Governor Spencer Cox of Utah just gave one of the finest speeches about the call for decency, civil discourse and tolerance that I’ve heard from a politician in decades as he discussed the apprehension of Charlie Kirk’s assassin.
No matter one’s political ideology, the toxicity of the rhetoric, the encouragement to hate, the celebration of the death and the schadenfreude exhibited by politicians/ teachers/ influencers of any human being, the tolerance for crime, the focus on equity, the intolerance for ‘the other side’, the use of inflammatory language, the demonization of those with different ideas, the extreme ideologies, the victim syndrome, the go-fund me sites to support murderers, and the reckless disregard for our fellow humans as exhibited so horribly on the Charlotte train murders needs to stop.
If you can’t get over your biases enough to put aside petty grievances, make a decision to be kind, stop looking for reasons to be negative, accept that in America ‘we the people’ have the privilege to change our political class, media outlets, the politically motivated public schools, and the trajectory of our nation by taking positive steps. Find better political candidates at the grass roots for local councils, school boards, or the zoning commissions. Change the channel, look at multiple media outlets, do the research and make up your own minds. Consider that MOST social media posts or memes about ideology are wrong, heavily edited to create bias, or taken out of context.
VOTE. And then accept the outcome of the elections. The pendulum always swings back and forth.
Stop re-electing politicians that have served so long they have forgotten their duty to support constituents instead of lobbyists.
Try practing random acts of kindness and tell nobody.
Pay it forward.
Insist on local leaders taking steps to eradicate crime, incarcerate violent criminals and send the mentally ill to a mental institution where they can get treatment in safety. Set up neighborhood watch groups. Stop the groupthink.
Turn off social media. Read a book. Take a walk. Practice an attitude of gratitude.
Now, I’m stepping off my soapbox and putting my iPad away for the rest of the day.
E Pluribus Unum
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