It’s difficult what some people propose. Many people throughout America just wonder what they’ve been arguing about for years. These are the rules that have led our nation through difficult decisions. Ultimately, mistakes were made and we moved on as a nation together.
Yes, sometimes to make more mistakes. We want to do better. We aren’t perfect. No one is. Our spirit remains to always get back out there and strive to do better, build better, feel better. It’s why American’s yearn to be free from this pandemic. They can’t be held back.
The people that want to force this change upon some archaic rules are only thinking about this moment. And, maybe, a few moments from the last few years. They aren’t really considering any of the moments that we have to survive together after this. All of the moments where the people trying to protect the votes of all Americans today aren’t in control anymore.
As easy as it seems to make this change about the filibuster, it would then be as easy for Republicans to end all sorts of things with a simple majority in both the House and the Senate. And, if there were an out of touch President in the Oval Office that had no care for our children’s future or our nation’s longevity, there is only the Supreme Court left to protect our democratic republic. After the partisan squabbles that have warped the judiciary, even that has lost some of its luster.
We may not know what is capable of happening by actual legislation, executive order or judicial decision. We know that some people don’t always care about the consequences of their words let alone their actions. I just don’t think we should be the one’s that let loose these awful demons, and all of our worst impulses, upon us now and later.
I have seen it happen. People I know died because of the cavalier decisions Republicans made when they took complete control over a state legislature. The new Governor was as right wing and socially conservative as he was fringe. He would later become Trump’s running mate.
And, the fears and anxieties Pence helped fuel for decades later came to the Capitol to kill him because even he wasn’t fringe enough to throw away our entire democratic republic for a dangerous fool with his own fingerprints on the gavel.
Sometimes, we don’t get our way in a democracy. That is a fundamental part of what makes democracy function. We are not a monolithic people. It is our individuality, coupled with our ability to work together, that has made America the nation it is.
I think a lot of people, and for a long time, have needed to wake up to this reality. We don’t always get our way. We shouldn’t either. It’s not how we learn and grow.
It says something about who we are as a nation today, however, and how far apart we have allowed ourselves to believe we are from one another, that instead of ever even attempting a conversation, instead of even truly listening to someone that may have a different view, we, regardless of who is in power or who we want to be in power, would do little to nothing to further our own awareness.
Usually, we seek to further our confidence in our own belief as opposed to become more aware. It’s why in more divisive and difficult times it is easier to define those divisions than it is to share in our joys and our losses.
We should not deepen our divisions, or allow ourselves to be divided so easily, by our enemies and from within too.
We don’t give up on defending our nation from any threat. We don’t forget the oaths that we have taken. We should not give up on one another either.
It certainly felt like the Democratic Party gave up on rural America long ago. If they had never stopped fighting, learning, and challenging the failing status quo, the Republicans would probably have had to become a better political party along the way. Certainly better than the one who established these policies that have obviously failed us all but are just too easy to repeat to overworked people who just want someone to improve their lives without threatening their livelihoods.
I do believe all politicians would prefer to just have it their way and anyone who disagrees just get out of their way. They believe they’re trying to help you. They just don’t want to hear anything you have to say about it.
That isn’t the American style of politician we need. We need people that are going to listen, find ways we can work together, be honest about what needs to improve, and that no one has all the answers.
America has thrived because we change. We evolve. We adapt. We are a melting pot of ideas as much as we are people.
We should honor that history and heritage. And, even though the worst impulses of some of us may be knocking at the door, we can lead with what is far stronger—America’s promise, her dream, and all her people.
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