Perspective [View All]

[NanceGreggs]

Gather ‘round, fellow DUers – I want to share a story with you.

A few weeks back, there was a televised Democratic debate – which, unfortunately, I did not see. So I came here to DU in the wee hours of the morning, knowing that many of you would have posted clips from the debate, along with your comments.

I found several posts from Obama supporters with links to a clip they all assured me was Obama’s finest moment. After watching the video, I was appalled. As an Obama fan, I thought it was his worst moment to date.

There were also links posted by the Hillary bashers: watch this, they all said, and you’ll see why she shouldn’t be the next president. I watched and, as a non-Hillary supporter, was amazed at what I thought was an incredible display of wit, style, and an ability to think on her feet.

Does this mean that I was right in my thinking, and everyone else was wrong? Of course not. There is no right or wrong here; it is all a matter of individual perception. And that’s something all of us should remember.

We all like to think we know what’s best for our country, and our fellow Americans. But the truth is, we don’t know simply because we can’t know.

The city dweller will never see a candidate through the eyes of a mid-west farmer; the financially-strapped single mom will never hear a candidate’s speech in the same way it is heard by the financially-comfortable retiree.

The voter whose greatest concern is the environment will never scrutinize a candidate’s stand on the most pressing issues in the same way as the voter who believes election reform trumps every other topic.

The reaction to Obama’s speech last night is just one case in point. Some here heard the words that promised the fulfillment of a dream, while others heard nothing more than insubstantial fluff. We all heard the same words – why did we hear them differently?

Maybe it’s because we are different. And isn’t that something to be applauded, rather than vilified?

This race is far from over. If you believe in your candidate’s ability to lead this nation out of the darkness created by the current administration, support him or her. Contribute what you can financially, knock on doors, make phone calls, distribute flyers – do whatever it takes to make your candidate heard.

But don’t belittle your fellow Democrats because they don’t see things your way. Just because their perspective differs from yours doesn’t make it any less valid, nor their staunch support of their candidate any less intelligently weighed-and-measured than your own.

Let’s keep in mind, especially at this point in the game, that trying to convince a fellow Democrat that his or her choice is wrong, misguided, ill-informed, or just plain stupid isn’t going to get your candidate into the White House.

They’ll only get there if a majority of your fellow citizens agree with what is being proposed by your candidate-of-choice, and their collective perception thereof. And your disdain for those who perceive things differently is, I hate to tell you, not worth a dime - no less a vote.

When I see the "but your guy isn’t electable in the GE" posts, I can only wonder why said poster thinks we have elections in the first place, and why we do not, as a party, simply defer to his/her better judgment and be done with it.

Maybe – just maybe – it’s because the democratic process is meant to include the voices of the many, and not just the voice of the self-proclaimed Decider Guy (and if that phrase doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, nothing will.)

Personally, I am convinced that it will be a Democrat who takes back this country for all of us after the next election. Which candidate that will be is inevitably up to We The People as a whole, and not you the individual whose perception of things may not be the same as the final perception of the majority.

It is important to remember that no Democratic nominee was ever decided simply because one group of supporters out-insulted the supporters of his competitors.

We’re in this to win our country back from the Republicans. Let’s act like it.

More importantly, let’s do it – together.