We’re all Americans. Let’s be civil, please.
I have a confession to make: I am not a racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, puppy-hating, throwgrandma-off-the-cliff Nazi. I have another confession to make: I am a proud, unabashed, card-carrying member of the Republican Party.
To some people out there, these may seem as one and the same. The assumption is that I start out as all of these horrible things unless and until I prove beyond a moving standard that I am not.
At no time in my life have we been so divided as a nation. Civil discourse is dead. We vilify those who disagree with us, and we associate only with those who are like-minded. We watch increasingly polarizing news as it reinforces our preconceptions.
When Barack Obama was in office, Republicans acted as obstructionists. They wouldn’t work with him, and it was wrong. Now that Donald Trump is president, Democrats are apoplectic. It has gone beyond just being obstructionist to overt, seething hatred.
What kind of leadership are we seeing when a congresswoman advocates for harassment of political opponents? The party of tolerance and acceptance can now be summed up in one image, that of a comedian holding the severed head of the U.S. president. I didn’t agree with many of President Obama’s policies, but at no time would I ever say he was “not my president.”
I come from a mixed family. That’s right. We have both Democrats and Republicans in our family. When I look at my brother I don’t view him as the family liberal, but rather as a good father and loving husband. Likewise, he does not see me as a “deplorable,” but rather as a hard worker and family man myself. My parents actually cancel out each others’ votes each year, but they are still very much in love. We don’t vilify each other. We love and respect each other despite our difference of opinion.
As we approach our 242nd Independence Day, let us just stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and take stock of who we are as a people. We are all Americans. Abraham Lincoln said it best: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
David Engen
Spokane, Wash.
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