I thought we were all Americans

It seems to me that America isn't a country that's set up to make 100% of its people happy all the time. It's set up so that the majority opinion dictates. I know this is a simplistic breakdown, but I think we need to acknowledge that some of us are sometimes going to be in the unpopular section of opinions. Some of us are going to come out on the losing end of a vote. It doesn't mean that we're less American or that the winners are more American.

People just seem so outraged when there are people that disagree with their viewpoint. You often hear, "But I'm an American, and we didn't want this." In most cases, especially considering those debates and elections that were very public, someone out there did want "this" to happen, and those people are of course equally Americans too.

I've learned in recent years to try to see the other side, and to especially recognize the other side as people that aren't all that different than myself. It's not easy. It's easier to believe that my opinion is the majority, but that's not always or even often the case. I think the hardest part about our entire system is that we don't really see one another often enough. We take on that old 'them' versus 'us' attitude. We believe that there's some conspiracy against us when our group doesn't seem to come out ahead.

I was talking to a politician one day. I don't remember which one. It was likely someone pretty local. I was telling him about a few of my concerns. He told me that I should always keep in the habit of writing my representatives letters in some form. He said that politicians operate under the assumption that every letter they receive represents around 5,000 people. I don't know how accurate that is, or how well they react to opposing view points, but I started regularly contacting my Senators and Congress People. It's really pretty easy online, and to my amazement, they respond - quickly! They respond even when they disagree.

If you think someone was elected or a bill was passed because your representatives didn't act they way "the majority" wanted, I'm not so sure you're being realistic. The truth is, there are people out there that don't see things the way you do. They're Americans too. They care about the future too. They're not stupid, uneducated, or uninformed. They just live in different circumstances than you do. They don't want the country to fail. They just see a different path than you do. No one is saying either path is wrong or right.

I think we need to learn to see one another. We need to care about all of us instead of just those that agree with us. One election, one bill passed, that won't likely bring down our country. What'll bring us down is our inability to remember that we're all people, and that it's okay to disagree. It's okay to win sometimes, and it's okay to lose too. That's kind of what made us different all those years ago.