There are so many serious things happening all at once. I have not written much about Haiti, I glossed over MLK day and now there is the MA election that saw a Republican win the seat formerly held by a Democrat for 50 years. We are a society under siege by complex issues and tragedies around the world and yet people keep looking for the simple answers. Well, here’s a truth we all need to embrace, there are no easy or simple answers. Life is complicated and solutions are not black and white. We all just want what we perceive as wrong to be righted, but some things cannot be fixed, sometimes the only solution is to learn how best to navigate and survive.
Tonight I read countless status updates lauding the Republican win in MA as a defeat to Obama, a light at the end of the tunnel, beginning of the end, etc. I’m not sure what the battle all these people are so happily taking sides on even is. I’m assuming we’re talking healthcare and that is so strange to me. What kind of person is against universal healthcare? Are they all so evil as to actually prefer those in need are denied the basic government services we all pay our tax dollars to support? I’d much prefer my taxes go towards helping people than roads, war, or pork attached to bills. It doesn’t matter who wins in MA or who’s in the Oval Office, we have serious problems and politics are not going to solve them.
I am also alarmed at how many form opinions based not on independent research or listening to all arguments. Some people still believe it’s wrong to buy a foreign car, yet they do not bother to understand that many “American” auto makers use parts manufactured in other countries and many cars assumed to be foreign are made in the states, employing an American workforce. We argue vehemently against healthcare, but those arguments are largely formed not from a careful reading of the proposed overhaul, but from what other people in their party are saying and what media and news outlets supporting that same viewpoint are advocating. How many people are listening to both sides and doing independent research and then making their decisions?
I guess my conclusion is that I’m tired of the battle of pointless against uneducated. We are all so in love with our own point of views that we rarely stop to ask where we got them. Our opinions are rarely original, they are a mixture of the opinions of those around us and the media we tune in to and celebrity/personality endorsements we follow. I like opinions, even when they are different than mine, but I want our support or condemnation to be the culmination of carefully researched and well thought out arguments for and against. We need to stop pointing fingers across the aisle and blaming the “other side” Truth be told I doubt the lines are so firmly drawn. I’m sure those against healthcare are not evil, and those for it are not Communists desiring a 100% government run society. We are oversimplifying complex issues once again. As for the US vs. foreign car argument I just want one that runs when I need it to and won’t kill the environment every time I drive to the store. Would you really rather pay $30k for a car that sucks b/c it’s one you believe to be US made? It’s just not that simple.
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