Time To Recognize Who We Are; Reunite America

PoliTalker said:
The election is over.

Our nation has been torn apart by very different ideas. Not only do Americans disagree on what our government should do, we don't even agree on basic facts. That is because we now get our information from two entirely different streams of non-overlapping sources.

We are really two nations sharing one government and one land.

If that is not difficult enough, we have a lot of forces seeking to keep this division as polarized as possible, making great profits from whipping up hatred, and dehumanizing 'the other side.'

There is no pretending that we only disagree during election season and then go back to 'normal life' afterwards any more. It's like we are in constant election season and it never ends.

The best thing we can do is recognize that our fellow Americans do not share our beliefs but they do share our country.

We know that we have to live together.

The best thing we can do is to remember that we must share this country, and resign ourselves to accepting that it takes all of us to make America what it is.

Bitter hatred and disrespect is not helpful at all, accomplishes nothing, makes us dysfunctional.

We have big enough differences without adding hatred on top of everything else. We have to try to rise above that.

Our challenge is rediscover respect for one another.

If America is really great then part of that has to mean we respect all Americans. A hateful and bitterly divided nation cannot be great.

David Brooks:

"Well, if ever there was a campaign that was going to be a blowout, I thought this was it. I thought we had an unpopular president that people were ready to get rid of. I expected a large margin. And I was wrong. It's a 2.8 percentage margin nationally.

And so I think what we have learned is that we a very evenly divided nation, two groups of people in non-overlapping universes. For a time, it seemed — and I think people in both camps thought, well, the people on my team could eventually crush the people on the other team, and my team will get to rule.

I think we now have to face reality. That's just never going to happen. The other side is never going to go away. And we have got to find a way to live with each other.

And so, to me, that's the biggest takeaway of where we are right now."

That's the tone of this excellent discussion of where we stand as a nation:

Shields and Brooks on PBS Newshour
Click to expand...

I wont settle with living with racist whites THEY ARE THE PROBLEM......blaming both sides and offering them a seat at the table makes it worse........hold racist whites accoubtable and this country will see real change.
 
Great thread.

We have to stop treating politics as a game. Reagan worked with Democrats to accomplish great things. So did Clinton.

It's only in the new millenium that obstruction became a strategy, and that the parties became this polarized. We need to unite & move forward in a positive way, if we're to survive.
 
BartenderElite said:
Great thread.

We have to stop treating politics as a game. Reagan worked with Democrats to accomplish great things. So did Clinton.

It's only in the new millenium that obstruction became a strategy, and that the parties became this polarized. We need to unite & move forward in a positive way, if we're to survive.
Click to expand...

Newt Gingrich did America a great disservice with his no-compromises stance. That foolishness has hurt us tremendously, and continues to this day.

There has to be compromise.

A lot of people need to compromise their own feelings and learn some respect for others.

The dehumanization of 'the other side' must end.

We all have a right to be here and to voice our views.

Americans have a shared future together. We need to remember what we have in common. Our Constitution serves us all. We all salute the same flag. We are all protected by the same military.

We all have an interest in creating a productive America with well-paying jobs and dignity for all.
 
Let's try in a couple weeks. These low IQ cultists are smarting too much to accept our gracious olive branch to include these disgusting
subhumans in our government. They didn't include us in theirs, but we are bigger than they are. Superior even.

So let's allow the deplorables to lick their wounds and revisit the offer later.
 
Margot Michaels said:
It's over they just called it for Biden in Pennsylvania
Click to expand...

HAH! The media declares it???? It's up to the courts now, election officials.
Why do you think both Biden & Trump were well-armed with lawyers ahead of time?
Nothing's final yet.

Just need every legal vote counted while under observation of both parties as
the courts commanded. Follow the rules. Pretty simple.

All of a sudden the left is not in favor of every legal vote being counted.
We had to wait for 37 days after the Gore business...and that was just in 1 state.
We have a ways to go here.
 
I wish that I could find one reason to share my friend PoliTalker's optimism.
I see nothing but two incompatible nations trying with zero success to share the same borders and government.
I'm reminded of the old trope about people expecting a different result from doing the same thing.

Just outside of my door, I see people flipping their middle fingers and straining against the precipice of physical violence.
Only my seventy-four years keep me from going out there and choosing sides like I've done for my whole life.
I still might, truth be told.

If I'm wrong, if I see the realistically impossible manifestations of attempts to unify, I will admit that I'm wrong.
I can't tell you how many times that I've wished that I was wrong.
It's my curse to almost always be right about these things.
It's a very, very long track record at this point.
 
Hello Micawber,

Micawber said:
Let's try in a couple weeks. These low IQ cultists are smarting too much to accept our gracious olive branch to include these disgusting
subhumans in our government. They didn't include us in theirs, but we are bigger than they are. Superior even.

So let's allow the deplorables to lick their wounds and revisit the offer later.
Click to expand...

Name-calling is not exactly offering an olive-branch.

No doubt any overtures will be rejected by those who would now be determined to prevent any progress in order to make Biden look bad, but there are a lot of Republicans who love America more than their party. That is where we need to begin.

There are people who voted for Trump, but they will accept Biden as president if he won fair and square.

People are tired of the campaigning. They want to move past that and they want America to thrive.
 
Republicans won't have to change anything we're doing now....but will Democrats Finally be able to get over the 4 plus years of whining and hating...and get back to focusing on their families, communities, and country?
 
I'm sorry Trump lost, Republicans, but hey. You retain the Senate and made gains in the House.

No sweeping Democratic legislation.

It's a win/win for America.
 
PoliTalker said:
I'm sorry Trump lost, Republicans, but hey. You retain the Senate and made gains in the House.

No sweeping Democratic legislation.

It's a win/win for America.
Click to expand...

Gridlock is Win / Win for America?
I'm contributing money to TWO Georgia runoffs, PoliTalker, and you should too.
Your "win/win" is a big "lose/lose" from where I sit.
Kamala as vote #51 is the only remote chance for a win / win.

Otherwise, Biden won't get a single cabinet appointee confirmed. Not one.
Be more aware of the McConnell lizard brain.
 
Hello NiftyNiblick,

NiftyNiblick said:
Gridlock is Win / Win for America?
I'm contributing money to TWO Georgia runoffs, PoliTalker, and you should too.
Your "win/win" is a big "lose/lose" from where I sit.
Kamala as vote #51 is the only remote chance for a win / win.

Otherwise, Biden won't get a single cabinet appointee confirmed. Not one.
Be more aware of the McConnell lizard brain.
Click to expand...

We on the left are not the only America. We have to get that. Failure to recognize that has hurt us.

McConnell knows he has to approve a reasonable cabinet if he expects to have a working relationship with Biden. Sure, Bernie is not going to be on the cabinet, but there are more moderate choices that will pass muster. McConnell no longer has to listen to Trump or do his bidding. Trump's power-hold just vanished. He is now lame duck.
 
HAH! The media declares it???? It's up to the courts now, election officials.
Why do you think both Biden & Trump were well-armed with lawyers ahead of time?
Nothing's final yet.

Just need every legal vote counted while under observation of both parties as
the courts commanded. Follow the rules. Pretty simple.

.....magically 800,000 extra ballots were produced AFTER the 3rd..........
alllllllllll were mail-in...by the Dems...imagine that. :thinking:

All of a sudden the left is not in favor of every legal vote being counted.
We had to wait for 37 days after the Gore business...and that was just in 1 state.
We have a ways to go here. Have a beer and chill out for a few weeks.
 
PoliTalker said:
Hello NiftyNiblick,



We on the left are not the only America. We have to get that. Failure to recognize that has hurt us.

McConnell knows he has to approve a reasonable cabinet if he expects to have a working relationship with Biden. Sure, Bernie is not going to be on the cabinet, but there are more moderate choices that will pass muster. McConnell no longer has to listen to Trump or do his bidding. Trump's power-hold just vanished. He is now lame duck.
Click to expand...

I hope Biden is as successful governing as we are at finding areas of profound disagreement, PoliTalker.

You're right about we on the left not being America, though.
We on the left are one of two incompatible Americas trying unsuccessfully to live with the same borders and government.
If only that were what you meant, we'd be on the same page!
 
Hello NiftyNiblick,

NiftyNiblick said:
I hope Biden is as successful governing as we are at finding areas of profound disagreement, PoliTalker.

You're right about we on the left not being America, though.
We on the left are one of two incompatible Americas trying unsuccessfully to live with the same borders and government.
If only that were what you meant, we'd be on the same page!
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Seems impossible but we have to find a way to coexist.
 
Anybody who has a few minutes would enjoy listening to the discussion linked on the OP.

The left has to get it that the right is here and not going away.

Here is Mark Shields:

"Divided country, Judy.

But if you look at it in historical perspective, in the last century, only three presidential challengers, nominees have defeated an elected president seeking reelection. And it's a pretty impressive group, if you think about it. It was Franklin Roosevelt, it was Ronald Reagan, and it was Bill Clinton, all of whom were at least two-term presidents. One was a four-term president, and I think history would say successful presidents.

So, Joe Biden joins a pretty awesome group of people. He will end up, in my judgment, with a 52-47 popular vote percentage, decisively, and decisively in the Electoral College.

David's right. It was close. We are divided.

What surprised me, as much as anything, was the loyalty and the enthusiasm of Donald Trump's constituency. They turned out in surprisingly impressive numbers. And Donald Trump, if he got over his hissy fits and sort of the silly actions since the election, could take credit for the Republicans picking up House seats in 2020 and retaining their majority in the Senate.

With the exception of Susan Collins, every other Republican Senate candidate who won, won with Donald Trump. Susan Collins had a 17-point split in Maine. That was the only ticket-splitting state in the country."

Click the OP link.

You can watch the vid or read the transcript.

Great discussion.
 
Trump could claim victory about increasing the number of Republicans in the House, but he is too self-absorbed to care about that.

Great point, Mark Shields.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top