Events like Sandy bring everyone together - even in the middle of a nasty election. There has been a lot of talk this week about Governor Christie, the keynote speaker at the RNC, putting aside partisan politics to speak honestly about his thoughts on President Obama’s leadership during the storm. To me, it’s sad that it truly is newsworthy that a Republican governor put his constituents, his job & his state before bashing our President - and it’s downright pathetic that some people are actually bashing Christie for doing it.
It doesn't have to be this way. We don’t have to only come together as a nation when something bad happens. We really can work together all the time. Politics is not a sport. The political parties are not opposing teams. Like it or not, Americans are all on one team - supposedly working toward the same goals; simply checking & balancing each other. If you are someone who votes for either candidate simply because you want the other side to fail, you are rooting for America to fail. If you believe that America can truly succeed when half of its citizens - including the leadership of the opposing party - are actively encouraging the failure of the President, you haven’t taken the time to understand how our democracy works. Imagine a basketball player blocking his own team’s shots because he didn’t like the way his point guard played the game. Imagine a centerfielder who refused to make catches so his pitcher would struggle - and then bashed the pitcher for failing to get the win. In sports it’s a laughable and ridiculous notion to think that would lead to team success. Yet somehow when it comes to government, many, many people are all for this approach.
So here is my humble plea to America: Stop hating people just because you disagree with them and realize that those disagreements are the very reason this country exists. The founding fathers envisioned having one place on earth where everyone gets to be exactly who they want to be and believe exactly what they want to believe and no one can tell them they can’t. That's what America is about. And it will never prosper when either party is solely focused on bragging rights. Unlike sports, government actually affects the quality of our everyday lives in this country.
It doesn't have to be this way. We don’t have to only come together as a nation when something bad happens. We really can work together all the time. Politics is not a sport. The political parties are not opposing teams. Like it or not, Americans are all on one team - supposedly working toward the same goals; simply checking & balancing each other. If you are someone who votes for either candidate simply because you want the other side to fail, you are rooting for America to fail. If you believe that America can truly succeed when half of its citizens - including the leadership of the opposing party - are actively encouraging the failure of the President, you haven’t taken the time to understand how our democracy works. Imagine a basketball player blocking his own team’s shots because he didn’t like the way his point guard played the game. Imagine a centerfielder who refused to make catches so his pitcher would struggle - and then bashed the pitcher for failing to get the win. In sports it’s a laughable and ridiculous notion to think that would lead to team success. Yet somehow when it comes to government, many, many people are all for this approach.
So here is my humble plea to America: Stop hating people just because you disagree with them and realize that those disagreements are the very reason this country exists. The founding fathers envisioned having one place on earth where everyone gets to be exactly who they want to be and believe exactly what they want to believe and no one can tell them they can’t. That's what America is about. And it will never prosper when either party is solely focused on bragging rights. Unlike sports, government actually affects the quality of our everyday lives in this country.
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