It was a truly “special” special. Sitting in for the incredible Jane Pauley, legendary former host of “Nightline” Ted Koppel, now a correspondent for the CBS Sunday Morning show, moderated a remarkable hour and a half about America’s “continental divide.” It was thought provoking, entertaining and embedded within the various features, some actual good ideas for making progress toward America’s dangerous social and political divide.
It is easy to find and watch the show. Just type the following into your web browser and you’ll find the show: www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning.
The segments are inspired. “The Movement to Expand Idaho’s Border into Oregon,” which features residents of rural eastern Oregon who have concluded that their left leaning State Legislature has forgotten about them. “The Origin of America’s Ugly Politics,” which reminds us we have been here before when it comes to intense partisanship. “Trade Secrets” which reminds the “elite” that college is not only not for everyone but should not be, that learning a trade can be demanding, and making a trade such as plumbing, electrical and construction a career can be lucrative and satisfying. It is a segment that suggests with compelling evidence that millions of Americans have had it with those who look down on trade workers and that such workers have lost patience with unions and with the Democratic Party. There is a great segment featuring 100-year-old Norman Lear and his gift over decades for making us laugh at ourselves even when the subject was Archie Bunker and racism. The question not fully answered is whether Lear could make his groundbreaking comedies in 2022. There is a revealing look at “Braver Angels,” an organization that seeks to bring people together who are on opposite sides of the social and political divide. There is another segment on a similar gathering of young and old and the problem of the different languages they speak. There is a fascinating story about the millionaires and billionaires of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, living among folks who can barely get by. Koppel introduces a segment about social media and how online anonymity contributes to human polarization. Finally, we are treated to a segment on the continuing phenomenon of conservative talk radio.
Did I learn anything? Your moderate, left of center progressive who believes Trump is part of a through line of dangerous autocrats with names like Hitler and Mussolini?
Yes. What I learned was that I am finding myself increasingly aligned with a guy named Bill Maher. Maher believes that much of the blame for our nation’s divide lies at the feet of “woke” liberals. He’s right. One area Maher has spoken about is the tendency in some quarters to look at people a generation or more in the past and to demand shame and even “reparations” of a sort. Maher has attacked those who want to take down statues of Founding Fathers and even Lincoln because they were racist (those of us who spent time in school learning about Honest Abe came to realize that his views about “the slaves” were more nuanced than the phrase “The Great Emancipator” would suggest). On this and other views about so-called progressives, I say, right on. I agree with Bill; I should not lose my progressive membership card merely because I am at times uncomfortable with the Jamilla and the House Progressive Caucus.
The segments on rural Americans, trade workers, the Braver Angels and the focus group of young and old hit home with me.
But there is a theme to American life not discussed on CBS Sunday Morning that I believe is more fully at the heart of our divide. How do I deal with actual FACTS that are the subject of dispute? How do I deal with people who refuse to accept the rulings of scores of judges who enjoy lifetime appointments and are thus free from political considerations that there was no fraud that made any difference in the 2020 presidential election?
And above all else, what do I do about people who believe that my views are not worthy of respect; who not only believe my views and thus me/myself/I are evil, dangerous and that they’d rather see a civil war than vote for a candidate who shares my views?
What do I do about folks who not only voted for Donald Trump, but believe he is the modern equivalent of Jesus Christ?
You ask, am I not the same? NO. I respect conservative beliefs. I respect those who believe in the death penalty and that life begins at conception. I only ask that they respect me. I also ask for something else. That in a Democracy, we attack ideas, not people. And that when it comes time to elect representatives, we accept the results of fair elections, proven to be fair, even when our views lost. The job of the one who fell short is to marshall your arguments, positions and views and try again next election.
And I ask for one other change in the life of our nation. That we restore civics education at a young age and truly teach about democracy.
I dream of an America where Character Counts and Character Counts First. You see, Donald Trump should have been rejected at the outset, even by rural America, even by the strongest of conservatives, even by the working man who felt put upon and forgotten. He should have been rejected as a person to lead and represent because the FACTS of his life revealed an amoral man. He was and is not merely immoral. “Amoral” means that for whatever reason, he has always lacked the capacity to include ethics, morality, decency in his daily life. Donald Trump has never chosen between the right and wrong paths; he has only known the wrong path. This was apparent to anyone who wanted to elevate character over words and promises in 2015.
And here, my views have evolved. I do believe that millions of people who were looking for something new, who were disillusioned with American leadership, heard something in Trump and chose to ignore his character flaws; a choice I believe should never be made if we are to retain our democracy. Yes, there are also millions of white Americans who really do worry about becoming a minority in “their” country. I have zero patience or empathy for the new generation of Father Coughlin and Lindbergh adherents.
And so, I came away from the CBS Sunday Morning show believing that there is hope for America and its highest ideals and principles. I came away convinced that folks like me can and should do a much better job of understanding those among us who do not share “progressive” values.
At the same time, I am here to say that I do draw a line. It is a simple line. I believe in an agreed set of facts. And I believe in a minimal level of good character grounded in ethics, morality and decency.
Can we all agree on that?