Why the Politics of Division Cannot Unite

It is highly likely that the vast majority of people who read this are going to look at the title and have nothing more to say other than “Duuuuuuuh” but the reality remains that it is at least sixty percent of the country currently practicing the politics of division in one form or another. Personally, I think that statistic is extremely low and would likely be much higher but in order to understand that, you have to understand exactly how this country is being divided.

STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING:

THERE ARE TERMS AND COMMENTS IN THIS CONTENT THAT YOU MAY FIND OFFENSIVE … AND IF YOU DO, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO SHAKE YOUR HAND AND SAY THANK YOU!

The political left in our country has made a lifetime career out of partisan politics based on their proposition of working for “the little person” and helping out the working class. Foregoing the fact that the great depression was brought about by democrat policies in the first place, (after all, our objective here is not to divide but to inform) the welfare program was a direct result of the great depression. Never mind that it took the second World War to get us out of that depression. The welfare state had been born as a temporary measure to help those who needed it.

Now before you go thinking this is some kind of racial rant, let me remind you that I grew up in the poorest part of these Independent but United states of America in the Appalachian Mountains. Where I grew up it was full of racist bigots who were poor, dependent on the welfare programs from generation to generation and refused to do what was necessary to get off the public teat and begin making a living on their own. While it is true that some people escaped this institutionalized system of poverty, the actual numbers that did were few and far between.

While it is doubtful that the geography and the surrounding area could have been any more different, the actual societal settings were much the same as the inner cities are today with the possible exception of single-parent homes. If a family of blacks or Mexican people had tried to move in, they would surely have been the victims of very real violence and racism in very short order. Now before you go saying that this proves your point, stop and think about what Paul Harvey would call “the rest of the story”.

What happens when a white or black family moves into a poor, broken down neighborhood in East Los Angeles in the heart of little Mexico? What happens when a white or Mexican family moves into a subsidized housing complex that is primarily occupied by black people. I have done emergency response work long enough to see the results of all of this first hand. So does racism occur in our society? Of course it does but there is very little that we can do about a few ignorant souls other than try to educate them as best as we can on an individual level and not through more institutionalized madness.

Ultimately, this is why the proposed theories of the left have failed throughout history and why they will fail in the United States of America now. Well, in all fairness it is one of two reasons. But this is not so much about left and right as it is about finding a common ground. If there is no common ground to begin with, there is no basis or foundation for an actual discussion to take place. The only possible outcome is going to be a fight that solves nothing and in fact, exacerbates the situation by leaving both parties more convinced than ever that they were both correct and even less likely to openly discuss anything with one another at any later date.

On the other hand, when people look for common ground first … and I am not saying that there are not differences because there are … but when people seek out that common ground, they have somewhere that they can use as a starting point. If an attack does come from any quarter, they can stand back to back and each protect the other. If there is an opportunity that opens up to find more common ground, they can begin to move forward together. No matter what circumstances arise, there is always that common ground that will be there for each to come together with the other.

Break it down to the lowest common denominator first. We are all human. Whether you believe that we evolved from some primordial slime that moved through some phase where we were simple primates or you believe that we were created, the fact is that we are all humans no matter how we got here. As humans we all want what is best for us and the ones we love. That gives us all not only a position to work from but common ground to work for. The next obvious step would be looking for ways that we could help each other to provide better for ourselves and the ones we love.

Does that mean that we are all going to be equal and all take the same path in life? Not at all and I daresay that the world would be a pretty boring place if we were all equal in every sense of the word. For a rather broad and somewhat whimsical example, let me choose someone totally different than me and let’s look at how it may progress. On one hand you have me; white, poor,  not overly ambitious and certainly not what many people would consider to be a grand success in life but I do okay most of the time. On the other hand, we have Serena Williams. She is athletic, successful by any definition and certainly one could argue that we have vastly more differences than commonalities … so how do we look beyond the differences and find common ground?

We are both human, we already figured that part out. She is black and I am white but does that make either of us better than the other one or is it just something that is different that will make absolutely no difference when it comes to improving our situation together or in life? In case you missed it, that was rhetorical and it is irrelevant when it comes to making anything better for either of us.

She is obviously skilled athletically. I am a (somewhat) skilled writer. How can those two people be any more different? Can I get on the tennis court and play like she can? That is not likely to happen. Can she melt someone’s heart or persuade them to buy something with her prose and wordplay? I suppose it is possible but if she can it is not her strongest point or she would be doing that instead of playing tennis. So how to work that together?

What if I were to write her praises and she were to play the spectacular game of tennis that she does. Her efforts on the court would increase interest in her and my writing about her would become more popular. My writing would bring more attention to her and bring more people to watch her. You see what has just happened here? No matter what are differences may be, we have found common ground and from that little commonality that consisted of nothing more than both being human first, we built it into something that benefited both of us.

Nobody has a monopoly on this practice. People on the left and on the right, people of every race, creed and even religion if you separate that from someone’s creed are easily capable of looking at the things that are different first. Look in the mirror and what do you see? Do you see a black person or a white person? Do you see a male or a female? Now try it again and see that there is nothing more than a person looking back at you. Start with that person first and move on from there. It may take a while but it really is possible. When you have mastered that little trick with the mirror, begin trying to practice the same thing in the real world with other people.

When you look at another person what do you see? If you look up and see black, white, yellow, brown, male, female … STOP! Look at them again and realize that they are human first and foremost. Will they give you the same respect? Not all the time and not by any means but it at least gives you a place to start. If the other person cannot see beyond their prejudice, there is no common ground and there is no basis for building. If there is common ground, start with that no matter how small it is and try to use that to build up on to the next step.

What is the biggest problem with this practice other than the fact that it is not put into actual practice nearly enough? The problem is that before too long you will start living the words of Martin Luther King. Before long you may even discover that no matter what your race, creed, sex, preferences, creed, religion or anything else which has been used to divide you from “that other person” … you probably have a lot more in common than you ever dreamed possible. From there you have to be really careful or you may accidentally discover that you are becoming friends with that person you used to think was your enemy. Before long, you may actually discover that you are working together to make a better situation for everyone without taking anything from anyone.

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