Once again we're faced with the issues of race, diversity and difference. An abhorrent comment spoken, twittered, texted opens the door to latent bias that always seems just beneath the surface. One would think that with maturity we had progressed to the point where words no longer mattered. Unfortunately they still do. Free speech and first amendment rights were never meant to preclude rational understanding and sensitivity.
If we are as a people committed to progress assimilation must take place at more than just the visceral level. I shouldn't dance to your music, sing your songs, watch your heroes and still harbor cultural reservations. That amounts to condescension not acceptance. Whitman's American house constructed speaks to simple propriety "races, dates, generations, the past, the future, dwelling there, like space, inseparable together."
How many of us on all sides of the divide really speak to each other? Not with the practiced patience of those observing social protocol rather with honesty, consideration and care? In essence how many of us really know each other?
Association is not the most challenging thing. A shared meal, drink, conversation is really not that difficult. That is if it exists in an atmosphere of honesty and trust. Otherwise it is merely a parable for affectation practiced and passed on.
Why not try to rationalize from the other's perspective? We are after all a nation of immigrants, differences. Our world is no longer bound by the stereotypes dramatized in 1950s sitcoms. Clinging to an illogical past can only put off change, certainly not prevent it. Children playing in the surf soon learn that they will get wet. The youngest realize the obvious. Right, left or center of the political spectrum needs to at least recognize simple facts.
Our castle on the hill should have many doors. Each opened to the strong, weak and different. Anything less compromises the founder's dream, leaves us the proverbial "house divided." Disagree yes, argue yes, cling to a past that never was irrational nonsense. I've sat at many tables, shared many secrets, would not have it any other way. The American tapestry has always had a few loose threads. Why not leave the knitting to providence and good sense?
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?
