Could We All Give Up On This Idea Now?

Different people, different organizations, all with the same idea, the same "solution."

Maybe we all should try a new strategy.

One of America's and Americans' big obstacles to solutions

We need, if anything, to come together, as Americans, talk our problems out, not demonize one another and solve the nation's' problems.

Duh.

We used to do this.

Apparently we need more of an outside "enemy", real or imagined, so we can do so.

We ought to be smarter than that.

On us, political parties and solutions

It seems we, as people of our towns, cities, counties, states and the country, ought to all focus far less on ourselves as parts of political groups--individuals in political parties--and far more as members of those same political areas.

Instead of being members of the Democratic or Republican or Independent or Libertarian Party or whatever and thereby point out our differences from one another, we ought to emphasize these things we have in common. That is, we should recognize and emphasize that we live in this area--whichever one we're emphasizing right that minute--and so, try to address those problems or issues.

Ever since the Soviet Union--our old, common "enemy"--fell apart, it feels as though we've chosen one another to go against.

It's me against you. It's Republican against Democrat. It's rich against poor. It's corporate America vs. the workers and/or Unions.

Not only that but we've further fragmented so we've become Christians vs. Mormons and Jews. We've become "straight" vs. gay and on and on.

It's crazy.

It's no way to live.

And it's no way to get to solutions.

Why can't we work together?

Why can't we all be Americans, first, last and foremost?

Whatever happened to that idea?

Can't we work together?

We share problems, whether they're sewers or highways or schools or guns or whatever.

Can't we share solutions?

As has been said so many times it's now a cliche'--"Can't we all just get along?"

What needs to be expected of us

It seems so many people have all these opinions about what we should and shouldn't be doing, regarding our economy and our economic and financial situation, for the country and the world.

There's no shortage of opinions in normal times, of course, but when it's extraordinary times like these, well, the opinions flow. Some good, even. Lots of bad ones.

What we need to do, what needs to be expected of us, all of us, is that we

--stay calm,

--search for good sources of non-partisan information (think NPR and PBS),

--hold on to reason and logic,

--fight letting our emotions take over,

--avoid thinking of situations as "me" or "us" vs. "them",

--look for solutions to problems and not focus on just the outcome(s) of any current bad situation,

--be realistic

--push ourselves to think of solutions we can possibly offer other people,

--avoid demagogues of any political stripe and their emotional calls or out-and-out tirades to act out or think in certain ways,


Knowledge, information and logic will help us.

Yelling about things and getting and keeping emotional helps nothing.

Hating others is ugly, pointless and, in fact, only creates more problems.

So Rick Santelli-type rages on the trading floor of Wall Street helps nothing.

Daily rants from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Larry Kudlow types is just irresponsible and only creates interference and roadblocks to solutions. It only clouds people's thinking and creates more problems.

What we need to do, folks, ultimately, besides this listed above, is work together. We need to talk to one another. We need to understand our mutual problems and situations and then work together to common, shared solutions.

And we can't get that without talking to and understanding one another and then working together.

That goes for both houses of Congress, all political parties, and all of us "common people" on the street.