Seldom agreeing, grasping for power, our two political parties have fought for years. Back in Reagan days, Democrats said we needed more government to fix problems. Republicans, like Reagan, shot back government was the problem.
Still, as Reagan and Tip O’Neill battled, they shared common values. Both respected that Americans had the right to disagree with each other. So, even as they fought, each treated the other with mutual respect.
Through the years as Republicans and Democrats battled that virtue – mutual respect – held. If a politician threw it out the window voters in both parties turned against him.
Those days are gone.
Trump has no use for mutual respect – calls people who oppose him ‘scum,’ ‘low lifes’ and ‘sleaze bags.’
Punching back, Democrats brand Trump ‘despicable’ and ‘demented.’
And now the moment a politician throws mutual respect out the window people cheer. The virtue that bound us together as a nation, even as we fought, has vanished. We’re like a mob of warring tribes out to crush each other.
Is there a glimmer of hope?
In the old days when asked which party was to blame for our problems some people said Democrats, some said Republicans. But now when you ask the same question most people, shaking their heads, lips set say, Both – Democrats and Republicans.
There’s no old-fashioned knight on a white horse on the horizon but they’d welcome him if he showed up. That’s a reason for hope. But healing wounds will take a gift – the rebirth of an old virtue.
Pray for that blessing.
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Telling stories, in his memoir Carter Wrenn follows The Trail of the Serpent twisting and turning through politics from Reagan to Trump. Order his book from Amazon.
