Common Ground

There are agents of chaos. To them – the true believers, the ones who have embraced hatred to the point that they wish to commit violence for no rational reason whatsoever against our fellow citizens. Stop. Think of what you are considering over these next few days. It is not hard to see on social media, I mean there are some of you who are not even bothering to cover your tracks, which in itself is a cry of desperation. The truth of the matter is none of these threats or plans that you have made need to happen. There is no sense in it.

You may be excited to be going to the “Rally for Trump” but 1 + 1 still equals 2. He lost, at this point we are looking at basic math. 60 lawsuits later – each without merit. He lost. I do not say this to gloat. It is what it is. Four years ago, the Electoral College voted him in, and he won. Four years later, the Electoral College voted him out and he lost. As I said, it is what it is. It is not the end of the world and, you never know, perhaps things will not be as bad as you expect them to be. I hope that is the case. I hope for another one of the pillars of our democracy to work as it has these past 244 years – the peaceful transfer of power.

We have consisted on a diet of lies & fantasies told by madmen and manipulators for far too long. Some of these claims have been repeated and accepted by some to the point that they are not only believed but taken to heart as gospel truth. We cannot base such serious actions, which are being discussed openly on social media, upon these delusions. We cannot. We are better than that. We must unplug from the big voice that reassures us, that keeps us warm and safe in our comfort zones – telling us what we want to hear. No, the voice must be rejected.

“What are you talking about?”

Smoke and mirrors are what I’m talking about. The illusion may be comfortable but there are two things that I challenge you to do: 1., Think for yourselves. This is not an insult – this is a calling. Voltaire said, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” We need a baseline reality that we can all work from. For that to happen we must think for ourselves. 2., Think of others. It is not all about me or you. We share a world with a great many different types of people in it. Wanting to hurt, maim, or kill others because they don’t look, worship, or vote like you or I do is not only illegal, but it is also ethically bankrupt. Doing so to any level cheapens whatever cause you believe you are fighting for. We are Americans & entertaining such plans is at its very core un-American. We are better than such things. We have more in common than we don’t. But, in order to see that, we have to consider that there are other people in this world and, thankfully, here in the United States of America it is this diversity that continues to make us all the stronger.

My girl lost and your guy won in 2016. My guy won and your guy lost in 2020. It is what it is. Society and our representative republic need come to a baseline reality – a balance that we can mutually accept as the truth. We need at least two political parties who can abide by reality. This is not an insult this is real. Denying reality only goes so far until reality doesn’t move any longer to fit our own personal narrative. Let us seek the truth together – standing on common ground. Let us work together for the betterment of all. We are all in this together, Americans – We The People of these United States. Together we can make a better world for our children and, at the end of the day, I think that is something we can both get behind – it is that common ground.

We are in this together – as we should be. Great things are possible if we realize the potential in ourselves and lift those around us to realize theirs. Hope is one of my favorite four-letter words. Let us be the people we are called to be and move into that future together – a future found on common ground.