When this is all over, and we begin the return to our national senses, and we will . . . . .
. . . . I have an image in my mind that I hope becomes reality.
I hope liberals and conservatives can continue to speak to each other and, more importantly, to LISTEN to each other.
I understand that everyone right now is RAW. Life since the Cornered Rat was inaugurated has been akin to taking a shower by standing a foot from the nozzle of a 4" fire hose. 24/7. I am as raw as anyone.
But I have hope. I never lost it. Even in the face of the Deplorables I feel hope. On the right side of the spectrum there is a colossal war just below the surface.
In Zone One there are the Deporables. Ascendant, loud, and proud. Angrily IN YOUR FACE.
Zone Two has the Republican Uber Alles contingent. This is the dumber contingent of Trumpers. They just wanna win. They don't care much about policy, but they know they don't want what liberals (writ large) want. Apart from their voting habits, this bunch is largely harmless.
Last, in Zone Three are the Never Trumpers. There are plenty of them, even if they have yet to all identify themselves. These are the thought leaders for tomorrow's Post-Trump conservatives. Older folks, like me, know this group pretty well. We had many skirmishes over the years. But now, given my own increasingly long view of the arc of modern history, I have come to believe they and we are actually not that far apart. On the fundamentals, we actually agree. Where we have debate is not the goals - goals such as national security, sound fiscal policy, safe cities, even health care - but the means by which the goals might be achieved.
Just by way of example, let's assume a guy like Steve Schmidt is your neighbor. You've always known him as a conservative. He's always known you as a liberal. Yet, today, you and he seem to be on the same side of many issues. That likely will not continue. He is, at his core, a conservative. You, at your core, are a liberal. What would be missing is the visceral hate.
The right wing war is between the Deplorable wing and the Never Trump wing. I'm betting on the Never Trumpers because they hold all the intellectually sound (yeah, I'll go there for the cheap pun) trump cards.
Way, way, waaaaay back, when it was more less safe to do so, it was not all that unusual to vote, not so much for party, but for balance. A Dem president would get a GOP governor. And vice-versa. To be sure, there were many more party voters, but it was a different time with different levels of partisanship. People didn't HATE the other team.
In my view, that was far better for the country.
I am hoping those days can return. I am hoping we can, once again, talk and listen. And work toward common goals and common solutions to common problems.
I hope I am not too old to be able to see that happen.
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