Right. So the election got me thinking about being closed-minded. About deciding your side was right and therefore the other guy was some expletive and only worthy of derision or distaste. And YES, there are things I abhor, and in no world are they ok, ever. Rape - not ok. Killing of human beings, I have a problem with that. I have a huge chip on my shoulder about women only being valued for their face value and not for their brains. That problem also extends to making assumptions about the abilities of any people based on their race.
But. There are also a ton of things that I don't personally like and I'm not personally all right with, that I have to find space in my life to let someone else appreciate. Because if everyone needs to be exactly like me, to want what I want and believe what I believe, life is going to be insanely boring.
Look, perfection is not the lot of the human being. I'd like a kinder, gentler world, but the truth is that certain behavior is right at certain times, while completely out of place elsewhere. Human beings make a lot of mistakes. Often, we even love each other for those mistakes.
One of the points I was actually trying to make in a previous post about the election is that I couldn't imagine coming calmly to terms with Romney winning. But I want to be able to do that - to accept that what I want might not be the only choice, and that electing Romney didn't have to mean the ruination of the country. I was truly distraught on election night 2004 as Bush beat Kerry, but I had no choice but to make peace with it. It had happened, and it was going to have to be lived through.
I didn't feel the ability to resign myself to Romney in the same way. BUT I WANTED TO. I wanted to be better than the other side, who are still gnashing their teeth and crying foul play. I wanted the ability to be graceful in defeat, and I don't think I had that ability anymore.
I regret that. I don't want to hate 59% of my home state. I don't want to write off someone who disagrees with me just for disagreeing with me. If they believe Obama was born in Kenya, ah, hell, that's just ridiculous, we're not both operating in reality anymore. But if they believe government needs to be smaller and they're tired of giving the poor handouts, I may not agree but I can respect that.
However, it's hard. I want what I want to be right. Still, if I decide it's right and I never allow any other thinking in, I'll never grow or change or adapt or be given the tools from a new perspective.
The truth is, if I can't adopt more than one perspective, I cannot tell a story. And that's what I love, really. Even more than being right.
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