Being American, not partisan, means being willing to consider that you (or your political party) might be wrong. It means accepting that no leader is infallible, but the best ones are humble and change course when presented with new and viable information. They lead with kind strength, a role model for the world to follow. We’ve had presidents in both parties who led this way, and we are stronger for it.
If you cannot criticize the leader of your party or take a step back to look closely at their actions, maybe you need to reevaluate.
Your party is not and should not ever be your identity, something that cannot be held up to the light for careful consideration. Your party is capable of bad decisions, even evil ones. Being critical of your own party is good, healthy, and necessary. It’s one of the ways that power is checked. Without that, power goes unchecked and becomes a dangerous thing.
We should not be cheering for our mutual destruction, but that’s what we see happening with extreme partisanship in the United States.
We don’t have to agree in order to say, “I will not work towards our mutual destruction.”
Sharon McMahon
Choosing to be American, not partisan, means not demonizing “the other side” and refusing to consider their perspectives. It means considering that perhaps you have been intentionally misled to advance the agenda of a few.
Choosing to be American, not partisan, means being willing to be educated about subjects you don’t understand instead of choosing to only listen to your partisan media sources. Perhaps you haven’t been given all of the information and need to change your stance once you have. I can assure you it is SO freeing to live this way.
I’d rather be accurate than pridefully “right,” and I definitely always want to be on the side of liberty, justice, and freedom for all.
A large part of the study of history is observing patterns to disrupt them sooner. One of the patterns we are seeing in this administration is a march toward authoritarianism. I know I may lose some of you there, and believe me, I want to be wrong. But history is proving otherwise, and we need to keep our eyes open.
I know it’s uncomfortable to learn and to challenge ideas that have become your identity. I know this first hand because I am living proof that someone can go from being extremely partisan to being nonpartisan. It has been a painful journey, but I can attest that it is FAR better to be where I am today than where I was ten years ago.
I’d rather be accurate than be pridefully uneducated.
Not being willing to consider sources from outside your party is dangerous. Willful ignorance is not bliss, though it may feel that way.
The United States should never be on the same side as dictators. The United States should never be a bully. We gained our status as a superpower partially because of how we were able to build diplomatic relations and help countries with our enormous wealth (soft power gave us our strength and trustworthiness), which ultimately benefits us, by the way. We became respected because we were often able to kindly and respectfully bring parties to the table to work out problems without war.
Look at us now.
Seeing the defense and justification of how Zelenskyy was treated last week in the Oval Office is appalling to me. I’m hearing the right-wing spin on the entire situation, and it’s evident that so many are not noticing the patterns with Putin and Trump that go back a long time. Or maybe they are choosing to look the other way.
We teach our children to not be bullies and yet celebrate the ones in the White House. We teach them to apologize and be kind, to treat others like we want to be treated…and then they see some cheering on this behavior – what are they supposed to think?
We have alienated ourselves from our allies and aligned with dictators. This is not okay. It would not be okay if the other party were in power. America should never be on the same side as Russia, China, and North Korea on the world stage.
If you read this, are angry at me, or refuse to consider that Trump is making mistakes, you are the audience I am trying to reach. I speak compassionately, with a deep desire to see our country live up to the values we claim to uphold: liberty and justice for ALL. And right now, we are failing.
Our Founders warned us against this, repeatedly. When we don’t understand the Constitution or what it means, it’s easy to disregard it and ignore the attacks on it. But someday it will be too late, the damage will be done, and we will pass this broken country to our children.
Read what George Washington had to say. Read what Alexander Hamilton and James Madison had to say. You don’t have to take my word for it – but please consider theirs.
Extreme partisanship is dangerous, and it can become a cult. Please consider what it means to be American, not partisan, because a majority of the country is hurting right now, and with that, we are hurting the world.
Even So, Joy 