We need to talk. We need to listen.
Conservatives, independents, liberals, everyone needs to talk and listen.
I do work in a coffee shop a few mornings a week and I’ve learned something. Americans are an incredibly social, communicative people. We love to talk, we love to interact, we love be social.
I’ve had so many fascinating conversations with people over the past few weeks and I’ve seen how willing people are to talk, even about the controversial stuff. It’s like American need to be able to talk about all that has been happening, the world of politics, but can’t found a safe place for it in this new environment. So, when they do, they let loose. I’m happy to hear what they have to say. It means they care, even if they didn’t care before, they care now. And then I realized that, when people see they are being listened to, they are much more willing to listen in return.
See, people need people and if we talk, and we actually listen, we’re bound to discover that we’re really not as different as the media and government would have us believe.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Democrats and Republicans want the same thing. We want a government that is limited and confined. We DON’T want a government that can do whatever it wants whenever it wants simply because it wants. Nobody wants an arbitrary, all powerful, autocratic government (aside from the arbitrary, all powerful, autocratic government of course 😉).
Remember the comparison I once gave? Democrats are worried about police abuse of minorities while Republicans are worried about police abuse of conservatives or anyone violating COVID regulations. BOTH of these problems stem from the same concern: an unconfined and unconstitutional use of government power.
THIS is why we need to talk. THIS is why we need to listen to each other.
We’re both pointing out issues that are a result of the same problem and are solved by the same solution. The Constitution.
But, Americans can’t protect the Constitution if we don’t talk. We can’t collectively protect and fight for liberty without realizing that we’re fighting together.
WE are the employers of government and we have given them a job description: the Constitution. It’s our job to make sure they follow their job description. If we don’t, who will?
Think of it this way: if you’re hired for a job, you’re given a job description. That job description confines you to doing what you’re supposed to do. You can’t just do whatever you want, however you want.
But imagine if you have an incredibly lax boss? Your boss never checks in on you, never makes sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to do how you’re supposed to do it. So, you start doing things how you want, and ignoring the way your employers technically have told you do your job. Why wouldn’t you? You have no accountability anyway.
It’s the same for our government friends. The less we know what our government is supposed to do, based on the Constitution, and the less we know what they are actually doing, the more free they feel to do whatever they want, with little to no repercussion.
Things get more complicated when there are multiple bosses who disagree on the job description, the interpretation of the job description, or different parts of the job description. HOWEVER, this is a step up from a boss who doesn’t even care to know the employee’s job description, much less keep him or her accountable to it. At least if the employers are arguing over it, that means they care enough to know there is a job description, and to know what it says.
Even with disagreement about its implications and practical application, the employee is aware that his or her bosses are still working to hold him or her accountable to something. Even when the application of that something is disagreed upon, the employer is going to be more aware of his or her actions simply because he knows his bosses are watching and are considering his or her actions.
The best scenario here is for the employers to come together over the one aspect of the job description they agree upon. The fact that they want their employee to have a job description. They don’t want an employee who can simply do whatever he or she wants. A flawed or controversial job description is better than no job description and a completely unfettered employee.
So, the employers must start from this basic shared belief and then, through discussion and active listening, figure out how to hold their employee accountable to that standard, even though disagreements exist about its practical application.
Friends, the American citizenry is the employer here and the government our employee. It really gets as basic, simple and real world as this.
If we stop making government and the Constitution a mysterious, amorphous, confusing and inexplicable thing, and instead look at it through the lens of real life application, we may be emboldened to actually act out our role as the employer.
The first step to effectively doing this is simple.
We need to talk. We need to listen.
The Liberty Belle
How many of you would hire a contractor to build your dream home agree on a price and completion date and never go back to check on things? Then 2 months late the contractor shows up says he needs another $75,000.00 and 6 more month’s to finish the job. Would you just hand over the cash and still not go and see how things are being done? Well that’s what happens when we hire a politician and don’t watch what they are doing. What’s worse we hire them time and time again.
What a beautiful way to word it!
I just want to thank you for what you are doing. Please keep up the good work. We must on a state level push for American history and the constitution to be taught in depth in our schools systems . Again thank you.
“Americans Need To Talk to Each Other?”
One might think that an armed insurrection, cheered on by a twice impeached, one term president who oversaw the loss of the House, the Senate and the White House may cause questions about the party, it’s direction and their leadership? A party who is now totally focused on being accomplices to this failed leaders revenge and retribution to those who did question it. A party who is supposedly concerned about the Democrat “CANCEL CULTURE” but not concerned enough about their own CANCEL CULTURE to look at their own faults.