I know it has been discussed many times here. But after some squabbles between neighbors in my gated community, all of them Democrats, I remembered why the former president got elected. The squabble was not about politics. The dispute is beside the point as it is about the use of land for gardening or landscaping in common areas. It is irrelevant.
What matters is that the neighbors are of different races and got offended about what the other neighbor said.
It reminded me that for a very long time many people in the USA had racists thoughts. These people were blacks, white, Latinos, Asians, and from any other race. I had racist thoughts that I thought were not racist. Now I know they were.
There were also many who struggled accepting the LGBT movement. Initially, 20 years back I had a hard time too.
There were also many men who had chauvinistic, macho thoughts and resented seeing men wear pink shirts or women being successful in their careers. And there were women, with fathers like that and husbands like that, who loved those type of men and supported their cause.
But political correctness dictated that they should not express those thoughts or feelings as it was not correct.
And then came the former president. He freed all of these people in America and around the world (yes, he has fans around the world) and allowed them to speak up, to express their thoughts and feelings. That’s why they love him.
No need to tell me that people are still racist, chauvinistic, ignorant today. I think it was good the “politically correct” curtain was torn down. Let’s focus on that because something changed.
We don’t need that curtain.
We need to see people for who they are now and the potential they have to move beyond their worldview.
What we need is people who are or become “correct”.
On our side and the other side, and regardless of which side, too many people are focused on their own best interests and focused on seeing faults in other. Too many people obsess about finding fault in others, causing them grief and anger, separating them from us and from others, isolating them.
How many of you still agree with the label of “deplorables” for the followers of the former president?
Until recently I did.
Then I got introduced to some people who support him. I knew that, and we spoke about other things, many topics, and never got to the topic of politics. They were nice to me. And it seemed genuine. I was genuinely nice to them. I liked them. I am not interested in finding what separates us but what unites us.
Sure, very cheesy and cliché. So what?
We have to stop having thoughts that are selfish, self-serving, and discriminatory. We should have sincere compassion for others, not because it looks good but because it is right. That means, we have to start being correct with our thoughts and our feelings. Our acts will follow.
That way we do not need to be “politically correct”.
That way we are simply correct. And that means: we are truly kind and genuinely good people.
We don’t just pretend to be good.
I think that is what I admire most about Joe Biden. I can feel and I am absolutely convinced he is a truly kind and genuinely good person.
How do you help people become correct so they don’t have to be politically correct?
By teaching them to be kind.
How? That’s for another dairy. I have some ideas but maybe you can tell me.