I am not equating people to animals, of course, but rather simply making the point that it is quite easy to become accustomed to an easier way of life, and after a while to believe that one has a right to that easier way of life. As I witnessed this happening decades ago throughout our nation, however, I came to believe that we were robbing people of their dignity and the desire to support themselves. Even though I ultimately voted for Jimmy Carter both in 1976 and 1980, my political views were gradually shifting, and by 1984, those views were much more consistent with Ronald Reagan’s and those of the Republican Party. I was particularly disenchanted with the extreme partisanship of the Democratic Party at the time, which drove me even further toward the right. Then, when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1997, I witnessed the extreme partisan politics coming from the Republican Party, which I equally detested. It was quite clear to me that both parties needed to re-examine their values, or lack thereof.
Over the years, I found that no political party really represented my views of fairness, decency, and adherence to the principles set forth by the United States Constitution in 1787. So I became a registered Independent and have remained so until this day. I hope and pray that someday politicians on both sides of the aisle will learn to work together and not see each other as mortal enemies. Working toward compromise to solutions for the common good of the people is the only way that our leaders will be able to solve the enormous problems faced by our nation.
The lives of some close friends of ours were destroyed due to lack of compromise. The husband felt that he had a special gift of singing and used a great deal of the family’s resources to pay for voice lessons. The wife was in the health-care profession and worked overtime to take care of the family needs, and she strongly disagreed with the way her husband was “squandering” the money. In his opinion, however, he was “investing” in a wonderful future. They were unable to resolve their differences, and one night I was awakened by a phone call informing me that the husband, wife, and one of their children had been killed in an accident. The wife, very distraught, had been driving very fast and had plowed the car into the back of a tractor-trailer truck, killing everyone. This needless tragedy could have been avoided if all were in a better frame of mind, willing to have some reasonable give-and-take. In the same way, many of the problems facing our nation today could be resolved if only the two sides were able to reason together and compromise when necessary.
FINGER-POINTING FUTILITY
When constructive compromise on the part of both political parties is supplanted with a winner-takes-all battle of wills, the wheels of US progress seize up. And when our leaders refer to members of the opposite party as “enemies” one minute and then proclaim how important it is to have civil discourse and cooperation the next minute, it is not hard to understand why people become hardened to anything a politician says these days. But perhaps skepticism toward our leadership suggests we are close to returning to the founders’ original intent of limited government and more local, individual responsibility. As a result, politicians would become less important to our country’s direction, government would become smaller, and people would step back into the role of taking charge of their own lives. It may seem like a pipe dream, but I truly believe it is possible.
We frequently hear it said that hatred among voters and politicians alike toward the opposite political party is worse today than it has ever been. But a careful reading of historical documents, including political commentaries and cartoons, shows that the differences between what were known as the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party were every bit as intense — if not more so — in the days of Alexander Hamilton than what we see today. Some of those philosophical differences, in fact, eventually led to the fatal duel in which Hamilton was murdered by Burr.
Because we now have twenty-four-hour news cycles and cable channels, we have constant analysis of political bickering by mostly partisan correspondents and pundits. Even if the Democrats and Republicans were not enemies, many news agencies profit from the controversy by constantly stoking the flames of disagreements. Unfortunately, Democrats and Republicans today do appear to be mortal enemies, much to the detriment of our country. The vitriol hurled across the aisle from both parties is staggering, yet they both seem totally incapable of looking in the mirror and recognizing their own hypocrisy. When the party becomes more important than principle, we are in dire straits, for it reveals that our leaders are incapable or unwilling to think critically for themselves. No two people should think exactly alike on all issues, even if they are members of the same party, because people have different experiences that have shaped their lives and their perspectives.
THE BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY
I recently attended a rather elegant dinner party in Washington, DC, and had an opportunity to speak at length with Republican Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. I told him how much I admired the fact that over the past several months he had been the object of scorn by both Democrats and Republicans because his votes are based on his principles and beliefs rather than on the party line. If everyone in the United States Senate voted that way, I believe we would all be shocked by how rational and reasonable the bills would be coming out of the congressional chambers. Unfortunately, the polarity we see in Democratic and Republican stands on issues suggests that many of our representatives have become puppets of their political party. All voters would be wise to look at their representatives’ voting records to see if they agree with their views or whether they are always consistent with the party view. If your views and their views coincide the vast majority of the time and the areas where they do not coincide are not deal breakers, then this is likely someone who represents you well. If, on the other hand, you find major disagreements with your point of view, you should do the responsible thing, which is to vote for the person who represents your views regardless of party affiliation. If we all made a concerted effort to do this, I believe we would be delighted with Congress and their actions instead of having a congressional body with an approval rating of less than 20 percent.
The strength and unity of our nation was severely threatened by secessionists in the mid-1800s, those who wanted to form the Confederate States of America in the South to maintain the practice of slavery as a way of life. Rather than allow the nation to be split and substantially weakened, a great Civil War was fought, which was extremely costly both in terms of lives and resources, but the nation was saved and the seeds of a superpower were sown. There are many who feel that our country is in as much danger of self-destruction today as we were prior to the Civil War because of the marked philosophical differences that divide us. During the Civil War, the issue at stake was slavery, whereas today the issue is personal responsibility versus governmental responsibility. Hopefully we will not have to engage in a political civil war before we achieve the kind of unity that will again bring us strength and prosperity.
There is perhaps more hope for our country than currently meets the eye. It would seem as if we are hopelessly gridlocked by Democrats and Republicans, each with very different ideas of government and its role in our lives. The ray of hope is found in the fact that there is an ever-increasing number of Independent voters who sometimes vote one way and other times vote another way, and therefore cannot be taken for granted by either party. There is also the rise of the Tea Party, which is interested in limited government according to the United States Constitution, capitalism with free enterprise, tax reform, sovereignty of the states consistent with the Constitution, border control, and fiscal responsibility. The very fact that so many people are joining the Tea Party or becoming politically Independent suggests that people are less willing to be spoon-fed by a largely biased media and are thinking for themselves again.
I believe the new Tea Party is going to be very important in deciding the future direction of our country. By its very nature, it is unlikely to ever become a well-organized political party, and it represents different things to different people
, but the one factor that brings all of its constituents together is the desire for individual freedom and less government in our lives.
NO BASIS FOR CLASS WARFARE
Having had the opportunity to experience virtually every economic class in our society firsthand, I have found very little difference between people from the lower-middle class all the way to the upper echelons of the upper class in terms of financial values and belief in a strong work ethic. Most of the rich in America do not expect special treatment, nor do they get it unless they pay handsomely for it. Our society is very egalitarian, with a kind of social mingling and camaraderie not found in other nations around the world.
I mention these values because there is really no natural basis for class warfare here in America. After all, relatively few people begrudge the wealthy of the things they have acquired honestly. Honestly is, of course, the key word there, for I also know few people of any socioeconomic status who are not outraged that so many Wall Street fat cats experienced personal financial windfalls during the financial meltdown of many financial institutions in 2008 and 2009.
There continues to be an element, primarily in the Democratic Party, however, who use such abuses of the capitalist system to constantly evoke class warfare. They know that if they can get poor people to believe that they are the ones advocating for them, and that the other party advocates only for the rich, then it is very likely that the poor will vote for them in overwhelming numbers — and, of course, there are a lot more poor people than there are rich people. By attempting to associate Americans who are well off due to their extremely hard work and honest efforts with those despicable, greedy financiers, they distort reality. For these are by no means the same kinds of people, and, in fact, the hard-working, honest rich are the primary providers of jobs that allow us to have a middle class in this country. If we demonize, persecute, and overtax such people, they will become unsure of themselves and considerably less productive, which will have a devastating impact on the general economy, both because they are not spending and because they are not creating jobs.
Class warfare is an artificial division created for political advantage, and it should be rejected outright by the American people — for we have far too many real problems to devote energy to artificial ones.
DO UNIONS TRULY UNITE OR DIVIDE?
Another growing division in our nation exists between people who are unionized and those who are not. The concept of unions is actually quite good, and they played a very important role in the industrial development of our nation. The initial idea was “strength through unity” to keep unscrupulous owners/employers from taking advantage of defenseless workers. Without them, it is unlikely that we would have ever developed a robust middle class.
As time has gone on, however, many employees who are already well protected, such as government workers, have insisted on unionizing in order to strengthen their hands during collective bargaining. Initially, this was about getting the highest possible salaries, but now collective bargaining includes tenure, vacations, class size for teachers, meals, and a host of other things that frequently are not available to the general public.
In many cases, unions have now evolved to gain unfair political advantage based on the numbers of potential votes that can be delivered and the amount of money that can be donated to political causes. Leaders of many of these unions see nothing wrong with coercing members to donate a portion of their salary for dues, which they use to create very large monetary war chests for political campaigns. They then elect politicians who are obligated to them, allowing them to further enhance their positions financially, socially, and politically. In a twist of history from unions’ original intention, sometimes the unions become the bullies against whom other people need protection. I do not believe that the average union worker grew up thinking that they should have unfair advantages over everyone else, but many union leaders try to create an entitlement mentality among their constituents. Once people get used to having certain advantages, they will fight vigorously to keep them.
Again, it is time for us as a nation to step back and ask ourselves, who is really being treated unfairly — unionized government workers or taxpayers who have to support unaffordable benefits? If we can just stop being selfish and think about “liberty and justice for all,” we will not tolerate rabble-rousers endeavoring to create a need and a well-paid position for themselves.
Having said all of that, there are businesses and industries that do try to take advantage of individual workers, and unions are very effective in those situations — but this does not mean that everyone needs a union. If physicians were unionized, it is likely that they would bargain for higher pay and fewer hours. It is unlikely that they would accept the sometimes meager reimbursements from insurance companies, and they would demand significant tort reform. I can hear the union bosses saying that those are just the things that doctors should be complaining about, and that they are foolish to allow themselves to be abused by an unfair system. I fully agree that many aspects of the medical profession are less than optimal, but we have jobs that allow us to help people and save their lives. These jobs provide a great deal of fulfillment and satisfaction, and there is no need to squeeze every drop of blood out of the proverbial turnip. If physicians join together, however, and demand job perks for us as physicians simply because we provide a unique, indispensable service, doesn’t that make us blackmailers? I am only using physicians as the example here because I am a physician, but the point is that it is rarely necessary to divide ourselves into special interest groups to gain advantages, and that much more progress can and will be made when we place our emphasis on creating opportunities for everyone as opposed to creating unfair advantages for those with the power to do so.
PROGRESS IN THE RACE AGAINST RACISM
The election of Barack Obama as the first black president in 2008 was a momentous occasion and signaled the fact that race was no longer a barrier to election to the highest office in the land. However, people still disagree about whether or not the United States remains racially divided.
Over the last two decades, I believe a great deal of progress has been made. During that time, many minorities have assumed important and very visible positions in our society and performed extremely well, eliminating anxiety on the part of the majority about their capabilities. Today one would have to live a fairly sheltered life in a highly biased community to harbor the belief that someone is inferior simply because of the color of their skin.
This does not mean that racism has disappeared completely from America, but it is gradually becoming a dinosaur in communities of educated people. I do know some who feel quite differently and think racism is alive and well. When I was a psychology major in college, one of the things I learned — which in retrospect is really only common sense — is that people tend to see what they are looking for. If you think someone likes you, you are likely to interpret their words and actions very differently than if you think they hate you. Prejudice is generally born out of ignorance and the propagation of myths; fortunately, Hollywood and the media have eliminated a great deal of misinformation about different races and nationalities.
In the national elections of 2012, we will have a wonderful opportunity to really see whether we have largely vanquished racism in America. Part of that final shift will require white America to set behind them the notion that most black candidates running for office share the same political left-wing leanings held by President Obama, and to embrace the process of scrutinizing candidates’ positions rather than simply making assumptions about them. Doing so will help confirm that the evil of racism is losing its hold in this nation once defined by it.
DO OUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS DIVIDE?
Unlike the division caused by racism, which seems to be shrinking, the division caused by religious differences seems to be intensifying, with the greatest conflict between Islam and Christianity. I was recently at a university-hosted dinner for a well-known expert on Islamic culture, a
nd I asked him if it were possible for Islam and Christianity to peacefully coexist. It was clear that the question made him very uncomfortable, but he answered it honestly and said, unfortunately, it is not possible because some Islamists believe that Christians and Jews are infidels who should either be converted or at the very least avoided. It is very important to remember, however, that there are 1.4 billion Muslims in the world and to paint them with a single philosophical brush is just as absurd as trying to characterize the diverse thinking of billions of Christians around the world.
Perhaps the real problem with Islam is its radical faction, which has grown dramatically in recent years. Large groups of Muslim youths growing up in poverty-stricken areas in the Middle East and Africa, without a great deal of exposure to other religions and cultures, become relatively easy pickings for radical Islamic terrorists. These terrorist factions extract portions of the Koran, which they distort and use to convince these energetic but misdirected young people to join the “holy jihad” and receive an everlasting reward. With more than one billion Muslims in the world, there are certainly enough radical Islamists among them to cause concern. It is the quickest expanding religion in the world, but by births not by conversions. With a number of that magnitude and the intensity of their hatred, it is easy to see how this can be an enormous problem both now and in the future. At least knowing the numbers gives us some perspective on whether this problem can be ignored or deserves our full attention and efforts to address it.
America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great Page 20