Realizing for most of my life, I have taken our democratic form of government for granted. I have voted for Republicans and Democrats for president, some winners, some losers. I felt badly when my candidate lost, but not for too long. The reality was that who was president did not affect my family’s life too much.
I often heard that local politics affect personal lives more than national elections. Local politics can affect our neighborhoods, our schools, decisions about our towns and more. The most contentious meeting I ever attended was in the 1980s concerning a large amount of property directly across the street from our home at the time. There were a range of developers, including a group who want to make it a place for troubled youth defined by a high fence. It was contentious enough that my husband, a local attorney, ran for election and was a Genoa Township trustee for a number of years. These kinds of experiences often lead to participation in local politics.
Having a strong, democratic, free country is hard. It demands that we educate ourselves on issues and express ourselves with much forethought. Social media creates more challenges by providing anyone the ability to spew falsehoods, antagonize intentionally, and respond in ways one would never do in a public forum.
Human nature labels easily, whether it be people, political parties, religions, good or bad, right or wrong. In my career, I worked with demographic research information. The simple words came down to “like seeks out like”. Imagine looking for a neighborhood in which you want to live. Drive down the street and you see bikes and playgrounds. You are a young family and it appeals to you. Or drive down a street and you see beautifully landscaped home with a strong HOA requiring upkeep and exterior color choices. You share the same affinity for what you want your neighborhood to look like.
“Like seeks out like!” This makes us more comfortable. Right now, it is manifesting itself through politics and religion. I am in a unique situation. It is not uncommon for my Republican friends to tell me I’m a Democrat. Democrats think I’m a Republican. And neither is right. I’m a moderate who does not deal well with the fringes of either political party. I believe my opinions on the issues are in the majority.
The current environment has caused me to dig deeper into our Constitution, as well as understanding different forms of government. To get beyond the black and white, the right and wrong mentality of today, I am choosing to focus on principles and values. This involves taking a huge step back from personalities of today, whether they be politicians, influencers, podcasters and all.
As a Christian, I value kindness and helping those in need who may be very different than myself or my family. I value freedom of speech. Even speech that I strongly disagree with, or speech that angers me. I can go through the different issues of today, and I know where I stand and why.
In a successful democracy, we need to be educated and question the truth of what is said. This is not the time to repeat what we hear, but time to engage constructively, not with emojis and insults, and not by trolling people on social media.
With Russia, North Korea and China so much in the news, I believe it is a good time to contrast the freedoms we currently have with what their people experience. I have learned from someone who visits China regularly that the people who work in factories also live there for weeks or months at a time. Get home for a holiday. Doesn’t sound appealing to me. What else is there to learn? What is the difference between an American President and leaders of these countries? How do they lead and view the people who live there? Questions to educate ourselves.
Maybe it would bring us more appreciation for what we for so long have taken for granted. We have a diverse country which we at one time called a “melting pot” in positive terms. To be successful, we must let go of our fears and our emotions to stand strongly by our principles.
Nancy Johnson
Brighton
