I guess I'm both a realist and a pragmatist. My conflict is that I see things as they are (good trait for a physician) but also, as a pragmatist having the ability of "dealing with a problem in a sensible way that suits the conditions". Its not easy to see the reality and despite it, find an unemotional, sensible solution.But even so, I sometimes find myself crossing my fingers despite what reality may be showing for the moment.
Such is the case when one looks at the present and tries to see past it. I ended yesterday's post by saying that there is "good news" coming today. And there is, for both the pragmatists and the realists among us.
Foremost, we must learn from what we have unleashed. We must determine if we have the strength to recognize our shortcomings and what they contributed, in no small manner, to the aberration that we are living through now; that the cascade of consequences, Trump and his Czar, Rasputinesque court, were a direct result of missed opportunities by the rest of us. We opened gates through our own hubris to the disaffected, angered, hard right edge of our country.
So, the good news, promised after all, is that if we have been chastened by our own actions. We must now conquer our divisive parochialism (petty tribalism) and begin to see the greater good by abandoning the multiple smaller pathways that some of us chose in 2016 rather than impose the force of unity.
That is the choice that lies ahead of us. We have seen what occurs when moderates of both parties opt out of the mainstream and pursue the "independent" path to nowhere. What we do have now is a very clear lesson to follow and that message is that amidst cross-purposes and garbled intentions we open the gates to chaos. The cockeyed realist (oh, did I mention that I am also an unrelenting optimist) permits the facts to be seen but also the promise of what appears ahead.
We have the challenge of today to correct our disunity of recent past and with moderates of the Republicans (also repulsed by what was wrought), perhaps we can forge a moderate, middle majority, seeking to restore an America based on the principles "of we not me" and "us not you".
Are we up to it?...
Would really appreciate comment. SAB