~a column by Colleen O’Brien
Years ago I told my husband I didn’t like or dislike a certain president, I simply felt sorry for the guy because in my opinion he was not smart enough for the job.
My husband, who disliked the fellow intensely and thought he was ruining the country, said, “You know what happens to people like you who walk down the middle of the road.”
“Well, I would hope we’d all get elected to Congress!” I answered.
By disposition or enculturation, I have found myself time and again traveling down the middle of the road. However passionately I believe in certain things*, I seem to be able to see others’ points of view and allow them, whether I believe what they say, whether I like it or not. I expect the same from them.
- I believe in equality among all people whatever their race, gender, religion, sexual preferences.
- I believe a country’s first obligation is to the least among us.
- I believe that we are all in this together and therefore obligated to one another.
- I believe that education is a key to success and is important, but that there are several kinds of success in this life, monetary being not the first.
- I believe in my obligation to myself and my right to make my own decisions no matter what someone else’s religious or political beliefs demand of them.
- I believe that people are born good and become bad by mistreatment, which includes lack of love and respect.
Over my life I have used three axioms to get me through it all:
- Life is tough; be kind.
- I don’t have enough time to suffer fools.
- We’re all doing the best we can.
The second personal rule sounds, even to me, conflicting with the other two, but I generally use my three guides consecutively rather than all at once. As I write this I see, however, that I am flouting that habit and offering up the middle one along with the other two, which are more compassionate. By a long shot.
Usually, I operate from my third personal rule of thumb — “We’re all doing the best we can.” Even when we’re being rude, pedantic, mean, I feel we would do better if we could.
But sometimes the idea that “We’re all doing the best we can” just doesn’t cut it any more than my rule of “Life’s tough; be kind,” and I just tumble into a complete inability to suffer fools.
This all hit me between the eyes when I read someone telling me he’s not writing a “partisan rant” even as he tells me I’m in the “wrong” party simply because I am a Democratic. He also writes that “If you are an unarmed liberal you can smash the shooter over the head with your bong.” This is kind of funny in a self-righteous way. Do no conservatives smoke pot? Because I am a liberal do I? I am thus inclined to think the writer is not only mean in an unkind world but it also means that just reading his writing involves my having to suffer a fool.
This writer, who said, “Hopefully I made it through without alienating anyone since I avoided a partisan rant” obviously did not edit his copy before he turned it into this newspaper; I was alienated by being subject to a not so reticent partisan rant.
The writer is not in the “wrong” party, nor am I. If we little people down here in the electorate can remember this, maybe our elected can, too. We all need a little more middle-of-the-roadness in our lives.
Okay. My rant’s done.
