Election controversy persists this holiday season. But it is time for a lighter non-political message. That lighter non-partisan message is this: Politics can’t fix our most troubling problems.
We all sense there is a deep partisan divide in the nation like we’ve never seen. Political pundits aren’t interested in solutions. They are only interested in assigning blame. What’s worse is political opponents aren’t viewed as simply wrong or having a different opinion, they are viewed as evil.
Military doctrine recognizes a tendency to focus on the nearest target — even if that target is less important. A threat may be 100 yards away but if a new target closer arises, it gets all the attention, even if it is less of a threat.
Problems seem so big we attack each other, rather than focusing on the bigger picture or mutually beneficial solutions. It’s easier to attack the weirdos in pink hats or prolife fanatics.
From the media to internet trolls, everyone expresses constant anger. Many have much to say about ideas with which they disagree. Criticism is their product. Negatively and cruelty are their methods. The activity is narcissistic at best and counterproductive at worst. The approach brings cheers from Kool-Aid drinking supporters, converts no one and inflames many.
Just watch the news or monitor comments of articles on either side of the political spectrum. Pundits to faceless social justice keyboard warriors articulate views in a manner that would not ordinarily be tolerated by polite society. Politics is filling a void it was never intended to fill.
The result is a lack of community cohesion. Communities are less connected in meaningful ways, where people discuss things face to face, look out for our neighbors or feel they are part of something bigger that benefits society.
Don’t accept that if political acrimony suddenly disappeared it would do much more than bankrupt cable news. There is a hole in people’s lives that ridding ourselves of political strife would fail to fill. Social scientists believe cultural shifts create this hole that results in the controversial political narcissism on display.
Research suggests that hole is the loss of actual relationships during the technological age. There was a time when political conversations didn’t cause ill will because they occurred in the context of actual relationships that were more important. Today, social media isn’t all that social and media friends aren’t all that friendly.
There is a gradual collapse of institutions that provide meaningful identity to community. High school football stadiums have fewer fans, volunteer fire departments struggle for volunteers and churches have empty pews. These are institutions that provide meaningful identity and foster relationships across political boundaries. They are institutions that historian Alexis de Tocqueville called the heart and soul of America.
Our failures are not just in Washington. Our failures start with Little League and Main Street. It’s not about taxes, tweets, unpredictable presidents or who supported whom.
The problem is much deeper. Uprooting traditional institutions makes us without stable roots. Faceless internet interactions makes us less cordial. The real culprit is loss of a polite society, uprooted traditions that provide stability and all resulting in loneliness with fewer meaningful relationships to enrich our lives that are more important than politics. The culture war is real and we all are guilty to varying degrees. But all is not lost.
When early voting recently ended at the local board of elections, the activists had gone. Social justice warriors were at keyboards somewhere banging out justice and candidates drove off to meetings.
All that was left were a few tents, a handful of the usual dedicated Democrat and Republican operators and boxes of leftover campaign material. It was a small motley crew consisting of a cross section of Robeson, representing all races, genders and political persuasions. They knew each other from many hard-fought campaigns.
Slowly something happened that occurs every election, but no one notices. The tents are large and it takes a small crew to dismantle them. So quietly, without anyone really asking — the Democrats strolled over to Republican tents and Republicans strolled over to Democrat tents. They helped each other dismantle their shelters, picked up each other’s boxes and assisted opponents pack up material.
Now it sounds like a small thing. But even among opposing political operators there was a traditional sense of community. Over many campaigns they developed meaningful relationships that supersede politics.
If we could encapsulate the camaraderie and sense of community spirit that day, we have the solution to this deeper problem that uproots traditional values. The bonds of cordial interaction were strong and not frayed by ongoing political strife. Everyone could disagree politically, but hold no ill will.
Fixing what’s wrong with our nation starts with fixing our relationships on Main Street. Tocqueville defined America by our many associations. We are defined by community. But we barely recognize these associations today. The Rotary Club, the VFW and the local fire department is more representative of America than the cable news.
Our focus should be on relationships and a polite society, a return to civility. It’s not legislation we are lacking. It’s the tight bonds we create. It’s Democrats and Republicans, white, black and native American, male and female, people of all regligions, agnostics and atheists, gay and straight pushing tents together, helping each other lift their load and shaking hands afterward.
The answer is “them” must become “we.” Love and relationships must prevail. It’s OK to disagree. We just don’t have to be disagreeable.
It’s the oddity of a complex canvas of backgrounds that can disagree on much but come together to create common institutions that baffles Europeans. It is uniquely American as this common bond is freedom.
You see, at the end of the day, politics can’t solve our most troubling problems. But we can.
Merry Christmas.
