The best conversations with someone of opposing views begin with the discovery that there might be some areas of agreement. For instance, we might all agree that political ads painting your opponent as the devil incarnate don't garner many votes. These ads do more to demean the candidate who campaigns on their opponent's alleged faults rather than their own strengths.
We might also agree that the Biden Harris ticket and what it stands for is the polar opposite of the Trump Pence ticket. We can also most likely agree that any more debates will shed no illumination on the candidates and be thankful that the final two debates have been called off.
So, maybe these agreements can form the basis for a conversation that doesn't expect to change your mind - just to give you something to think about before you vote. Following are some characteristics that this columnist thinks are important for the President of the United States and the leader of the free world to demonstrate:
- Trustworthiness
is critical. What is the ratio of truth to
outright lies, distortions, political hyperbole or just plain gaffes?
Reviewing the past four years, there is one candidate who has a
demonstrable record-breaking track record of excuses, blaming others and
distortions of the truth. When caught, we hear about fake news or walking
something back or it was just a joke. This criterion is pretty easy to
judge.
- Developing
a great leadership team. Expertise that is
listened to, people of integrity, people that our allies respect and our
enemies fear, people who are not afraid to tell the President that he is
wrong and people that are loyal because the loyalty has been earned are all
characteristics of the leadership team we should expect. The group
surrounding the White House incumbent has come and gone voluntarily, been
fired or indicted and convicted. Hardly the team that should be continued
for a second term.
- The
ability to respect expertise and develop policy based on scientifically
proven facts. For those of us with friends and
families that have had their loved ones die , who are experiencing the
economic impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic or have their children and
grandchildren failing in school, the sad conclusion is that the White
House has failed to develop a national program to deal with this tragedy.
No, it is not the Chinese disease. It is the world's disease and we are
part of the world.
- Showing
empathy. Empathy means you care about
those less fortunate than yourself. This means the 30 million who remain
unemployed and may soon be evicted. This means immigrants who want to come
to this country and are willing to follow the rules. Desperate people do
desperate things. To separate them from their children is not empathy. It
is inhumane.
- Having
the foresight to recognize that we need to address climate change and sea
level rise. Consider people in California or
along the Gulf Coast. Continuing to support fossil fuel use rather than
alternate energy sources will put us behind a world that is quickly moving
away from the old technologies.
- The
ability to acknowledge the pain of others.
Calling the folks who want to find a solution to police abuse of force a
"bunch of thugs" ignores the reality of both the Black and Blue
Lives Matter movements. Branding your opponent a "socialist"
because he won't abandon the 20 million people who have taken advantage of
the Affordable Care Act does not solve the issues of improving medical
care for all our citizens and taxpayers. There are 440 people in Graham
County who would not have insurance without this program and every one of
them should beware of the White House goal of killing this benefit.
- Respect
for the voters' intelligence. Dissing a
patriot like Senator McCain because he was a prisoner of war and showing
disrespect for Gold Star families is a slap in the face to our military.
Abandoning treaties and organizations causes our allies to lose their
trust in us and our enemies take advantage. Bragging about a tax reform
package that made the rich richer and did nothing for the middle class.
Ignoring income inequality only angers the workers who see the corporate
titans become wealthy as Midas while they struggle to put food on the
table and provide a better education for their children. Paying your
fair share of taxes is not being a "sucker and a loser."
It may be "smart" but it is not right and certainly does not
earn my vote.
Many of the residents of Graham County rely on the Good Book for guidance when conflicts occur. Consider Mathew 7:15. "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Predictions of massive voter fraud, unwillingness to agree to a peaceful transition if you lose, creating distrust in wearing a mask until you get the disease, wild conspiracy theories that stoke up hate groups are all behaviors that seem to define false prophecy.
We all need to look deeply into our hearts and have a conversation with ourselves and people we respect. Are the lifelong mountain values inherited from generations past best continued by the incumbent? Was America made great again in the past four years? Should we trust the next four years to someone who has had few leadership successes and many failures? The unavoidable answer to these questions is that the risk is too great. That is why the Biden Harris ticket is the best way forward.
