we are trying to save continue down the path of ruin. Each and every American on both sides are fighting for the future of the country, but I ask that we keep it a clean fight. So when your politician du jour releases an inflammatory statement or commercial, stop the blood rage and listen to what the person is actually saying. Finally, think: is this person really going to lead the country to a better future? That answer is for you to decide. That vote is for you to cast.