Team Purple

The media is not the enemy. Law enforcement officers are not the enemy. Christians are not the enemy.

President Trump is also not the enemy, nor is he some special kind of brave politician fighting for America. He fights for the people who support him, not for his enemies. Biden is much the same. I have heard from Americans on all ends of the political spectrum who are plugging their noses while they fill out their ballots this election season.

While it seems that people think that 2020 is "the most consequential election of our time" as Fox News put it, I will say I don't think it's nearly as dire as we might think. Rather, I say that the direction our country takes over the next 4 years is up to us, not the president. It's time we each look at ourselves and put the lens where it belongs. Placing blame on someone else for our problems is not the answer. We are not divided because "the liberal media" says we are, but because we refuse to have difficult conversations with PEOPLE who believe differently than we. Our leaders are as much a reflection of us as we are of them.

Therefore, there is a basic principle to which I adhere- personal responsibility. I am responsible for MY OWN actions, no one else's. No one is to blame for my behavior, not the president, nor the governor, not even Tucker Carlson (or any member of the media). When we do something wrong, we must own it. And we must not be so quick to judge others who do wrong, for we are all human and prone to error. Further, we must resist the temptation of us vs. them mentality.

Many say that America was founded on Christian ideals. If so, than we should look no further than the Bible itself for direction on how to emerge from this division:

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil."

- Luke 6:35. These words we must take to heart, for this is one of the basic ideals of the Christian faith.

If the Bible isn't your choice of text, consider the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He said that oppressed people faced three choices:

"One of them is to rise up against their oppressors with physical violence and corroding hatred. But, oh, this isn't the way. For the danger and the weakness of this method is its futility. Violence creates many more social problems than it solves...."

"Another way is to acquiesce and to give in, to resign yourself to the oppression.... But that too isn't the way because non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.

"But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love. It seems to me that this is the only way as our eyes look to the future. As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and move right here. We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way."

For those of you who are thinking, "but Dr. King was religious", consider a third perspective called Humanism. The "Minimum Statement on Humanism", created in 1996 by Humanists International, reads:

"Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance that affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. Humanism stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. Humanism is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality."

In this short summary of the Amsterdam Declaration, which is the defining statement of Humanism agreed by member organizations in 1952 and revised in 2002, it appears that many humans have similar values, from Christians and others who seek a higher power for answers to atheists and others who prescribe to a more secular philosophy.

See, we're not as different as you might think. However, we seem to have let fear cloud our judgment. We are afraid that people on the opposite end of the political spectrum will strip our freedoms or disregard basic human rights.

In a Psychology Today article from September 2018, the authors refer to political survey data and assert that "by far the more potent predictor of social distance was identity-based ideology - how we identify ourselves as Democrats or liberals as opposed to Republicans or conservatives - not where we stand on the issues."

Therefore, we are not necessarily divided on issues, but rather on identity politics. I see this every day. People are so quick to lump an individual (including themselves) into Team Red or Team Blue based on his or her stance on a single issue. For example, the black and white question "are you pro-life or pro-choice?" seems to have more bearing on how we see our friends and neighbors than other broad, gray area questions such as "should women have the right to make their own healthcare decisions" or "should the government make policy that defines how and when a woman can terminate a pregnancy?" or even "how can we better support pregnant women, young mothers and struggling parents so abortion isn't the direction they feel the need to turn?"

My daughter is 16 years old. During the 2016 election and for at least two years after Trump was elected president, she was not a supporter of him. Then, several months ago, I noticed that her tone had changed. She has been an active supporter of Trump in this election, and I asked her why. She responded that she did not support Trump early on because she had heard from many people about how he was racist, had said and done bad things and was dividing our country. Then, she started to spend time with other people, particularly supporters of Trump. They shared with her how their lives were better due to Trump administration policies, and how some Obama administration policies had harmed them. Her journey is indicative of our political climate in general. It seems we are forcing people to choose a side and take issue with anyone who we think has different values than we do.

That's why I'm firmly on Team Purple. I fully commit to having the courage to talk to people who identify as both red and blue and truly hear their perspectives. In my opinion, our politicians should do the same. I believe that we must have a balance of power at all levels of government that reflects the broader perspectives of the American people. It is only when we start listening to each other and finding common ground that we can begin to narrow the great divide in America. We need to do this whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins the presidency, because no one man should be held responsible for division. All men and women should bear the burden, each individually and reflectively.

Will you join me on Team Purple?