Round Rooms

The politics of hate. For all the talk of moving beyond the daily vitriol, we seem to collectively fail in that pursuit. Whether we’re bashing our town officials, county officials, state officials, federal officials, party officials, or even each other, it’s self-defeating to our desired goals. I suppose it’s just easier to criticize than to actually try to participate in forging solutions. The problem with that, of course, is that we’re doomed to remain stagnant, stuck in our own cesspool of bitterness, anger, and apathy.

I’ve always believed that assigning blame is generally a non-productive exercise beyond identifying root causes of problems so that measures can be implemented to help prevent similar missteps from occurring. Unfortunately, for some people, they become obsessed with revisiting who’s to blame and become mired in a mindset that can’t get to dealing with possible remedies.

Long-time ex–Rotterdam Supervisor Constantino is still blamed for a multitude of sins. Ex- Supervisor Paolino is still getting knocked for initiating the town’s reval. Current Supervisor Tommasone is abused for studying issues to death while Councilman Mertz is routinely criticized for nobly sticking his neck out on a host of issues. County Legislator Dagostino is still vilified for her involvement in a questionable land sale. State leaders seem dysfunctional in nearly all aspects. Presidential contenders have resorted to trading distorted or exaggerated barbs daily. Some will say it’s just the nature of the game and can’t be avoided. I don’t accept that. I don’t accept that it’s some sort of game, with us as pawns to be maneuvered. I’m sick and tired of accepting the inappropriateness that dominates the process without getting results. It’s time for a new paradigm.

I don’t live in a bubble. I do my fair share of complaining and I’ve probably been guilty of being inappropriate myself at times. Let’s face it, many times they probably deserve it. I hope I’ve succeeded in never making it personal, though I’m also aware I’ve upset a few people along the way that have taken my comments personally.

I think the situation Senator Obama finds himself confronted with is a lesson for us all. He’s proved not to be perfect and Rev. Wright’s comments are undeniably disturbing. I don’t find my politics to be in alignment with Senator Obama as he leans left when I lean right, though I appreciate the foundation of his arguments because they surprisingly begin from the same constitutional basis more often than not. We just arrive in slightly different places. I can respect that because as I’ve said before, I don’t necessarily have all the answers. What I think is important about his candidacy is that we finally choose as a nation to acknowledge the existing racial divide in terms we haven’t before, put aside the provocative comments from the fringe, and begin trying to find a better way to co-exist so that we can solve the bigger problems that need solving that perpetuate. We’ll never, ever make progress if we continue “to retreat into our respective corners” of excuses. And that corner doesn’t just accommodate our discomfort discussing race but every other issue we encounter. It’s time for all of us to embrace the effort to be better than we’ve been regardless of our candidate preferences. And that applies from top to bottom. From the White House in Washington to the Town Hall in Rotterdam.