Long Division, and the lonely remainder

This week's Homespun Symposium Topic is something I've discussed before, here, and here, and here, and here, but once more into the breach, dear friends!

Is the division in America important to you? What will be necessary to heal it? What part do you see Bloggers playing in that discussion and how will you personally contribute to it?

Obviously the division in America is important to me, and should be important to everyone interested in America. In some regards, disagreement is healthy. Debate, honest discussion, and a marketplace of competing ideas help keep us honest, help keep us engaged, and help keep us at least a little skeptical of our own position - all healthy things. Judge Learned Hand said that the spirit of liberty is not too sure that it is right, seeks to understand the mind of other men and women, and weighs others' interest alongside its own without bias. We see too little of that kind of discussion in today's discourse, as everyone becomes more and more entrenched in their respective positions.

What's required to cure this division? Is it too late to call for a return to civility and fairness in public discourse? I hope not. I think not. More honest discussion, leading away from unquestioned acceptance of the media machine's viewpoint (including the idea that we are so fundamentally divided), and toward a working understanding - a basis, a common framework. We have more in common than we think. Let's build on that.

And blogs enable that discussion in a way that is absolutely unprecedented in human history. We now have the ability, for the price of a cheap computer, and a cheap internet connection, to publish our thoughts to the world. We can update on the fly, link to outside reports, and let people judge for themselves. Bloggers can respond to criticism quickly. We operate in a low trust environment, so it's necessary for us to back up what we say, or people will realize that we're just some yahoos typing away in our pajamas, like the MSM wants to say we are.

It's not the President's job to unite the country. Anyone saying that is, IMHO, an idiot. He can't unite the country any more than he can make pigs fly (actually, pigs might be a lot more feasible, given the right military defense contracts). It's my job to unite the country. It's your job to unite the country. It's our job as Americans to keep our republic together. We can't allow our petty differences to become our defining characteristics. A lot of what I post here is light hearted, fun, and hopefully uncontroversial. It's not all politics, it's not all battles in the culture war, and it's important to me that this space stay that way. This space is the place where I can interact with the world (maybe that's a little grandiose for someone only getting about 40 hits a day). Sometimes, I feel the need to tell everyone how incredible Full Metal Alchemist is, and sometimes I feel a need to strike a blow for truth and righteousness. Even though a lot of people I know don't agree with my political views, some of them like my taste in animé. Some of them like my views on games and gaming. And if we can build a conversation on the things we share, we unite ourselves naturally.

Outside this space, in law school, I try to keep my political and controversial diatribes to a bare minimum. In fact, today, someone told me I have a way of smiling and nodding politely even when I totally disagree with what they're saying. Two years as a proselyting missionary will do that. I'm much more interested in building friendships and working relationships in school than I am with beating someone over the head with my admittedly biased opinions. Some people feel that the point is more important than the relationship, and it's those people who will have the hardest time coming together. Because if the point is more important than the person, if you're so on to something that you absolutely have to be right, at any cost, then good luck with that. It's a long, lonely road that lies ahead of you. Learning to work with people, even respect people that we don't agree with is part of growing up. I'm not 100% there yet, but at least I'm working on it.

Let the healing continue!