An election manifesto
June 10th, 2008
This week it looks like we have our two presidential candidates, a Democrat and a Republican. So, it’s on. That makes this a perfect time to start work on a Village Square election manifesto of sorts. Just how do you participate in a spirited hard-fought race in a civil way? One that will leave America stronger than it found it? How do you fight like founding fathers? Here’s a first go at it…
Country first, party second. While it would seem to go without saying, apparently it doesn’t. We are living in a time when we must reach deep into our souls to remember that we are Americans first.
Allow facts to inform judgement, rather than judgement to cherry-pick fact. Know that the chickens of factual distortion almost always come home to roost eventually. May as well just man-up and accept what’s real right up front.
Give a hearing to both candidates. While it’s OK that your mind may be made up, your willingness to hear out each man will ultimately help us move on constructively no matter who the winner is.
Listen to whole speeches. There will be many speeches of substance in this campaign. There you will find a more cohesive picture of the breadth of the candidate than in sound bytes. Can you validly spend all that time whining if you didn’t hear all of what they had to say?
Know your source of information. Are you listening to opinion or fact, entertainment or information? There’s a big difference.
Lose the venom. Lose the venom-spewers as well, it’s a job that pays far too well these days. It wouldn’t if we didn’t listen.
Anxiously awaiting your brilliant additions…
Entry Filed under: Politics as UNusual?, Civility 101
2 Comments Add your own
1. Sharon | July 9th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Does your first manifesto bullet point exclude anyone who is not American from participation?
2. Liz | July 11th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Sharon, thanks for the wider perspective. (Actually, the reason I didn’t comment on this comment earlier is I was flying to Paris to see my sister… so it’s a good time for me to be thinking of the rest of the world out there.)
A wider view is clearly always better. Maybe we should consider “country before party” sort of metaphorical for exercising our ability to keep a wide view when seeking solutions - whether the wider view is going from party to country or country to world.
At this crossroads in America’s unique history, we’ve got to re-learn the concept that in narrowing who you talk to, who you listen to, who you think is “good” or “bad”, you are actually losing the fundamental grist of good solutions and good governance. America will be doing our part in the world community when we get back there, the first step being “physician heal thyself” across the U.S. political aisle. By reading “The Square” link on our website you can tell that my personal opinion is that we’re just temporarily off that stride, partly because of 9/11. We’ve got to get our own house in order. “The Square” is - in my opinion - a big idea far beyond the borders of the U.S. I think it’s a fundamental concept in all the world, perhaps the fundamental conversation of humanity. Pulling it off takes walking a fine line, one that America has walked through our history. For a really good conceptual basis for that fine line, I highly recommend this post on our blog and the essay hyperlinked there: http://tothevillagesquare.org/blog/2008/05/28/declaration-on-civility-and-inclusive-leadership/,
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