Professional Courtesy

Sorry for the delay, I had to travel and then come back and start the school year. I also got caught up in a Steinbeck book and convinced myself that if I couldn't write like that, then it wasn't worth writing at all. Then I realized that if everyone thought that way, there wouldn't be much to read in this world so why not go ahead and try to write like me instead. So here we go...

The last thing I really want to do in this column is to talk about politics, but in this kind of environment, it seems to seep into my thinking. I promise to just make it as quick as I can.
I have an open-minded view of the world, and most of the people with which I associate share this view. That's why we become friends with people, I guess. Or, as is the case with me, you just grow up together and share the same experiences, so therefore you end up with similar views.
Whenever anyone talks about American politics, it comes down to the same thing. There's a liberal view, spoken on and defended at length by intellectuals that alienate half the population. Then, of course, there is the conservative side defended by a gun-lovin', abortion hatin' cowboy (white hat, size 8 n' three quawta please). They pummel the given issues, the same ones over and over, and walk away hating each other more. It's pointless, and nothing ever gets done, or if it does get done, it doesn't get done well.
The obvious solution is to ease up a little bit and be a little more tolerant and to practice a little more give and take. The keyword is courtesy. If we can start being more courteous to one another and respectful of their position as a human being, we can have an honest discussion about almost anything. In such a situation, there is less chance of someone losing their cool.
This courtesy has to extend itself into the dealings between the haves, the have nots, and the have enough to make my mortgage payment, but dang, college is gonna be a strains. With a little more courtesy in that dialogue, the chance for violent revolution by the repressed masses decreases. The other central tenet is certainly the issue of religion.
I freely admit that I have many biases and even more of what Socrates called 'cherished beliefs.' They are critical to the foundation of the thing that I call me. I believe what I do because I have interpreted the signs on the side of the diverged road I have chosen. I'm a victim of every turn I have taken since birth. But I am not closing off the possibility that I read something wrong. I did have to get glasses a few years ago, and I don't feel like that much less of a man because of it. Maybe I need something to clarify my spiritual vision as well.
And Socrates said flat out that I have to learn to doubt my cherished beliefs. They have to stand up to scrutiny. I have to advocate for my own personal devils, and I have to be able to accept their assault from other humans of opposite view. This is called being open-minded.
I should note that my wife would disagree with my declaration that I have an open mind, but there's clearly a right way to put a roll of toilet paper on the roll. I'd be willing and able to organize a rally to march on the Capitol to defend that truth.
Which reminds me of a line by the late comic Mitch Hedberg: "I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." Check him out, he's hilarious. And check out some Costaki Economopoulos while you're at it, that guy's good too.
Sorry, I will tangentify on occasion.
So, my point was that if we could try and stretch toward courteous behavior with one another, we could meet in the middle every once in a while and progress forward. Conservatives have to accept that our earth cannot eternally take wholesale pillaging, and liberals have to accept that people are going to get rich and try to stay rich. It's really about the pollution that is left behind as this great machine runs. We live in a world with almost 7 billion other people. If we can't elect leaders that can communicate, then we are going to end up in one big overcrowded mess.
Those who drive the machine have to be able to see through the smog to know where we are going. Pay attention and maybe they will let us sit on their lap and steer every now and then.