Introduction

Don’t blame the other party, whether we are using the word party to mean political party, or simply another entity, like another person. The responsibility is always with us, never “them.”

That’s the subject of today’s 10-minute podcast.

Continuing

Let’s begin today’s discussion with a couple of don’ts:

Don’t blame the other political party. If you want to make progress, and don’t we all, make your party into what the country needs. Criticizing the other party will result only in them criticizing you and your party. This shouting contest will get louder and louder, and nothing will improve save the volume and intensity of the mutual accusations.

Don’t blame the other person, whoever they may be. Be 100% responsible for what goes on between you two. Or for what happens in a group that you are in. When the others do the same thing, and they should, good stuff will happen.

What we see and hear all of the time, on the radio, TV, social media and just about everywhere, is a constant flow, a flood to the point of being a tirade, of criticism of the “other party.”  With Democrats and Republicans, the other party is obvious. With most of the media, the other party is the Republicans. Most radio talk shows see Democrats as the other party. As does Fox News.  

And when everyone is heavily criticizing both the policies and the people in the Republican and Democratic parties, then maybe we should believe them--about both parties. Imagine for a moment a divorced couple where you knew both of them. Now picture every conversation you have with them, post their decision to divorce, in person or electronically, being thick with criticism of the other’s thinking, behavior, personality and character. “My ex is a complete scumbag. Let me tell you what he said about me yesterday.” “She is dragging my name through the mud with all of our friends. And you would not believe what she has her lawyer is doing!” They are not only laying into someone you might like, but you are being forced to choose sides. You are put in a position where you either have to take a side, pick one friend and abandon the other, or walk away and wash your hands of both of them. That’s exactly what is happening politically, when personal attacks and scathing criticisms from both political parties are flooding our senses and numbing our brains.

We wish our battling friends would find useful and productive ways to go forward together, despite being in different homes.  Especially--especially--if they have mutual and continuing responsibilities like children. And how we would all benefit if the political parties would grow up and find useful and productive ways to go forward together, despite being in different parties, while meeting their mutual and continuing responsibility to our nation.

But we can’t expect anything of our politicians that is not true of us as citizens and voters. Remember, if we want better candidates and office holders, we need to be better citizens and voters. We can all start, individually and collectively, by refusing to participate in the mutually destructive war of words, and concentrate on making ourselves and our chosen political allies into what we believe the country needs. In other words, don’t tear down the other guy’s house; make ours into what we want. Despite what we may feel emotionally from time-to-time, tearing down someone else’s house does not make ours any better. There may be an angry, momentary pleasure that comes from having the better home, but overall the neighborhood is worse off with your home unimproved, and the other torn apart. As our country is worse off when we tear each other apart. We all lose; the country we love loses.

Build. The answer is build and improve. We can’t change or make anyone else better; we can do that only with ourselves.