We’ve seen protesters marching in the streets in opposition to Trump. We’ve seen pleas from some of our journalists and social media friends for the protests to stop. We’ve seen calls for unity from our political leaders.
There’s no doubt that our country is deeply divided because of this election cycle. Some believe that the campaign promises of President Elect Trump will lift America out of the darkness. Some proclaim that his campaign promises are bigoted, sexist, and hateful. So, how do we find unity in the midst of these vastly disparate views?
One thing that the majority of us can agree on is that we value our Bill of Rights, whether we are talking about Freedom of Speech, the Second Amendment, Privacy Protections, or Freedom of the Press.
When President Obama was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, the country was divided. It seems that Obama supporters did not truly understand the depth of that divide, or the fear felt by his opponents. Obamacare, gun control, and the Dreamer initiative, among other things, seemed like an outright assault on the founding principles of our country, like limiting government, the Second Amendment, and the rule of law.
Now that Donald Trump has been elected on his platform of building a wall, banning Muslim immigration, and instituting a Federal libel law to pursue journalists, the script has flipped. To Trump’s opponents, these initiatives, among other things, seem like an outright assault on the founding principles of our county, like Freedom of Religion, equal rights, and Freedom of the Press.
So, again, how do we find unity? We find unity when we find our common ground. Our common ground is that we all cherish the freedoms that we have in America. We protect them. I recall when President Bush was in office and when President Obama was elected. People on both sides of the debate frequently said, “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” People recognized that if either side was silenced, we lose our democracy.
So, I am calling for unity by asking everyone to simply embrace what we hold dear – the Bill of Rights. Please don’t ask dissenters to stop voicing their opinions. Engage each other in conversation. While we each may not agree with what others have to say, we should continue to defend their right to say it. It is the most democratic thing we can do and it is probably the best thing we can do to dispel any fears about the coming Presidency.
Regards,
J. Lynn
