Reaching Across The Aisle

Summary

The article discusses the importance of understanding and respecting different political perspectives to bridge the divide in the current polarized political climate.

Abstract

The author reflects on their personal journey from a far-left political stance to a more moderate position, highlighting the need for dialogue and mutual understanding between opposing political views. Through an encounter with political opposition during a weekend getaway, the author recognizes their own hypocrisy and the broader issue of partisan retaliation that hinders political progress. The article emphasizes the value of reaching across the aisle, finding common ground, and engaging in informed, fact-based conversations without hostility, suggesting that this approach is essential for national unity and functional governance.

Opinions

The author initially felt anger towards political opposition but later acknowledged the importance of freedom of speech and the right to hold different opinions.
The author admits to being a hypocrite, wanting rules to apply only to those with differing opinions, and calls for an end to the cycle of political retaliation.
There is a recognition that both sides of the political spectrum contribute to hypocrisy and that this needs to be addressed to move forward.
The article suggests that people from different regions and backgrounds, such as the mid-west and California, could benefit from learning from each other's experiences.
The author believes that issues like gun rights and racial safety should be considered objectively, taking into account diverse perspectives.
The author advocates for politicians to work across the aisle and for citizens to educate themselves on differing opinions to foster understanding and coexistence.
The author emphasizes the need for change in political interactions, moving away from emotional reactions and towards fact-based discussions.

Understanding different political prospectives

The political climate for the past four years has been very dividing. We have had to face that many people we consider our closest look at the world very differently… but do they?

Recently my husband and I took a weekend away, post-Biden winning the election. We were met with two booths near the ocean in Southern California. One booth was focusing on repealing Newsom as governor, and the other booth was selling Trump merchandise. I immediately felt insured with anger. My husband (a republican who did not support Trump ever) walked by and dismissed it. My pace stepped up quickly so that I would not lash out and say something horrible. Why was I so upset? They were practicing their rights to express freedom of speech. They have a right to their own opinion, just as I do, and I express mine all of the time.

Now let me take a step back to my upbringing. I grew up in Santa Cruz, California, a liberal town where patchouli oil, marijuana, and protesting were a part of my daily life. When the family was visiting in the early 1980s, my parents were very embarrassed because women were walking downtown topless in protest for women’s equality. Our family from out of state formed an opinion of Santa Cruz that day, and likely it was not a good one.

During that visit to Southern California, I realized that I was only used to seeing booths and protesting when it came to matters that were important to me. I had never in my life actually seen far-righters doing what we far-lefters did all of the time (at least in my neck of the woods). This display of angst, I started to see was a full-circle moment for me. I started to wonder, did they feel the same level of anger when they saw us far-lefters promoting petitions and protesting? When Obama shirts were being sold everywhere, were they frustrated? I never really did see Obama flags flying everywhere, or Obama face masks, however.

I would no longer consider myself a far-lefter. I actually consider myself moderate now, but in any state that went red this election, they would likely see me as a flaming liberal, is my best guess, just as I see any person flying a Trump flag as a fascist far-righter who needs to get educated (sorry, that is how I felt in that moment)

Obviously, our country is very divided at the moment, and I really hope that we can find a way to find our common ground because I truly believe we have more in common than we realize.

When Trump became President, he made a very deliberate attempt to undermine and eliminate absolutely everything that mattered to Obama’s presidential legacy. One of the first statements made by Trump's administration after Biden won was that they had to protect Trump’s legacy and not allow anything to be undone. The hypocrisy has to stop on both sides of politics.

That is what I realized that day in Southern California; I was a hypocrite. I only wanted the rules to apply to me, not someone who had a differing opinion. We can’t behave this way; we are in a battle of payback and retaliation, which is so dysfunctional that every therapist would tell us to stop behaving that way in our personal lives.

When you reach across the aisle and open your heart and mind, you might just find that you have more in common than you think with the guy on the other side of the fence. ~Kayleigh McEnany

We need to focus on what we have in common and have conversations without attacks but with trying to see the other person's perspective. I don’t know what it is like to grow up in the mid-west, it is a different world, and people in the mid-west don’t know what it is like to grow up in California…maybe we try to learn from each other?

We must have the courage to set partisanship aside and embrace the best ideas and solutions no matter which side of the aisle they come from. ~Charlie Baker

Can we agree that your right to bear arms is important to you, just as my bi-racial children being safe and not shot is important to me? We need to start looking at issues objectively, considering all, not just ourselves. No matter what side of the fence we are on, we need to demand that the politicians we elect are working with the other side of the aisle. We can’t continue to allow this huge divide to continue; the dysfunction has got to stop.

I hope that people from all political sides will spend time educating themselves on the differing opinions to see if we can better understand each other. If me, a one-time far-lefter, can co-exist, with my husband, a one-time far-righter, then more of us can as well. We have conversations based on fact, and we eliminate the emotions from the conversation, and we end up having pretty amazing conversations.

Do we want the last four years to continue to divide our family and friends, or do we want to learn the intended lessons and move forward in knowledge? One thing is for sure; we can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results; we have got to try something different.