Now that the Election is over
Now that the election is over, I would like to make anr observation. Actually, this is about more than politics.
I am old enough to remember the days when contenders for the White House entered into mortal political combat and when one lost, the country seemed to come together again. The attitude was, “I disagree with the politics of the winner, but he is the President and I respect that.” Somewhere along the line, we seem to have lost that American tradition. The attitude these days is, “I hate the winner. I am depressed. I feel like moving to another country.” That is sad. We need to adopt the attitude of Derek Shearer.
Derek Shearer is the professor in the Interdisciplinary Diplomacy and World Affairs program at Occidental College. He has been a professor at Occidental since 1981.
Politically, it would be conservative to say that Schaefer is a liberal. In the 1980’s, Santa Monica, California was so liberal it was renowned as the “People’s Republic of Santa Monica.” During that period, Shearer’s wife was mayor and he was the Planning Commissioner. President Clinton appointed him to a top Commerce Department post and later Ambassador to Finland. He is one of Clinton’s dearest FOBs (Friends of Bill). He is so liberal that the Wall Street Journal described him as, “miles to the left of the Democratic mainstream” (LA Times, 11/17/2004. p. B2). This year, Shearer worked on the Kerry campaign.
These days Shearer is back from his leave-of-absence at Occidental College, challenging students who criticize George W. Bush unfairly! He talks about the “non-thinking liberal critique” of Bush. When Jane Platt, a political major, said in class that Bush voters were “motivated by fear and hate,” Shearer engaged her in a discussion. As a result, Platt concluded that fear and hate were unfair characterizations of legitimate viewpoints. Because of his exposure to Shearer, another student, Bradley Basham, said, “I hate him (Bush) less personally now. I just hate his politics.”
What happened to liberal Derek Shearer? It was something that occurred many years ago. When he was at Yale, he was a classmate of George W. Bush. As freshmen, they lived across the hall from each other. Shearer says, “We weren’t friends, but we were friendly.” Since their Yale days, Shearer and Bush have met on occasion. In 2000, when Shearer’s 21-year-old son died suddenly, Bush took time from campaigning to write Shearer a note.
In other words, Shearer has had enough personal exposure to Bush to see him as a person. If we are to live civilly with each other, we need to learn to disagree without being disagreeable. In politics, in business, in church, and in family living we need to disagree respectfully. As the old saying goes, “Agree to disagree agreeably.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 11/27/2004
I am old enough to remember the days when contenders for the White House entered into mortal political combat and when one lost, the country seemed to come together again. The attitude was, “I disagree with the politics of the winner, but he is the President and I respect that.” Somewhere along the line, we seem to have lost that American tradition. The attitude these days is, “I hate the winner. I am depressed. I feel like moving to another country.” That is sad. We need to adopt the attitude of Derek Shearer.
Derek Shearer is the professor in the Interdisciplinary Diplomacy and World Affairs program at Occidental College. He has been a professor at Occidental since 1981.
Politically, it would be conservative to say that Schaefer is a liberal. In the 1980’s, Santa Monica, California was so liberal it was renowned as the “People’s Republic of Santa Monica.” During that period, Shearer’s wife was mayor and he was the Planning Commissioner. President Clinton appointed him to a top Commerce Department post and later Ambassador to Finland. He is one of Clinton’s dearest FOBs (Friends of Bill). He is so liberal that the Wall Street Journal described him as, “miles to the left of the Democratic mainstream” (LA Times, 11/17/2004. p. B2). This year, Shearer worked on the Kerry campaign.
These days Shearer is back from his leave-of-absence at Occidental College, challenging students who criticize George W. Bush unfairly! He talks about the “non-thinking liberal critique” of Bush. When Jane Platt, a political major, said in class that Bush voters were “motivated by fear and hate,” Shearer engaged her in a discussion. As a result, Platt concluded that fear and hate were unfair characterizations of legitimate viewpoints. Because of his exposure to Shearer, another student, Bradley Basham, said, “I hate him (Bush) less personally now. I just hate his politics.”
What happened to liberal Derek Shearer? It was something that occurred many years ago. When he was at Yale, he was a classmate of George W. Bush. As freshmen, they lived across the hall from each other. Shearer says, “We weren’t friends, but we were friendly.” Since their Yale days, Shearer and Bush have met on occasion. In 2000, when Shearer’s 21-year-old son died suddenly, Bush took time from campaigning to write Shearer a note.
In other words, Shearer has had enough personal exposure to Bush to see him as a person. If we are to live civilly with each other, we need to learn to disagree without being disagreeable. In politics, in business, in church, and in family living we need to disagree respectfully. As the old saying goes, “Agree to disagree agreeably.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 11/27/2004