Earlier this month I ran into a friend and former work colleague in a local store. My friend and I have different political views. At times, he and another coworker used to kid me at work about my political voting habits. To me, it seemed all in good sport and rather harmless. I am glad we remain friends to this day even though our political beliefs are still for the most part quite different. I respect his political beliefs. I believe he understands mine.
In the past several years, I have often heard political pundits proclaim that we need to get past name calling and the bitterness of the current political environment. We need to have two strong political parties. You can call them progressive and conservative or left of center and right of center if you will. Typically, our country and state have smaller political parties that usually attract small portions of the electorate. With the exception of the Ross Perot candidacy for president in 1992 (and possibly the John Anderson candidacy in 1980), these third parties usually make little difference except to attract voters frustrated with the Democrats or Republicans.
Recently, TheHill.com reported the following results from a national study: “The U.S. has made significant strides in reducing child poverty over the past quarter century, with a new analysis finding a multitude of economic factors have benefited families and lifted children across demographics out of poverty.” According to the report a variety of policies, expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, greater participation of single mothers in the workforce, welfare reform, lower unemployment rates, many states’ increases in the minimum wage, and others “all contributed to a 59 percent decline in child poverty from 1993 to 2019.”
In other words, a variety of liberal, moderate, and conservative policies helped to reduce poverty in the last few decades.
My point is that a respectful, healthy and vigorous political debate is good for our country. Neither progressives nor conservatives have a lock on what always works to improve the lives of all Michiganders or Americans.
Which brings me to concerns about the current political environment. Some Michiganders do not like the policies of Gov. Whitmer. Some are still upset about the lockdowns, school mask mandates and business closings which were required early on in the pandemic. Early in 2020, could certain decisions that were made in Lansing have been different? Hindsight is almost always 20/20. Perhaps they could have. Maybe not. According to a July 18, 2022 article in Scientific American, “People in Republican counties have higher death rates than those in Democratic counties. (The) growing mortality gap between Republican and Democratic areas may largely stem from policy choices.” Thus, I believe that leaders in Lansing and elsewhere did their best given the information that they had at the time.
In the last few years, I have seen yard signs with a message that says the words: “My governor is an idiot”. Merriam Webster says: “The term idiot and its derivatives was formerly used as a technical descriptor in (certain) contexts. These uses were broadly rejected by the close of the 20th century and are now considered offensive.”
Now. I get it. Some have a strong disagreement with the Governor’s actions or policies. Respectful disagreement and debate over these actions and policies is appropriate. Name calling is rude and childish.
In another example, the codirector of the Michigan Republican party, Meshawn Maddock, recently posted on Twitter that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, is a “weak little girl”. This was apparently in response to Sec. Buttigieg’s expressing interest in a California policy encouraging the expansion of electric vehicles and the reduction of gas or diesel engines. Since her original post, Ms. Maddock has failed to apologize but subsequently posted that she is “never going to back down to the woke leftists”. Really, Ms. Maddock how is your name calling and failure to be civil in your discourse going to improve Michigan? Please tell us what is “woke” about being respectful to a political opponent?
Disagreeing about how political leaders should have reacted to the pandemic or whether or not auto makers should make more electric vehicles is fine. But can we not do so in respectful and thoughtful debate. Some voters may actually listen to what people say instead of what they disrespectfully shout.
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause from withdrawing from a friend.” - Thomas Jefferson
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