I rarely get political on the Chalkboard,
and I don't intend to start today.
Election Day is 72 days away, and something
has been bothering me.
Our political parties seem determined to
stretch themselves farther and farther toward their respective edges. Somewhere
in between are conservatives, moderates and liberals who don't recognize
themselves in all the shouting anymore.
Maybe fixing that is bigger than any one
of us.
My Oldman always told me the quiet guy in
the crowd was usually the toughest guy in the room and the smartest as well.
The
loud voices were usually mealy mouths who had never been punched in the nose or
had never come up with an original thought of their own.
That was my Oldman. A little rough around
the edges, but there was some wisdom underneath it.
Anybody can shout. Anybody can repeat
somebody else's talking points. It takes considerably more strength to listen,
think for yourself and occasionally admit the other guy might have a point. Not
everything requires an argument.
Certainly not one worth losing a
friendship over.
We have become awfully good at sorting one
another into teams. Red or blue. Right or left. Us or them, but the person
across the table is still your brother, your neighbor, your old friend, the guy
you went to school with or the woman who brought a casserole over when your
family needed one.
Politics shouldn't erase that.
So over the next 72 days, read, listen and
think for yourself. Question your own side once in a while. Decide what you
believe instead of borrowing somebody else's outrage.
Then do your talking in two quiet places. A
church pew and an election booth. Say what needs saying and pray in
the first. Cast your vote in the second.
Then walk out the door, shake somebody's
hand, buy somebody a beer, listen to some music, watch a ballgame, call an old
friend and get back to the considerably more important business of living.
The election will come and go. Our lives
won't wait for it.
So
reach for the gusto and astonishment, you gorgeous Chalkheads.
There is still plenty of both out there
for all of us…
