My invocation brought attention to the divisive climate of the election and challenged future candidates to observe the Rotary 4 Way Test.
United We
Stand
In the recent election, Americans demonstrated, in undeniable
terms, just how polarized we have become as a society. We seem to be getting
the best elections money can buy – at least from the perspective of
advertisers.
Benjamin Franklin said: “We must, indeed, all hang together
or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” He was worried about the threat of
retaliation from the British for the acts of Independence of the Colonies. I am
worried about the driver who sees a Trump or Bernie sticker and sees red on the
highway. I’m worried about my neighbor
not helping me blow my leaves or shovel my snow because I put a Punam Gill sign
in my yard.
Where will this end?
Ben Sasse, Republican Senator of Nebraska, wrote a book
called ‘Them’ which attempts to explain how we got here and how to heal. He was
attacked by members of his own party! The press have been called Enemies of the
People! Where we get our news and what we believe depends more on party
affiliation now than the facts. Opinions have been weaponized.
And for that matter – how do you explain fact and fake to a
fifth grader?
I was talking with a friend about this over the Thanksgiving
holiday – at least most of us can still share dinner. (But it’s probably a good
idea to avoid talking about anything in the news.) He blames it on Facebook. I blame it on cable news.
Maybe it’s Citizens United or the Russians? What seems obvious to me is that we
have retreated from the public square. Today you can gorge yourself on a 24/7 diet
of news curated to flame the fears of your prior beliefs and biases – fine
tuned to your zip code.
And like with food, lacking variety in consumption leads to
malnourishment.
That’s what makes what we are doing here today so important.
Rotary is an abundant source of community in America. Something as simple as
turning off the outside to share lunch with people we respect, as we share our
views and try to understand those of others. Where we agree that Service above
Self is a motto we can all agree on regardless of our politics.
These ladies will give us their expert opinion on what
happened in the past election. But we need to tell the politicians enough is
enough! We want them talk about each other like we do here are Rotary – govern
their campaigns by the Four Way Test and, maybe this is asking too much – talk
to us about their vision for Indiana and America, not just about the character
flaws of their opponent.
Is that too much to ask?
