I've been watching Facebook this morning with equal parts of pride and sadness. Comments from both ends of the political spectrum are sprinkled throughout my news feed. Chicken Little says the sky is falling, America is toast, voters are stupid, we are saved and all of our problems are now solved. Some who voted for the loser are pragmatic and ready to move on. Well, here's my challenge regardless of which way you voted.
Stop whining or gloating (depending on how you voted), this
is not citizenship; in fact it is just the opposite!
Instead, start by resolving to take Governor Romney's and
President Obama's messages from their speeches last night and turn them into
action. (Links to both speeches are included
below.)
Here's a plan. Watch
and listen to every elected official’s words and deeds to make sure they are
working as hard as they can to forge compromise and build real solutions to our
problems. Start with your city council and go right up the ladder to the State House, the U.S. Congress and the Oval Office. Make sure each one is focusing
their work on the country and not their party or special interest group. Look for and call them out when they build
walls instead of bridges, tell them to stop it when hate speech, scare tactics,
name calling or demonization are used instead of negotiation and working
together.
Don't depend on a single source of news for your information;
search out multiple sources; don't allow some highly paid commentator's opinion or some blowhard's ideas (like me?)
to become yours. Make up your own mind, listen to people you don't agree with
and try to understand their views and the reasons for them.
What happens now is not up to those who were elected; it is
up to each of us to make sure our country moves forward and our elected leaders
put country, not party or the next election first. If they fail, that's
what elections are for.
I've selected just a few paragraphs from last night's speeches that
begin to set the tone we should all seek.
From Governor Romney's speech:
"The nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a
time like this we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our
leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we citizens
also have to rise to occasion. We look to our teachers and professors. We count
on you not just to teach, but to inspire our children with a passion for
learning and discovery. We look to our pastors and priests and rabbis and
counselors of all kinds to testify of the enduring principles upon which our
society is built: Honesty, charity, integrity, and family. We look to our
parents. From the final analysis, everything depends on the success of our
homes. We look to job-creators of all kinds. We're counting on you to invest,
to hire, to step forward, and we look to Democrats and Republicans in
government at all levels to put the people before the politics."
From President Obama's speech:
"I want to thank every American who participated in
this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for
a very long time. ... Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone,
whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and
you made a difference.
...we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get
there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and
starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path. By
itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the
gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of
building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this
country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.
... You
elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months,
I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties
to meet the challenges we can only solve together. ... We've got more work to
do."
President Obama's Election Night Speech:
Governor Mitt Romney's Concession Speech:
I hope you read the speeches, keep them around and follow what happens next.
