Dear Sharra, One of America's First Principles is E Pluribus Unum, which means "Out of many, one." We are different cultures, ethnicities, religions, races, sexual and gender orientations and more — yet we are united by our fealty to certain common principles. And when we adhere to those principles, they unite us.
Today too many Americans have retreated into silos — my race, my religion, my sex or sexuality, my political party or views, and so forth. That is the source of our disunity; it's a perspective that focuses a lot on my or our rights, but too little on my or our responsibilities.
Stuck in our individual silos, we do not see the whole picture in America. We forget that our country belongs to all of us, both people who agree with you as well as people who do not. We forget that no one has a monopoly on the truth, and that there are high minded conservative as well as high minded liberal principles. We become fractured in our vision, and from there we cannot truly see one another or even the country itself.
One of my favorite poems is by Rumi: "Out beyond all ideas of good and bad, right and wrong, there is a field. I'll meet you there." |
One of the worst problems in America is the almost unbelievable amount of judgment, even mean-spiritedness, that dominates our public discourse today. And it's evident in little ways as well as big. At worst, we assume the worst about someone's morals or values for no other reason than that they do not agree with us about a political issue. We must evolve beyond all that, to find Rumi's "field" where people can actually meet. Only there will we be able to problem-solve in a more enlightened way.
I experience a lot running for President; I see the best in people and I see the worst. I see a lack of respect and honor in our national debate that is a poison in our body politic. It keeps the best and the brightest among us wanting nothing to do with politics, and for good reason. People who our Founders would have referred to as "scoundrels" now wield power to obstruct a most essential ingredient of democracy: our capacity to hear one another.
Running for President puts you right in the middle of all that, and it makes for an emotional roller coaster on a personal level. The experience is as mean and as corrupt as they say it is. But it leaves me with ever greater motivation to pierce the wall of obfuscation, to speak with my fellow citizens from the field that lies beyond. I know I'm not the only one who yearns for this. I see it in people who are liberal and conservative and progressive and politically agnostic, who long for a day when we are all just Americans again — when not every aspect of our identity as Americans has to be preceded by a separate subgroup, political or otherwise.
We can join in that place, where policy is debated but people are honored. Where systems are criticized but people are respected. And it is the only place where we can join. This repair of our hearts is essential if we're to find a way to repair our country.
All of us are keepers of a flame, stewards of our democracy and responsible for its well-being and furtherance. Let's think not only of ourselves, but of the state of our country. We are needed at this time, challenged by history to show up at this time as nothing less than our better selves. |
I hope that this campaign inspires you to try. |
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