The Country Of The Five Tribes

In a few days you go to the polls and vote…..and how will you vote…..why do you vote as you do?  Of course those are rhetorical questions so don’t get too excited…..

I am just trying to be a little FYI and to make my readers think before they use their vote…..

There are many Americans that have witnessed the descent of American politics into tribalism…..a political “us against them”…..

“Every difference of opinion,” Thomas Jefferson warned in his first inaugural address, “is not a difference of principle.” Speaking to his countrymen after an election every bit as bitter as the one that put Donald J. Trump in the White House, Jefferson was trying to soothe the reigning animosity between the nation’s two dominant political parties. “We are all Republicans,” he added. “We are all Federalists.”

Not anymore. In 21st century America, any notion that election results end the argument, however temporarily, is an anachronism. So, too, is the conceit that a nation this large and diverse is divided neatly along “50-50” lines, with half of America’s 253 million adults supporting Democrats, and the other half backing Republicans.

Today, slightly more than one-fourth of registered voters in the United States have political views and social attitudes placing them in the camp of the “Resistance” — to President Trump and the Trump-era Republican Party.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/10/18/five_tribes_of_american_voters_138390.html

I guess I would be either “The Resistance” or “Independent Blues”……just depends when in life you ask……

Please do your research on the issues and vote your beliefs….above all….VOTE!

What Is Democracy?

Closing Thought–31Oct18

As we approach the Mid Terms this is a great question.  There are many of us that are questioning the fact that democracy is slipping away in this country (please do not give me the republic crap for you know what I am writing about)…..

This is a good conversation that answers (tries to answer) the question presented in the title…..

With our democracy in free fall, many are terrified, but I’m convinced that there is one thing with the power to turn the tide.

And what is that?

At the risk of sounding corny, or even ridiculous, I believe the one force with the power we need now is “falling in love with democracy.”  I know love can’t be forced, but I also know that to love we must first get acquainted. So, let’s ask, What, exactly, does democracy mean to us?  Is it worthy of our devotion?

That’s the conversation I long for and offer these thoughts as an invitation.

For some, the answer’s easy: Democracy equals a market plus elections.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/10/18/what-democracy-anyway-lets-talk

If you would like to add anything to the conversation please feel free to do so……chuq