Protests: Reducing the political divide

Re: “4 protesters arrested at Olympia rally in support of Trump,” (TNT, 3/5).

It’s unfortunate the competing rallies in Olympia yesterday resulted in detentions and arrests. Confrontational scenes like this tend to intensify the divide, reducing opportunities for rational conversations.

Part of the problem is how we view ourselves as a country. One thing I take from linguist and author George Lakoff (”Don’t Think of an Elephant”) is his metaphor of family. Some are led by a strict father who supplies and protects the others, scolding and punishing bad behavior while attempting to teach right from wrong. Others are led by nurturing parents, working together to encourage and support.

Perhaps no family is all one or the other. But, as an overarching view of country, in this metaphor we get to vote for the type of “parents” we want. Our choice will lead to very different types of government.

If we think of government as the mechanism for doing things for the common good that individuals by themselves cannot do, our policy choices become clearer and our differences of opinion become easier to discuss.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Protests: Reducing the political divide."