Editor’s note: This commentary is by Melinda Moulton, of Huntington, who is the CEO of Main Street Landing in Burlington.
The day that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were declared president-elect and vice president-elect, I asked my social media friends to help me understand how this nation could be so divided and how we can begin to heal and come together. I expressed my frustration that if we could not come together to fight an international pandemic with 230,000 Americans dead then what would it take: an alien invasion? I heard from over 65 people and their thoughtful analysis, perceptions, solutions, and hopes enlightened me.
Mary weighed in with “Instead of screaming liberal or conservative I think a much better discussion is going issue by issue on what your hopes and dreams are for your family, your community, your country. I think we might see a big narrowing of the gap when fear tactics are not involved.”
Robert was more pessimistic writing, “Unfortunately this election has shown that we are now two separate countries with different agendas, different world views, and even different languages.” Peter added, “I am a believer in breakdown/breakthrough theory. The essence is: if things are truly not working, eventually there will be a break down and this will result in a breakthrough i.e. a new way of thinking and a rebalancing of cultural norms and beliefs.”
Thea shared: “To bridge this divide, when two people have divergent views, if you put them in a room together, they can find commonality. When you add a mob sized group to each side, the divide widens, and no common ground is found.” Karen added: “We are witness to the beginning of the end of 4,000 years of a world operating on the values of domination, extraction, exploitation, individualism, oppression, and violence. We are at the genesis of the emerging world where love is centered, and we operate on the values of mutuality, interconnection, justice, balance, sustainability, and compassion. This is happening and those who hold power in the old world can smell the change and they are fighting tooth and nail to hold their power. We have to believe in this future, to see it clearly and to make clear-eyed choices that live into it.”
Theresa stated: “We need civics. We need people going into government, to serve. Both the right and the left have some difficult conversations ahead. Democrats failed as much as Republicans in their service to the country by being blind and deaf to the people without money or celebrity.” Gayle shared: “we need leaders who will inspire more dialogue among Americans, and more courage and compassion in our hearts.”
Tabitha posted a quote by James Baldwin. “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist”.
Rebecca who had left social media returned to offer her insights: “The differences of course have always been there. History in the making, however in an era of disinformation, social media is the gasoline pouring on the flames. It’s scary and needs to be regulated.” Diana offered a hopeful message: “I want us to heal. I know that there are good, intelligent people in both parties. We need to reach out to each other, to sit and talk about common goals, work on community projects, and try to bridge this political divide. I plan to write to Republican friends that have been off my radar for four years. I will still fight like a mad mother hen for everything I believe in, but I will look for causes where we can be more inclusive and heal the divide between blue and red. I know this must sound very simplistic, it doesn’t include the very important work of eliminating the electoral college, mandating polling places near every neighborhood, and the urgent issues of health care, black lives matter, climate change, and more, but it is a personal starting point that requires no legislation. We need small group discussions, and community projects and a discovery of common goals.”
At the end of these interactions, it became clear to me that there is a strong common thread that ties most of the respondents’ hopes together. There is a powerful desire to heal our country, connect with folks of differing views, understand the differences, and help build bridges to connect common ideals. The question will be whether we can find the way to do that. With leadership in Washington committed to healing our nation and bringing people together we stand a fighting chance. And as the citizens of the United States we need to do our part too. I believe there is the will and with the will there is a way – but it will take all of us opening up our hearts and our minds to find common ground from which to grow a more perfect union.
