I happened to come across this piece by Nicolas Carteron - https://ncarteron.medium.com/dear-america-i-miss-you-d35ed66d78d5. The article is well written and I enjoyed the read, but I do feel the need to set some things straight, as an American with a very diverse social circle and an openness to differing views. Personally, I lean politically left (though I mostly avoid involving myself in politics because it gets so nasty these days). I despise my soon to be former president, and I am very relieved to know that he will be departing the White House in just a handful of days, and taking the others that bear his name with him. That being said…
Over the last four years, America, as a country, has certainly changed. Our Supreme Court looks much different; we are perceived differently by foreign nations, allies and otherwise. The political landscape feels very hostile and divided. Along with most of the rest of the world, we have been greatly affected by the current pandemic, perhaps in a worse way because of our admittedly bungled actions and the lack of consistent response by states, cities and towns. We’re also dealing with racial issues that have again been brought to the forefront following the abuse and murder of George Floyd by a policeman while his fellow officers stood by and did nothing to prevent it. The image of America has changed and we seem to be at a fork in the road with some big choices to make, but what has not changed is the American citizen. We can express our fears about the extremism on the political right, and the equally exasperating extremism on the left, both of which make it difficult to successfully move forward as a country. But let’s not make the divide even greater by demonizing the side you are not on, especially when it is simply not true. As I mentioned, I have a diverse group of people that I spend my time around at work and play; I have close family, friends and coworkers that would definitely be considered politically far right. My far left representatives are in the form of family on the other side of the tree, former roommates, and friends. And of course, the majority are people that hold a mix of views that fall somewhere in the moderate center of the two extremes. And here is where I will cast my objections to some of the unfair assumptions and accusations leveled at Americans holding far right views, those that strongly backed Trump. They have a very different vision then I do as to what America ought to be and should stand for, but most of them are good people that help to make our society a strong one. I’m not talking about the white supremacists that naturally find the Trump brand of the Republican Party as a more viable path to get what they want (side note… white supremacists tend to share other ideals that are more closely aligned with the right, and because of this, will almost exclusively be on that side of the “fence”. This does not condemn everyone else standing on that side as racists, any more so than a group of looters condemns a BLM protest as destructive mob. Perhaps both could be more forcefully denounced and rooted out, but it’s not always easy to do so.) So, back to my point… I am not defending the racist minority of those that voted for Trump; I am defending the elderly couple down the road that want a return to our more traditional roots. The constitutionally minded individuals that feel as though their rights and freedoms are slowly dissipating, and Trump will help to restore them; the Christian husband and wife that isn’t particularly impressed with Donald’s morality, but believe that it is still the better alternative to a more progressive president. I know these people, and some of them believe in some pretty outlandish theories… conspiracies and everything in between. Mind boggling! But I will say this for most of them — they are charitable, hard working, honest, perhaps a bit misguided but if you were to break down on the side of the road, they’d be the first to stop and fix your flat for you, a total stranger to them. And though for one reason or another they may not believe systematic racism is a problem, they are not racist. Anyhow, I had the above linked article in mind when I decided to share my thoughts here, and to that I just want to say, I have never held the notion that America is the greatest country and that sort of nonsense. But the soul of America has not changed, especially due to one man. We are what we are, America has accomplished great things and awful things alike, but the USA is still the same beacon of individual liberty that we have been historically. We still have a lot of problems and injustice within our own country to fix, but our light has not gone out. Lastly, to those storming our legislative buildings and costing us taxpayer dollars… go home, you hypocrites. Don’t be sore losers.
