THE POLITICS OF GRATITUDE
A Modest Proposal
by James M. Truxell
I sat at the kitchen table on a beautiful June morning, engaging in my weekly ritual of putting vitamins and prescription medications in the appropriate compartments of my pillbox. I began to hear myself thinking, "I'm sure grateful for the pharmaceutical companies that created these drugs to help me stay healthy."
Struck by my spontaneous gratitude, I decided to expand the list and found it easy. "And for the kids who are even now sitting in science classes and may one day create even more wonderful medications . . . and for their teachers . . . and for the schools our communities provide in which they can learn . . . and for the portion of the taxes I pay to build those schools and pay those teachers . . . and for the foresight and political courage of state legislators who voted to impose those taxes . . . and for my neighbors who turned out at the polls to elect them . . . and for the Food and Drug Administration that seeks to protect us from harmful medications and insists upon rigorous testing and honest labeling . . . and for the physcians and pharmacists who learn so much to help us . . . and for my medical insurance that helps to pay the bills for all of this, and . . . ."
My grateful reverie was interrupted by the "ding" of the microwave announcing that my oatmeal had finished cooking. As I began to eat my breakfast, I reflected on my list and wondered about the people who couldn't afford such medications, or education, or even the oatmeal.
I then glanced at the morning paper and its usual headlines about the political wrangling in Congress over nearly everything under the sun. Neither side cares to listen to the other, except for finding language they can use to their advantage when they give their own response: a response to which the other side also will not listen.
In this election year, each party will be so concerned to grab a new seat or two that it is unlikely that Congress will govern much at all.
Nonetheless, at some point the parties will assemble their platforms: those statements about what the party stands for and what they hope to accomplish. The parties' candidates will run on those platforms.
"What would happen," I began to wonder, "if the parties' political platforms were based on what they're thankful for?
What if they followed these 6 simple steps:
1) Create a list of what they are thankful for as a political party;
2) Create a list of those they would deliberately exclude from the same blessings for which they are thankful;
3) Create a list of any people other than those on the second list who aren't able to achieve or gain access to the blessings enumerated on the first list;
4) Explain the rationale for the exclusions in list number 2;
5) Determine why those on list number 3 aren't enjoying the blessings for which the party gives thanks;
6) Propose legislative solutions to address those reasons with the goal of shrinking or eliminating altogether list number 3;
Of course, neither party is about to do this. Not now. Not ever. There's far too much disinfecting sunlight in those 6 steps.
BUT IF THEY DID, WHAT THEN? For starters, three things:
1) I would guess that the parties might wind up being thankful for many of the same things. (*See important footnote below.)
2) If they enumerated groups on a list they would exclude, they'd have to explain that. It would make for an interesting read.
3) The political debates of 2014 might then ultimately be rooted in gratefulness, something that greatly transcends the not-so-good-angels of both parties' nature.
This methodology would require each party to keep their focus on their Constitutional responsibilities and the ends toward which all their political efforts are supposed to point as enumerated in that document's Preamble. The debates then might be about which party could do the better job and why.
And that's precisely why it's not going to happen.
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* Wayne Baker, author of United America (David Crumm Media, LLC, January 3, 2014) www.OurValues.org. has conducted a national survey that reveals Americans are united around ten core values. (Click here to see a downloadable poster with the ten values listed.)
From readthespirit.com:
"United America is unique. It's different than the many manifestos published by political activists, because United America is based on years of scientific research at one of the nation's leading universities. Dr. Wayne Baker's finding that 10 core values unite the vast majority of Americans is a startling conclusion, drawn from rigorous nationwide research. These ten core values were identified from data collected in four nationally representative surveys administered over a two-year period by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR), the world's premier survey research organization. The surveys were funded in part by the ISR and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Dr. Baker and his team designed their survey questionnaire after in-depth analysis of past research methods, followed by extensive pre-survey research with focus groups, cognitive interviews, and pilot tests. The data was analyzed with a battery of statistical techniques to ensure the validity and reliability of the results." You can read more about United America and Wayne Baker here.
