Can Americans be united/ work together? If so, how?

cincybearcat

Well I sure hope he works across the aisle as my beliefs aren’t only on 1 side. 

Hobbes

The call for a 911 type situation has been answered in the form of Covid-19. Yet, our approach to this common "enemy" has widened the gap in our division. It appears that for unity to take shape, the "enemy" needs a face, a country, a religion, a skin color... Oh, wait. We can blame China! Carry on.

brianlux

I would suggest this excellent film, "Burden", provides another example of people standing firm in their beliefs yet also through the power of love are able to bring about change- radical change.  A brief description of the movie is "A former member of the Ku Klux Klan learns tolerance through love and faith when he's taken in by an African American reverend."

CM189191

brianlux said:

Sorry to bump my own thread, but I'm really curious about this.  I mean, it is very hard to make any kind of amends with someone you strongly disagree with, but I think it can be done. 

At one point in our conversing with the author I mentioned above, I pointed out that if one of us berates the other or yells at the other or calls the other person names, do we really expect that person to have a change of mind or even consider our point of view?   It's really, really hard and humbling work to try to interact with someone on the other side of the fence, but doesn't it beat throwing rocks, hurling insults, or shooting guns at each other?  Good grief, I hope so.

I'll point out again for those here supporting our newly elected president Biden, that he has repeatedly talked about taking this approach.  He wants to work with both sides and try to heal the divide.  Do you support him in this endeavor or is it all just about beating Trump? 

There are fundamentals I believe that anyone and everyone should be able to agree on:

• No one should go hungry
• No one should go without health care
• No one should go without an education
• No one should be without a roof over their heads

There are no free market solutions to these problems.

brianlux

CM189191 said:

brianlux said:

Sorry to bump my own thread, but I'm really curious about this.  I mean, it is very hard to make any kind of amends with someone you strongly disagree with, but I think it can be done. 

At one point in our conversing with the author I mentioned above, I pointed out that if one of us berates the other or yells at the other or calls the other person names, do we really expect that person to have a change of mind or even consider our point of view?   It's really, really hard and humbling work to try to interact with someone on the other side of the fence, but doesn't it beat throwing rocks, hurling insults, or shooting guns at each other?  Good grief, I hope so.

I'll point out again for those here supporting our newly elected president Biden, that he has repeatedly talked about taking this approach.  He wants to work with both sides and try to heal the divide.  Do you support him in this endeavor or is it all just about beating Trump? 

There are fundamentals I believe that anyone and everyone should be able to agree on:

• No one should go hungry
• No one should go without health care
• No one should go without an education
• No one should be without a roof over their heads

There are no free market solutions to these problems.

I agree to the premise that no one should have to go without those 4 basics.  And I also don't see the free market as being a way to insure that happens.

But those are good points for another discussion.  They don't answer the questions I've posed here.

HughFreakingDillon

there are so many facets to this, it's really hard to pin it on any one or two things, which then makes the solution even more difficult. 

the dumbing down of communication expectations is mainly the issue. having a good point has taken a back seat to having a great comeback.