Random thoughts

There are too many things bouncing around inside my head these days, and none of them can carry a column by themselves—so allow me to share a bunch of them with you:

1. I don’t suppose it’s very likely that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be dropping by Wayne County, PA anytime soon. After all, there aren’t that many Democrats to be found here. But wouldn’t it be interesting to see how each of the still-surviving Democratic presidential candidates would address the gas-leasing issue that’s presently dividing residents in Damascus Township and surrounding areas? Not to mention the power lines. (Note to local organizers: that’s a hint.) Would they emphasize property rights, or the need to empower communities, or the collective responsibility we bear for the well-being both of our neighbors and of the environment we share?

2. Part of the problem with Presidential politics in general is that we seem to be looking for two contradictory things from a President. On the one hand, we desperately want someone who can “bring the country together,” “transcend partisan divisions” and so on, and on the other we are looking just as desperately for someone who will champion our particular values or concerns, and triumph over those who disagree with us. Maybe we need to be voting for leaders not only for our nation as a whole, but also for the particular “tribes” that we belong to within that nation. (What would yours be? Who would you choose to lead it?).

3. If Obama and Clinton do end up sharing the Democratic ticket, will the media refer to them collectively as “Hillarama” or “Barackary”?

4. A favorite talking point of conservatives is that liberals lack any kind of moral compass, that there are no absolute values for them, and that their regard for tolerance leads instead to an “anything goes” permissiveness. But let liberals try to contradict this and take some kind of absolutist moral stand—for example, regarding what kinds of discourse are acceptable—and they can find themselves accused of “political correctness,” or even attempted censorship. Sometimes you just can’t win, it seems.

5. People confuse the statement, “I don’t want to hear that” with the statement, “You can’t say that.” They’re not the same thing. You may need to clean out your nose occasionally, but I’m under no obligation to watch.

6. The intolerant actually do not wish to be tolerated; their desire is to prevail. So for such folks to claim a right to toleration is in fact disingenuous. (Some interesting philosophical material on this question can be found by searching on the phrase “paradox of tolerance;” for example, see www.whatrain.com/ljujic.

7. I wouldn’t want the people who disagree with me to keep their disagreements to themselves. If they do, then I have nothing to work with, and there is less possibility of creating change. Of course, if I am interacting honestly with folks with a different viewpoint, I may run the risk of finding that I’m the one that needs to change. Scary prospect, that.

8. Remember when you were learning the usage of “can” and “may,” and the adults would always correct you? I think of that every time I hear Obama’s slogan. Maybe this would make a thought-provoking bumpersticker:

“Sure we can… but I don’t know if we may.”

- Skip Mendler