I am hearing the word 'fight' used a lot as candidates prepare for the 2016 primary and general elections. The usual phrase is, "I will fight for YOU!" It makes me wonder, "Has our government become a fight club?"
I am reminded of school days where kids would gather in a circle surrounding two would-be pugilists and yell, "fight, fight, fight!" I think in many cases the youngsters inside the circle didn't want to come to blows, but by the time the circle was formed it was too late.
In terms of our current election season, there are plenty on the sidelines saying, "fight, fight, fight!" In response, there are candidates putting on their armor and preparing for a battle to end all battles.
One wonders -- is it too late for a voice of reason to enter the political battlefield and change the discourse? Someone who can steer us back to the issues of everyday Americans instead of dividing us into angry, hostile groups?
Could that person be none other than the President's second-in-command, Joe Biden?
Personally, I am tired of the political fight club. I don't want to fight my relatives, friends, and neighbors who disagree with me; I want to debate them and convince them I am right. (Yeah...I know.)
In the political world, I am sick of the name-calling and vitriol and lack of action on moving our country forward. I'm thinking there are others like me.
This is one of the main reasons I will support Joe Biden for President, should he run.
Biden has faced grief and knows that family and faith are more important than political posturing. Yet, after decades in the Senate and over six years as Vice President, he also knows the importance of standing up for the needs of everyday Americans and working with those who disagree with him. And yes, I'm pretty sure he can throw a punch if he has to, but he's not walking around daring others to take him on.
I think all of us were affected by the grieving Charleston families who showed compassion and forgiveness instead of anger and hate. It is a needed wake-up call for a country that has seen too many images this past year depicting the divisiveness that envelops us.
We are tired. We want unity.
This is where Joe Biden comes in.
There is still work to be done to strengthen our country at home and abroad. We are at a crossroads. Right now, a bit of the ice seems to be melting and perhaps we can go the way of compromise and unity, and as a young friend says, "get shit done." Or, we can join a fight circle.
As I stated in my last blog: "We are all tired of the divisiveness. The us versus them; rich versus poor; black versus white; red versus blue; female versus male landscape we are now in."
I think we need a uniter, not a fighter. With a "fighter" the focus is on the battle. With a "uniter" the focus is on the cause.
I hope Joe Biden runs for President, because we need him.
"The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger.
The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity
- or it will move apart."
Franklin D. Roosevelt