Editor’s note: This commentary is by Joe Randazzo, of South Burlington, who is a writer and a former case resolution specialist for ICE.
Polarization has divided this country and brought us to a dangerous precipice. There are now two groups of people. One group is standing on one side of a grand canyon, and the other group the opposite side.
The philosophical chasm is that wide. And yet, if we are to succeed as a people we must attempt to cultivate a common ethos. I know it seems bloody impossible. We can’t incorporate racism, acceptance of firearm violence, and ignoring environmental destruction into our version of the national ethos no matter how much we want reconciliation.
So where is the common ground on which to build? We are a nation of immigrants with wildly different backgrounds. We each bring a different dish to the party. My family brings pizza and spaghetti, others bring tacos, bagels, soda bread, chow mein or couscous. We are all sitting down at the same table and America is a banquet. Our diversity is EVERYTHING.
The only way for people to build a bridge is to acknowledge our differences and cast aside all the ridiculous missives, falsified information on the right or the left, and outright lies by people who should know better.
Fear is a dangerous motivator. Speaking personally, whenever I am angry or in a rage, I stop and think about what I am afraid of. It works nearly every time. For me anger = fear.
So to turn this around, we have to acknowledge our universal fears. Whether we live on the north or south side of the canyon, or the right or left side of the street, many of our fears and our wants are exactly the same.
On the most basic level:
- Do you want your children to be happy and have a good education?
- Do you want your family to have adequate health care?
- Do you want to have clean water to drink?
- Do you want to breathe clean air?
- Do you want to have a decent job so you and your family can live comfortably?
- Do you want to live in a society that is free from violence and drug addiction?
- Do you want your country to be respected and admired throughout the world?
I think it’s safe to say that no matter what a person’s politics, he/she would agree on these seven wants. Since that is a good starting point, then it’s time to break each point down further to get to discover where there is disagreement, because there will be differences on how to get there. I’ve found that when people actually stop to think about an issue, rather than spouting a knee-jerk response just because it’s liberal or conservative, so much more can be accomplished. There is bedrock wisdom in Middle America if we are open to hearing it.
It is just as easy to discover common ground as it is to cultivate discord. Unless we build a bridge across that canyon, we will not survive as a nation.
