National politics thrives on creating division. Washington needs to foster unity | Opinion

Every four years, we retreat as a nation towards our corners for realignment on which partisan talking points, we are to regurgitate at water coolers and backyard BBQs across this great nation. During this time, we become increasingly divided by words and actions that don’t align with those talking points.

We as a nation are more than just political parties, words, ideas or constitutional amendments. We must not build our identity on any of those.

We need to stop using words like “snowflake,” “microaggressions,” “patriot,” “DEI,” “MAGA,” “family values,” “woke,” “triggered,” “hardworking Americans,” “fascist” and all these other words meant to invoke an identity either for or against your political beliefs. They’re designed to provoke a visceral response of contempt or hatred. Political posturing has been done using words since time began, and it’s only effective if you let it be.

It’s been disheartening and honestly, exhausting, to try and keep up with the rhetoric and noise. I’ve intentionally stepped back from the 24-hour news cycle a few years back, and my life has been better because of it. It’s allowed me a greater appreciation and commitment to my community when I leave the ideologies behind and put the person first.

I’m not putting my head in the sand though. I’m aware of the major events and discussions, but stray from engaging in all the ancillary minutiae. That being said, I’ve lived during eight presidencies and have been able to vote for five ahead of this November.

Let’s be honest, neither side is putting up their best and brightest from the top down. This isn’t Ali vs. Frazier. It’s not the Thrilla in Manila or the Rumble in the Jungle. It’s celebrity boxing — Danny Bonaduce vs. Donny Osmond. It’s more embarrassing than empowering.

When it’s all said and done, on the evening of Nov. 5 a winner will be declared. It certainly won’t be the American people. That winner will step on stage among falling balloons and some ‘70s rock song, having spent nearly a billion dollars on their campaign, and in their victory speech declare their commitment to America. They’ll praise their opponent and then say those famous five words they all say: “it’s time to heal our nation.”

It’s the boilerplate for all elections, large and small. What they won’t say is the cause that requires healing in the first place. What they won’t say is “from the trauma our candidates and political parties have created”.

As I reflect on the eight presidents I’ve had the privilege to live under, how drastically better or worse has my life been because of these eight men? I don’t think I can pinpoint any moment in time where my life has ebbed or flowed beyond a minor blip or two on my Richter scale of presidential impact.

I don’t say that to minimize the impact of presidents — I know many people on whose lives a president has had grave and deep effects, specifically those who lost their loved ones to war, others who remained jailed for federal drug charges that today you can legally buy from your corner dispensary and so on.

With all that said though, I compare the federal freedom and liberties I had in 1996, when I cast my first presidential vote, to the freedom and liberties I have today. Really, not much has changed for me personally, and I’d assume most Americans in general.

We need to recognize the letter after a candidate’s name shouldn’t be the defining characteristic of our identity. We need to keep partisan politics out of our local communities and recognize there is no conservative way to get way to your home when you flush your toilet and there’s no liberal way to remove a tree across the road when in a windstorm.

We need our local leaders to buck the partisan alliances and from that, we can start a trend where true leadership is helping and supporting all. From that, we can create a culture we as a nation so desperately want. We should rise and expect more from each other. More kindness, more respect, more grace. We need to rally around each other and our communities for the common good we share. If we can do that, we can make a more impactful difference in the lives of each other than what any president will do for us.

We need to rethink our left-wing vs. right-wing division, and understand they’re both part of the same eagle and the only way we soar higher is to work together.