The old coot is tired of being a referee.
By Merlin Lessler
Early voting is underway! Not with ballots, but with yard
signs. Back in friendlier days, these signs were better tolerated. People even
wore pins – “I like Ike,” for example, for us old coots. They walked around
with little fear of getting a punch in the nose. A family would drive by a sign
in the neighborhood and say, “Oh look, Bill is supporting John F. Kennedy. I’m
a Nixon fan myself. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten together; we should
invite them over for a backyard picnic before the weather turns cold.”
Not anymore. “Oh look, they’re supporting “What’s-its-name.”
What idiots!” – or – “Oh look, those
morons are for Who-you-ma-call-it!” We are extremely divisive in our political
positions today. Best friends no longer speak to each other. Family members
disconnect. Thanksgiving gatherings turn into a food fight. Signs stir up the
same animosity. We should go back to the days when folks didn’t overtly discuss
religion or politics. In person, on their shirts and hats or the front lawn.
Sure, it’s a right, guaranteed by the 1st amendment, but now it’s approaching
the “yelling fire in a crowded theater” level.
We can’t look to our leaders for this guidance. We’ve got to
get the ball rolling ourselves. Calm down on Facebook, all social media. Many
of us like a little of the policies from each side; we’re middle roaders. But right
now, it’s like we’re traveling down the road in different directions; any move
to the middle causes a head on crash. Is it so hard to accept that others can have
a different position? On issues and candidates? And not think of them as idiots?
Maybe? It’s up to us to do it. We need a small child to lead us. The ones who
learn in kindergarten how to get along. Afterall, who is more important in your
life, some politician in the White house or your family, friends and neighbors?
Comments? Keep them civil; I know I stirred the pot with
this one. That’s what old coots do. Send them to mlessler7@gmail.com. Or, to the publisher
of the paper you read this in.
No comments:
Post a Comment