A refreshing read in a time filled with politics.
Now is the time for a little courage.
By Kel Groseclose
Posted October 30, 2008
Courage is the quality of standing up for what you believe, defending persons who cannot do so for themselves, speaking the truth when few want to hear it, and putting a sign supporting a Democratic candidate in your front yard when you live in a predominantly Republican county. Courage is defined as valor, stout-heartedness, boldness, pluck, spunk, or derring-do. It’s not foolhardiness, but taking calculated risks. Courage is to believe in someone or something strongly enough to share your beliefs, even when you know most of your audience won’y agree.
So what about that Rossi sign right next to your neighbor’s Gregoire placard? Are you still talking to each other, politely? After the election, will you be either a good loser or a gracious winner? I certainly hope so. We do not have to agree with each other on everything. What a boring world it would be if we did. We learn by testing our views in the marketplace of ideas. Our beliefs will grow stronger by discussing them with individuals whose values, lifestyles and faith are different from ours. I hope we can accomplish all this in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
We become intelligent and wise not by employing the method of the “lowest common denominator,” but by casting our ideas into the big world. When the responses start coming back, and they will, our task is to sort through them all. Accept those that make sense, and reject the ones that demean our common humanity or might hurt the most vulnerable among us. And in this entire process, do not be too proud or stubborn to say, “I didn’t see the whole picture,” or “Oops! I was totally wrong.”
When this 2008 election is over, don’t quit sharing your hopes and dreams for our nation and world. Keep talking about politics, Wall Street and religion. Go ahead and bemoan the disastrous condition of the major sports teams in this state. They have it coming. But also express your hopes and dreams for a more just economy, for an education system with all the resources it needs, for a people who care about the environment, for a democracy in which everyone has a voice.
This strangely wonderful method of electing those who govern us can separate and divide, or it can bond us even more closely to one another. By the new years, we can become even better friends, colleagues and neighbors. Yes, if the majority in this state and nation votes totally opposite to my personal decisions, I’ll pout for a few days; OK, maybe for a couple of months. But I will get over it. I will not move into the mountains or to Canada. Instead, I promise to put my shoulder to the plow and work in my own small ways to make this community, state, and nation the most just, compassionate, and wise they can possibly be.
Kel Groseclose
By Kel Groseclose
Posted October 30, 2008
Courage is the quality of standing up for what you believe, defending persons who cannot do so for themselves, speaking the truth when few want to hear it, and putting a sign supporting a Democratic candidate in your front yard when you live in a predominantly Republican county. Courage is defined as valor, stout-heartedness, boldness, pluck, spunk, or derring-do. It’s not foolhardiness, but taking calculated risks. Courage is to believe in someone or something strongly enough to share your beliefs, even when you know most of your audience won’y agree.
So what about that Rossi sign right next to your neighbor’s Gregoire placard? Are you still talking to each other, politely? After the election, will you be either a good loser or a gracious winner? I certainly hope so. We do not have to agree with each other on everything. What a boring world it would be if we did. We learn by testing our views in the marketplace of ideas. Our beliefs will grow stronger by discussing them with individuals whose values, lifestyles and faith are different from ours. I hope we can accomplish all this in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
We become intelligent and wise not by employing the method of the “lowest common denominator,” but by casting our ideas into the big world. When the responses start coming back, and they will, our task is to sort through them all. Accept those that make sense, and reject the ones that demean our common humanity or might hurt the most vulnerable among us. And in this entire process, do not be too proud or stubborn to say, “I didn’t see the whole picture,” or “Oops! I was totally wrong.”
When this 2008 election is over, don’t quit sharing your hopes and dreams for our nation and world. Keep talking about politics, Wall Street and religion. Go ahead and bemoan the disastrous condition of the major sports teams in this state. They have it coming. But also express your hopes and dreams for a more just economy, for an education system with all the resources it needs, for a people who care about the environment, for a democracy in which everyone has a voice.
This strangely wonderful method of electing those who govern us can separate and divide, or it can bond us even more closely to one another. By the new years, we can become even better friends, colleagues and neighbors. Yes, if the majority in this state and nation votes totally opposite to my personal decisions, I’ll pout for a few days; OK, maybe for a couple of months. But I will get over it. I will not move into the mountains or to Canada. Instead, I promise to put my shoulder to the plow and work in my own small ways to make this community, state, and nation the most just, compassionate, and wise they can possibly be.
Kel Groseclose