Sunday, November 8, 2020

“Joe [DiMaggio] Biden… a nation turns its [lonely] divided eyes to you”

We, here in the United States, are still very much a politically divided country. The close 2020 presidential election this last week has proven that out as an objective fact.

Currently, there are lots of celebrations …and… protests, and understandably so.  Both sides are experiencing their respective highs and lows. But once the emotional dust settles (hopefully by Inauguration Day), is it possible that there will be enough bipartisan compromise to move forward in any kind of positive/constructive way?  Surely there are plenty of issues we can all agree on as a society. This leads me to wonder about some things… 

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Question 1: In a show of patriotic reconciliation, should the new Biden Administration invite several prominent, influential, maybe centrist-type Republicans into its fold (to include governors, senators, congress people, ex-office holders, military types) as well as into Biden’s Cabinet selections, all in a gesture, an effort, to “pull the county together?”  Isn’t this the only way a divided, polarized country can heal and find a way to work together?  If NO, fine.  You’re done with this question.  If YES, who do you think should be on this bipartisan list?  In other words, who do you foresee as those Republican icons? (E,g., Tom Ridge, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Bill Weld, Christine Todd Whitman, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, Will Hurd, Colin Powell, James Mattis, Michael Steele, etc.)

[your Republican icon list here]

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Question 2: Is a bipartisan (Dem/Repub/Ind) Biden Administration a bad / dangerous / frivolous / reckless / foolish / giving away of newfound Democratic power / (what have you) idea?  If YES, fine.  You’re done with this question.  If NO, list the pros and cons of a bipartisan Biden Administration.

[your pros versus cons list here] 

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Question 3: Is hope for a Biden bipartisan government just more pie-in-the-sky, liberal idealism?  And the “real” hard-to-digest truth is we are so divided in our values that there is no way we could ever reconcile our major differences.  Regardless of your answer here, isn't it true that stubbornly clinging to our steadfast differences may give each side a momentary “feels good” triumph over the other, but to what end does this lead?  What is the end game with this non-bipartisan tactic? 

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Question 4: Has Dark Free Speech and social media manipulation gone on for too long, to the point where we as a society can no longer think “straight,” “honestly,” “unbiasedly,” etc., about political reality?  Has that condition reached a point of no return?  Are our respective bubbles so strong that there is not enough collective interest in seeking out objective truths, if such truths threaten our subjective truths; that feelings are now able to trump facts?

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Question 5: Other than bipartisan reconciliation through a politically diverse administration, can you think of a better way… or ANY way really... to bring a divided country together?

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Answer any or all questions of your choosing.  And thanks for thinking about it, posting, and recommending. :)


 

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