To my left-leaning friends:
Yeah, I suppose some bad people are going to use this as license to try to shout a lot. Bad and stupid people are going to be bad and stupid people, whatever happens. But this is going to get overhyped. And it’s going to feel like it’s happening everywhere when it’s just a few. Some people are going to gloat over this. That’s immature.
There were a whole lot of people who you said didn’t matter, weren’t worth listening to, and they felt they had nowhere to turn. So much of the debate style here was to label and dismiss. This is the result.
Do you want to be the losers next time? You can live up to that image of the more mature party. You can know what those others were feeling beyond labels of bigotry and hatred. Make that effort now, and you can thrive the next few years.
To my right-leaning friends:
I’m reminded of one of the earliest stories we ever told ourselves. Odysseus tricks Polyphemus the cyclops and gets away, but just before Odysseus is out of earshot he calls out and gloats that he tricked him. But Polyphemus is a son of Poseidon, who controls the seas, and Odysseus doesn’t get home for another ten years. The moral of the story? Never gloat.
Maybe you felt no one listened, and when they did they were quick to condemn, and why engage with someone who labels you and dismisses you? Yet it was still your job to speak up. What’ll be the result?
Do you want to be the losers next time? You can live up to that image of the spirit-filled party. You can know what these others are feeling beyond the labels being shouted at each other. Make this effort now, and you won’t wind up the losers in the next few years.
