Our political experience has become an instance akin to everyone in the schoolyard following the bully because that’s who can make things happen, whether they’re the right things or not.  Usually he/she is interested in only what benefits themself, but occasionally will take on a larger cause (because of the personal gains in the end).  It is all about the power and the winning.  It is never about taking anyone else’s considerations into account.  It is rarely about trying to understand what others are talking about or where they’re coming from.  It is seldom about assimilating the best of all, leveraging all ideas, people, and cultures.  It is very much a me-centric perspective.  Everyone wants to jump on the bully bandwagon because they want to feel like winners.

As mature adults reflecting back on the kids in the school yard, who wants their kids to grow up like the bully who pushed their way into every victory, stepping on those around who got in the way, taking credit for everything from the sun coming up to the moon at night, and promising the stars because that’s what the playground wants to hear? More often you want your children to be founded in seeing what’s good, right, and honest in the people around them.  You want them to lead by example of strength, integrity, and following through with doing what they say they’ll do.  You want them to lead by pulling the best from everyone around them.

We, collectively, have lost our way regarding everyday statesmanship. No one gets everything they want.  We have to learn to get along and find the best in what everyone offers in order to grow stronger as a collective community.  It is not about what is black, brown, yellow, or white.  It is not about rich, richer, poor, and middle.  It is not about religion, ethnicity, background, or education.  We have lost our respect for the dignity of those around us and find it too easy to spout causal pabulum that is too much based on one single perspective to the detriment of all else.

America is great because we’ve melded ideas from everyone who comes. We listened to others because we knew that in order for our own voice to be heard, we had to respect another’s.  It did not mean we had (or have) to agree, but we need to find common fertile ground to grow as a nation.  The men and women chosen to represent us take our interests with them, respecting those interests while listening to others.  We can agree to disagree, but must still learn to find ways to move forward, raise the bar, improve the result.

We were not always right in the outcomes and were not always inclusive as needed. That can, will, and must change.  But the dialogue must continue, with both respect and candor.  We must not fall to namecalling and intimidating and shouting toward violent conclusions.  If one is a loser, we all are losers.  If one is a bigoted and mean-spirited braggart, listen to the source of that schism, but don’t put him in a position to drive that same agenda for all.  That is not who we are, that is not where we want to go, that is not what we want to become.  We are a great people because we value everyone, we place worth in everyone’s position, we share in their victories and defeats.  We are the collective of many, many, many great ideas.  Those who lead us must understand that above all else we will live or die as one.