Now that we've had our election, it's time to move on. Sure the Dems are going to do some celebrating, and the Republicans are going to spend some time licking their wounds, but at some point (and we better do this real soon) we're going to have to address the big question that sits like an elephant in the room; where do we go from here?
Now, in Obama's second term, if we are going to have any success in tackling the problems we face, we are going to have to sit down, talk to each other, and find a way to work together.
I don't understand why can't Republicans and Democrats find common ground, negotiate, and work together? For instance, could liberals do away with outlawing firearms if conservatives could agree to let women make their own decisions about birth control and abortion? Can't we all agree on both sides that both of those are civil rights issues that are protected by the constitution and should be up to the individual to choose how they want to live their life? Can't the Democrats tell the anti-gun nuts to hit the road, and can't the Republicans put the anti-abortion wackos in the backseat instead of the drivers seat, and govern from the middle instead of from the extreme left or right?
Could liberals agree to not allow public unions to use money taken from the pay of it's members to fund political campaigns, if conservatives could agree corporations are not people and do not have a right to unlimited campaign donations? Could we all agree that public education is important for the prosperity of our country, and that our public education system is broken and needs to be fixed?
I think we have room to move forward together, regardless of our particular ideology.
I believe if both sides can work together in areas where they can find common ground, we can accomplish alot. If the GOP continues to dig in and not cooperate on anything, simply with the goal of not allowing Obama to come away from anything with any victories, then unfortunately, we are going to go the way of the Romans. I don't think that's going to happen. Things have looked bad before... During/just after the civil war things looked really bad, the future was in question, during/right after the great depression things were awful and the future was in question, during the 80's as/after the cold war ended, we had horrible recession, horrible budget deficits, horrible inflation and terribly high interest rates. The thing that's always worked about our country in the past was we were always able to work together, regardless of particular ideology, toward improving/strengthening the middle class, and although there always have been good times, and bad times, things progressively always got better over the long run. Today, we have a country where the corporationsts and the radical religious zealots are trying to wrestle control of our country away from it's democratic principles, and if we allow that to happen, all is lost... But if we can return to our democratic ideals of working together to promote personal liberty, creating opportunity, and building a strong middle class, we can over come this tough challenge, as well as any other that faces us. I sincerely believe that.
As dark and as forboding as things seem now, if we can try to see through the fog (even if it requires a third eye, instead of just the two we're used to using), if we can see through this darkness, there is a future on the other side of it. There is prosperity on the other side of it. The question is, will we do what it takes to get us there? I think that question will be answered by the Republican party in the weeks/months to come as we try to deal with the impending "fiscal cliff."
Put on your seatbelts, I doubt this ride will be boring.
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