“People, we are not enemies. We are all on the same ship, and if it goes down, we ALL go down. So why not work together, use each other’s strengths?”
Obstructionism or Cooperation
I have been thinking about a few different issues this week, and I see the same disturbing pattern over and over. Fundamentally, there are a LOT of places where conservatives and liberals WANT the same things. Sure, there are some keystone issues where there is unlikely to be any possibility of a meeting of the minds, but there are a lot of problems where if we would just TALK TO each other with a GOAL of cooperation and collaboration, we could accomplish a great deal.
Conservatives on the other hand, generally are excellent at grasping actual reality. They can see the here and now, and are good at dealing with the immediate issues at hand, but sometimes can lack vision about where to go next. Donald Trump is, whether you like it or not, the EXACT president this country needs RIGHT NOW because we are in crisis mode.
With him at the helm and with a conservative-controlled Congress, there is hope to bail out this sinking ship before it sinks beneath the waves. But the question is, once we save the ship, where does it go? I’m not sure conservatives, in general, are effective at setting a distant course.
So, Democrats can (in some cases) set very admirable and worthwhile goals for down the road, and Republicans are excellent at putting together the nuts and bolts for how to get from point A to point B practically and realistically. Can you IMAGINE what we could accomplish if we all sat down at the table and started working cooperatively?
Instead, people would rather keep criticizing, undermining, demonizing, ridiculing, obstructing and rejecting anything positive at all from the other side rather than roll up their sleeves and work with the “enemy.” People, we are not enemies. We are all on the same ship, and if it goes down, we ALL go down. So why not work together, use each other’s strengths? Let the Republicans do what they do best and dig us out of this huge quagmire eight years of Obama put us in. And Democrats, stop the hating and obstructionism and instead come to the table and help to set the vision of where to go once we bail out the water and get this ship set right again.
A Call To End Obstructionism
Face it; you can either be part of the solution or continue to be part of the problem. I think the 2016 election results should be a harsh reality check about what happens when you insist on continuing to be part of the problem. It is time to forget this ridiculous partisan obstructionism and come help shape the future. If you carry on in this current path, it is only going to cost you MORE seats in 2018 as REAL PEOPLE in the world see things getting better with leadership willing to do the work in spite of constant criticism and obstructionism.
The time has come to either lead, follow, or get out of the way.