I loved this article in the recent issue of Time magazine about the relationship between Bill
Clinton and the Bush family. In an era of hostility from both sides of the aisle, this cover
story painted such a picture of grace shown by both men. The article tells how these former
presidents show acts of kindness to each other, even while maintaining their
differences.
Imagine.
When George H. W. Bush
left office after a difficult campaign, he left a gracious note for Bill
Clinton as he began his presidency: “You will be our president when you read
this note. I am rooting hard for you.” Bush had Clinton as a guest
at Kennebunkport, Maine. Bill Clinton escorted Barbara Bush to Betty Ford’s
funeral. George W. Bush and Clinton rib each other and show far more understanding toward each other than the general public often offers.
politicians?
I doubt any of us on any side have maintained the power to persuade. Our
postings on Facebook remind me of people standing nose-to-nose, screaming their
views, but never listening, never caring, never respecting the thinking behind
someone’s stance, often assuming there is no thinking. This isn’t a call for us all to be the same, but could we learn to be respectful in our disagreeing?
were forced into the same room. Would World War III break out, or would we
learn some diplomacy? It’s so easy to write a snarky, disrespectful comment
online, but it’s a little more difficult to do so when looking into someone’s
eyes as you sit across the table from them.
invited “the opposition” into our home for a meal, or asked them to coffee,
just to build a relationship? I suspect for
many of us our panic sets in that we might be compromising our values or
sending the message that we endorse their stances. But if we sat
down for coffee together, could we possibly use diplomacy to find common ground and grow respect for the passion behind
the other person’s views?
and disrespect. Perhaps the behind-the-scenes relationships are far warmer than
we’re allowed to witness, but we don’t know for sure. We have dysfunctional
leaders who have bred dysfunctional kids. That’s us. We model their behavior by
believing we must say nasty things, assuming anyone who doesn’t think like us
is “an idiot” or “evil.”
Time article.
they are generational. The next generation has been barred from seeing healthy
disagreement and debate, which results in more unproductive arguments and
battles—like gridlock, and elected officials who can’t get along. Then, as the
product of this dysfunctional system, we model that behavior in how we speak and
treat one another.
of us dysfunctional kids to Kennebunkport or New York for
a good old fashioned family visit? Either we would learn to find some
commonality amidst the differences—building some unlikely friendships—or World War III would break out. Anyone game?