Taking A Break From The "Cesspool", We Give You Some Food For Thought.
Political warfare creating uncivil society
Charles Baker
Contributing columnist
The recent incident in Knoxville, where an out-of-work man fired his shotgun into the congregation at a Unitarian Church service, started me thinking about Rodney King's famous line, ”Why can't we just all get along?“
If you don't remember King, he was a black man who was severely beaten by a group of white policemen for a traffic violation in Los Angeles.
The policemen beat King because they made some assumptions about him based on his race. The man in Knoxville shot the Unitarian Church members because he assumed they were liberal and supported gay rights.
Unfortunately, we make these types of assumptions about other people on a regular basis. We label people we don't know and assume the worst. Two stories to illustrate my point:
Some years ago, a friend from Boston came to visit. On his flight into Lexington, he struck up a conversation with two friendly women on the plane. Naturally, they proudly described the wonders of the Bluegrass state and inquired where he was going.
When he mentioned Buckhorn, they warned him, ”You shouldn't drive down there at night; it's too dangerous.“
When I met him that night on Ky. 28, he couldn't believe there could be that much prejudice against one section of the state.
On another occasion, while I was in the bed with the flu, my wife drove to the Lexington airport to pick up a job applicant from Houston. On their way back, at night in a driving rainstorm, the car had a flat on Ky. 315. They found a light burning in a house near the road and asked to use the phone to call for help. The elderly lady of the house quickly invited the two strangers in to dry themselves by the fire. She gave them a hot coffee and dispatched her 20-year-old grandson out to fix the tire. He jumped to it without hesitation, and while he worked in the downpour, the strangers waited and chatted in the warm house. My job candidate couldn't quit talking about the experience.
Both of these incidents are based on assumptions about others. In the first story, the women on the plane assumed that our Kentucky highlands are filled with cutthroats and thieves. In the second, the woman in the house by the road assumed that people in trouble need help, and she could provide it.
One wonders if the Knoxville gunman may have spent too much time watching TV. Today's politicians and endlessly talking ”experts“ are often a major part of why we can't all get along. They spend their time criticizing those on the other side, but from a balanced perspective shouldn't they also be able to identify some admirable qualities in their opponents?
Our nation is deeply divided, and this can't be good for finding the solutions we need to difficult problems. Being a part of a church group or a political group is valuable, but it doesn't mean we have to despise those in another group. It also doesn't mean we have to agree with every statement made by our own group's leaders.
Instead of working together to build consensus, we've come to listen to nothing but the stories that we want to hear: only negative ones about folks in the other party and only positive ones about our own. If we really want to heal this division in our nation, we need to learn to be a part of the solution.
For example, every Democrat should be expected to find some positive qualities and policies of President Bush, and every Republican needs to find things to admire in Sen. Ted Kennedy.
It's time to be a little less cautious and a little more accepting. The woman in the house by the road was a modern-day Good Samaritan. She saw those in need, and she took them in. She didn't meet them with a loaded gun; she met them with compassion. It's an example worth following.
Charles L. Baker is the retired mayor of Buckhorn. E-mail him at CharlieBaker@mac.com.
Charles Baker
Contributing columnist
The recent incident in Knoxville, where an out-of-work man fired his shotgun into the congregation at a Unitarian Church service, started me thinking about Rodney King's famous line, ”Why can't we just all get along?“
If you don't remember King, he was a black man who was severely beaten by a group of white policemen for a traffic violation in Los Angeles.
The policemen beat King because they made some assumptions about him based on his race. The man in Knoxville shot the Unitarian Church members because he assumed they were liberal and supported gay rights.
Unfortunately, we make these types of assumptions about other people on a regular basis. We label people we don't know and assume the worst. Two stories to illustrate my point:
Some years ago, a friend from Boston came to visit. On his flight into Lexington, he struck up a conversation with two friendly women on the plane. Naturally, they proudly described the wonders of the Bluegrass state and inquired where he was going.
When he mentioned Buckhorn, they warned him, ”You shouldn't drive down there at night; it's too dangerous.“
When I met him that night on Ky. 28, he couldn't believe there could be that much prejudice against one section of the state.
On another occasion, while I was in the bed with the flu, my wife drove to the Lexington airport to pick up a job applicant from Houston. On their way back, at night in a driving rainstorm, the car had a flat on Ky. 315. They found a light burning in a house near the road and asked to use the phone to call for help. The elderly lady of the house quickly invited the two strangers in to dry themselves by the fire. She gave them a hot coffee and dispatched her 20-year-old grandson out to fix the tire. He jumped to it without hesitation, and while he worked in the downpour, the strangers waited and chatted in the warm house. My job candidate couldn't quit talking about the experience.
Both of these incidents are based on assumptions about others. In the first story, the women on the plane assumed that our Kentucky highlands are filled with cutthroats and thieves. In the second, the woman in the house by the road assumed that people in trouble need help, and she could provide it.
One wonders if the Knoxville gunman may have spent too much time watching TV. Today's politicians and endlessly talking ”experts“ are often a major part of why we can't all get along. They spend their time criticizing those on the other side, but from a balanced perspective shouldn't they also be able to identify some admirable qualities in their opponents?
Our nation is deeply divided, and this can't be good for finding the solutions we need to difficult problems. Being a part of a church group or a political group is valuable, but it doesn't mean we have to despise those in another group. It also doesn't mean we have to agree with every statement made by our own group's leaders.
Instead of working together to build consensus, we've come to listen to nothing but the stories that we want to hear: only negative ones about folks in the other party and only positive ones about our own. If we really want to heal this division in our nation, we need to learn to be a part of the solution.
For example, every Democrat should be expected to find some positive qualities and policies of President Bush, and every Republican needs to find things to admire in Sen. Ted Kennedy.
It's time to be a little less cautious and a little more accepting. The woman in the house by the road was a modern-day Good Samaritan. She saw those in need, and she took them in. She didn't meet them with a loaded gun; she met them with compassion. It's an example worth following.
Charles L. Baker is the retired mayor of Buckhorn. E-mail him at CharlieBaker@mac.com.
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