To start off today, let me be frank, you may not agree with my point of view, but that is the beauty of living in a free world. We can agree to disagree. This will be the last politically bent post you see from me for a while, perhaps for three years or more. I am going to focus on my own business and my family, but before I do so, I want to cause a few people to question their own beliefs. To question what you think are the meanings of “left” and “right,” “conservative” and “liberal.” Who makes these definitions, who promotes them in the media, and what is it that we as citizens really want and need from our governments?
Living overseas, living in an interethnic and interracial family causes me to question the status quo more often than I would have expected before I made the plunge. I used to think I was well rounded and open-minded, but what I learn each year, is that although I have basic values at my core, my beliefs and my experiences are very one sided. As an American, I am continually challenged to see things in different ways. READ MORE HERE…
Once again, thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts. I wish we could sit down over a nice meal and talk for an hour or five. I have been struggling over the last few years to articulate where I’m at politically because there seems to be absolutely no room for nuance when it comes to these conversations. I think you have a rare gift in your ability to see things with both clarity and complexity. I can’t pretend to understand French or European politics very well, but I have to say I was relieved by Macron’s win mainly because of Le Pen’s parallels to Trump and my feelings on refugees and my sadness over this idea that seems to be taking hold in so many countries that retreating into homogeneity will somehow solve our problems. For those reasons, I believe if I was French I would have voted for Macron in the runoff and done so with a clear conscience just as I did vote for Clinton. That said, if Clinton had won I don’t think I personally would have felt like celebrating her win, just a relief that Trump had lost. And my goodness, voicing something like that has gotten me called a misogynist and a racist – much like you experienced yesterday. It’s annoying to be silenced and misrepresented like that. I would much rather have someone try to understand where I’m coming from and if I’m wrong help me see why. I am trying to make peace with the realization that is not the world we live in right now.
I’ll end with this. I don’t think I have your clarity, but when it comes to politics I am clear on this. I don’t care about parties or a right-left divide, labels, or anything like that. I’m hopeful that there are so many people in the U.S. who are unaffiliated or independent and I hope that turns the tide. I want leaders who care about human rights, tons of equality, people’s basic needs, protecting the vulnerable, and fostering opportunity. I want us to trade with the world fairly, stay open, and be welcoming. I want us all to avoid war whenever it is possible – and I think it’s almost always possible. I want leaders who will work for these things. In the meantime I’ll engage in political triage because I’m not ready to burn it down.