At times, the political system seems inhabited by 4th graders angling for playground supremacy. The children (based on maturity, not chronology) bully and name-call to establish dominance. Reflecting back on this year’s activities with our West Point class, I noticed the R identifier after our Congressman classmate’s name. What is the party designation needed post-election? Clinging to that affiliation has accentuated the ruckus pitting R’s against D’s.
“You’re a Retard!” “No, you’re a Dummy.” “Am not.” “Are too!”
Not Crips and Bloods but Republicans versus Democrats. The viciousness may be verbal, but the interactions are violent. Our country’s most significant gangs are sanctioned.
Wait—isn’t everyone is on the same team—citizens who happened to get elected? They vowed to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” They’re not members of opposing sides or enemies. While they may disagree, don’t they want what is best for US?
Between elections, party affiliation should get shelved, not emphasized. One team.
Jane, a retired Marine and former member of the United States Marine Corps band, explained the blind audition process for prospective members of the “The President’s Own.” A musician walks across a carpet so evaluators can’t distinguish gender based on stride or shoes. The instrumentalist plays from behind a screen to ensure anonymity. Initial selection is based on performance, an impartial appraisal, rather than biased judgment.
Neutral is also the standard for juries. While everyone has biases, lawyers try to pick jurors who will be fair; those willing to weigh the evidence and make a just determination. A higher purpose is at stake: the pursuit of “the best obtainable version of the truth.”* The future of the accused individual hangs in the balance. It’s a travesty if jurors make a determination of guilt or innocence before hearing the evidence. The jury listens, weighs, and judges before deciding whether the facts satisfy the elements of an offense. Skipping ahead to the verdict without deliberating on the intermediate steps is corrupt and grounds for mistrial.
When someone says something, don’t ask if it might be true. Ask what it’s true of? What does it say about what the speaker believes? Daniel Kahnemann
We expect that the President will act as a leader and role model, representing the country on the world stage and speaking to the issues important to citizens. But a president comes and goes; the Constitution remains as lodestar, the heart of what we stand for. The president is accountable. Whether actions warrant impeachment or acquittal, the process must work and reveal the truth.
Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, raising a person’s performance to a higher standard, building a personality beyond its normal limitations. Peter Drucker
Hide trappings of identity behind a screen. Decide based on actions, not affiliation or appearance. Let facts, testimony and documents speak. Members of Congress hold a position of trust as elected representatives. They must honor their oath to country and Constitution and uphold standards of fairness and forbearance.
“THESE are the times that try men’s [sic] souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated” ― Thomas Paine, The Crisis
Rise above the fray: make truth and justice the American way. May justice flourish and peace prevail. Seriously.
*Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein
© Joan S Grey, 6 DEC 19 ∞
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