Today is the second of a two-part blog. Last week I gave seven concerns I have about the Right. As promised, this week I will give seven concerns about the Left. If I am going to have a political dialog with anyone, I must be able to see strengths and weaknesses in both sides. The more difficult thing for me is to accept weaknesses in my own positions.
- The first issue I have with the Left is one I have mentioned before – The presidential candidate is too old. I believe I am making an age reality statement and not an age discrimination tatement. Since I am 81, I think I am in a position to make the statement from experience.
Short-term memory is not what it used to be and I accept the fact that five years from now it will only be worse. Retrieval from long-term memory has more “draw bridges” blocking access to information on the other side. I thank God that when the bridges are lowered the information is still there. I just wish the lowering would occur sooner than it does sometimes. Also, I thank God for Google, the ferry I use sometimes when the drawbridge is up. Similarly, I accept that five years from now my long-term retrieval will not have improved.
I have wisdom I did not have when I was younger, but learning new information and my depth of understanding are not as good as they once were. I am happy I am living to old age but I accept the realities that accompany aging.
2. I have a concern that Biden did not have the insight to see his age and only serve one term. I wish he would have announced it early and we could have been seeking a younger, strong candidate. I understand the fear of being a lame-duck president but I also understand the attraction of power.
3. Given his age, the choice of vice-president is very important. I personally do not believe Kamala Harris is ready to be president. She has done nothing to make me believe she is a bad person, but she has done nothing to make me believe she would be a strong president.
I believe she was handed a great opportunity when she was given a role in immigration. To me she did not demonstrate courage or depth of understanding. In addition, her ability to publicly articulate her visions for issues has not been up to my presidential standards.
4. I believe her selection demonstrates another issue. I support diversity. However, filling positions with competent people in order for a diversity box to be checked off when more competent people are available, can have undesirable consequences. I believe those consequences are more likely to show up in the demands of the highest positions in industry and government.
5. As I said, I support diversity. I support diversity equality and inclusion (DEI) in PRINCIPLE. The problem is Democrats do not criticize instances where DEI is not carried out in PRACTICE.
I am sure many DEI practitioners carry out their duties appropriately. Just this week, I asked someone if he had first-hand experience with DEI. He said yes and the experience was positive. His speaker was clear that the need for diversity, equality and inclusion was a concern for all people. The speaker did not single out white people as the problem.
The problem is some DEI people are not interested in diversity, equality and inclusion; they are agenda driven. Indirect support for being agenda driven is found by looking at universities that do not have DEI offices.
An excellent article demonstrating my concern appeared in the HBCU magazine. The magazine is for historically Black colleges and universities. The author highlights the absence of DEI offices on HBCU campuses. The absence demonstrates a lack of commitment to diversity and inclusion. The author is critical of the absence of DEI. The problem is — as long as there are enough of your agenda represented there is no need to push diversity. It is a very thought-provoking article.
Where’s the DEI at the HBCUs? (hbcuconnect.com)
In my opinion, direct support that agenda driven DEI occurs when the focus of a seminar is only white racism and other cultures are not considered. That is not being diverse and inclusive. My personal evidence for the need to be inclusive of all cultures is my first-hand experience of conflicts between Blacks and Hispanics. To be diverse and inclusive, I think we must address bias in all cultures not just whites.
6. I would like to see Democratic policies have a deeper commitment to personal responsibility. In my thinking I believe many Democratic positions avoid responsibility or blame some entity more than accepting personal responsibility. Just one example: Rather than just summarily accepting abortion I would like to read about personal responsibility for sex and responsibility for an unborn viable child. I know many Democrats do understand the personal responsibilities, but the public statements often do not address the issues.
7. The final concern I have is for fiscal responsibility. In my opinion, over my 81 years the Left has had a stronger tendency to spend without thinking about the consequences of our debt. We must address the budget together and be more fiscally responsible.
I understand many of last week’s concerns and this week’s concerns are present in both parties. I have given my personal opinion of the variations in strength for the two sides.
I am a life-long Democrat who has not always voted for Democrats, particularly in state and local elections where I may have more personal knowledge. I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I hope I have shown that I try to adopt my positions with an awareness of strengths and weakness of my positions. Without that commitment I can never have dialog with anyone.
I assume some of you have differing opinions about my concerns. I welcome your thoughts on either side and invite dialog.
This and That
This week I was reminded by a reader that unfortunately we cannot always find strengths in the other position because the person or idea is so is clearly wrong it is impossible to have a dialog. Sadly, I encountered such a incident in the astounding comments of a Senator.
My senior senator is Tommy Tuberville. He made the statement this week that “There’s not one Democrat that can tell you they stand up for God.” He went further to claim that Democrats belong to a “Satanic Cult.”
Alabama senator attacks Democrats, opponents as ‘satanic cult’ (msn.com)
I find nothing positive in such an absurd and divisive idea. No dialog is possible.
Good News
Rewarding service
Tears And Cheers: Beloved Crossing Guard Receives Emotional Send-Off (sunnyskyz.com)
First responders came quickly but the miracle had already occurred.
The gift of giving
Mississippi Man Donates Second Organ, Saves Another Life (sunnyskyz.com)
Peace
Jerry
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