Politics and the Holidays

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As many Americans, I see Christmas as a time of tolerance, charity and great generosity (and consumerism). One of the greatest gifts a person can give to their fellow man is respect. I do believe respect should be earned but some level of respect should be charitably given just because. I believe a fundamental way to show respect to someone is to try to understand their side of an issue.

The passing of Proposition 8 was a very sad day for me and my loved ones. In many ways it took the joy out of the election of Barack Obama. Now it is clear that many people I know and love are upset with the choice to have Rick Warren speak at the inauguration of Obama. And I think it is absolutely fantastic that he will participate.

Obama promised change but made it clear that change will come because of our effort. That just can’t happen when only likeminded people discuss issues. If the other side is not invited to the table to talk, why do you think they will listen? Tolerance and understanding only can come from inclusion. We need Obama to invite the religious right to be part of the dialog. The left needs to be more inclusive or we will end up dividing this nation like the political right had so deftly done for the last 8 years. We are in this together, for better or for worst.

I watched this talk by psychologist Jonathan Haidt about the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we’re left, right or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most. The most dramatic point I got from this talk is that we need each other and that if we don’t include the other side into our debates and decisions, we will fail as a nation.