"Worry about what
you can control," I tell my students, over and over.
Today I wait for the
people of my state--people who have always been kind to me and forgiving of my
foibles, people who give generously to charity and serve their communities and
nation abundantly--to make a horrendous mistake. To endorse for the Presidency
a man whose values are utterly alien to their own. To drop a dookie on
America's civic lawn.
I cannot control their
behavior. I can control my own. I can recognize that my own
frequently-expressed contempt for these people and their cultural and religious
norms has been a contributing factor in their decision--that I have made it
difficult for people to want to share a nation with people like me.
I can recognize that I
have been dismissive of the pain caused by the disintegration of the American
working class under the pressures of globalization. That I am largely insulated
from the very real costs incurred by economic and social progress, and that
others are paying the price for my moral and physical comfort.
I can recognize that,
as someone who broadly shares the values of the American cultural elite, I
could stand to be a bit less superior about it, and that tolerance is often a
virtue which I apply selectively.
I can recognize that,
for a guy who talks a lot about persuasion, I'm often not very good at it. And
that I talk better than I listen.
I'm not a fan of"safe spaces" as a concept, but I think it's probably time for me to recognize that there need to be arenas in American life where people can come together without feeling like they're under psychological assault. We need those spaces, at this moment, more than we need my personal political and moral preferences.
I will work towards
reconciliation, and I'm OK with being held to that. Feel free to blow the
whistle.
