Last week was a week of reflection. The hashtag “#10YearChallenge” dominated social media. The idea was to find a picture from ten years ago and compare it to a more recent one. I chose to sit this one out. Those that jumped into the trend did so with a bit of reflection. Seizing the moment as it was, to share how they have grown and how much they had changed personally. One particular post I came across read, “That version of myself would be so proud of who I am today!” Growth and personal achievements are worthy of celebration. Some celebrated their recovery from addiction and others highlighted the seasons of growth that they have experienced. A decade of life experience is bound to produce a change of some sort in everyone.
The trend of reflection seems to be a dominant one for me recently. It is hard to believe how much has changed for me personally in a decade. A few more gray hairs and life changes have made 2022’s version of myself a lot different than the 2012 model. Change is a part of everyone’s life journey.
The world looks a little different than it did ten years ago. A decade ago terms like ‘COVID’ were absent from the vocabulary and now dominate headlines and every aspect of our lives. Cultural shifts have had a significant impact on many other aspects of our lives as well. The pandemic has taught us that culture does not need to wait a decade to experience significant change. Life, in its brevity, can change in an instant. Moments in history often change who we are almost overnight. Consider how different the world was on September 12, 2001. One day in history changed everything about air travel, citizenship, and the identity of the nation. Dramatic as that might be, you get the picture.
Last week we memorialized another significant day in history. Over a year has passed since we witnessed the events in the nation’s capital. We watched on live television as Constitution Hall was breached by self-proclaimed “patriots” in an attempt to overthrow the democratic process. The scene of American citizens attempting to hunt down and “punish” political adversaries with whom they disagreed is not one that I will soon forget. The one-year anniversary dominated the media on its anniversary date. The media coverage of the day was resurrected on Thursday and the emotions of the day seemed to come back. I made a concerted effort to tune out the coverage of the day and thought privately about how different the world and politics have become following those events of January 6.
The partisan divide has only continued to grow and stall policy decisions that a crippled economy and a divided nation desperately need right now. Decisions in Congress are dominated by partisan loyalty and hardline political ideology. The idea of compromise and thoughtful debate have been traded and political power seems to be the things that define ‘progress’ these days. It would be hard to imagine a day where President Reagan could even have the ability to navigate these waters to be effective. It would be difficult for anyone to make the case that the events on January 6th are to blame for the partisan divide. I would argue that the opposite is true; the partisan divide is to blame for the events of January 6.
The culture at large has little room for disagreement or differences of opinion. The art of public debate and the ability to disagree with one another while maintaining civility has been lost. The real tragedy is that at some point along the way we have stopped seeing one another as fellow citizens and began attaching labels to one another. Those labels now define communities and further escalate the divide. If you are a reader of my columns this position is no stranger to you.
It is in moments of deep partisan divides where the country desperately needs a Harry Truman to emerge. Truman was a patriot of the American people and was willing to lay politics aside for the sake of the country. We need more people who are not constricted by ideological barriers. It’s time for our leaders at all levels of government to pursue paths that will make hard choices that will put the country and the American people above political power.
