Hello everyone! I told you political posts would be few and far between but this has been on my mind as of late.
We live in politically charged and polarizing time. We have a President who is not your run-of-the-mill politician and he acts like it. He even has cabinet members who are not your run-of-the-mill politicians and they act like it too. This does not surprise me but it does leave me not knowing what to think at times. We have a media on both sides driving the polarization regardless of who is telling the truth or the lack thereof. We have us, the American people, stuck in the middle.
What is the solution you may ask? I have some ideas. These may or may not be popular ideas but they are my own and I don't apologize for them. These will be frank statements. Feel free to disagree.
1) The President, whether you voted for him or not, has not been in office a month. Let's see what he can do without all the commentary and critiquing. How would you like someone to armchair-quarterback you for 4 years?
2) Make up your own mind about the man, his policies and his cabinet. Read things for yourself and not from any mainstream media, right or left. A good source to find out what they are really up to is www.whitehouse.gov. We as the American people are intelligent and have brains, let's use them.
3) And this is for President Trump and his advisors - do not engage in arguing on Twitter with the media, you are above that and so much smarter. It just encourages them and further creates the desired polarization they seek. State facts and don't get pulled into their nit-picking and name calling.
4) As a citizen, do something useful for your community, city, state and nation. Volunteer, write President Trump and his cabinet members, write the First Lady, write members of Congress, write your local leaders, get involved in civic work, charitable work or work with a local church. I tweet President Trump all the time, I am not afraid. Why should you be?
5) Purse peace and unity with others. Listen to others with concerns, they have a right to be heard and to be respected. No one has the right to hurt others or intimidate others, I don't care who's "side" you are on. We are all Americans and we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as human beings.
JFK's famous words ring in my head: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
He was right and still is - even if we don't know what to think sometimes.
Until next time,
Elizabeth