By shutting down the government, President Trump fired the first shot. Speaker Pelosi retaliated by disinviting President Trump to the House Chambers so he could deliver the State of the Union Address. President Trump shot back by taking away the government plane that was going to take Speaker Pelosi to visit the troops in Afghanistan. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a pissing contest on steroids!
While this is going on, the government was shut down for over a month, it was particularly troubling that Coast Guard Service men and women and TSAs were serving our country without pay. While Coast Guard families were going to food banks and scrambling for money take care of their families. On Sunday January 20th, the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf began a 90-day mission in the Pacific.
These men and women who are serving our country were separated from their families with no idea what would happen to their families if they missed another paycheck. Fortunately, on Friday, the government opened up at least for three weeks with the possibility that this mess can happen again in February.
With polarization at its worst, I’ve become passionate of an organization called Better Angles. The mission of better Angels is to de-polarize America by helping people who disagree politically find Common Ground. We do this through structured workshops where we bring seven liberals and conservatives together to clarify their views without ridiculing the other side. If you arrive at a workshop a liberal, you go home a liberal. If you arrive at a workshop a conservative, you go home a conservative. An example of common ground is the way Alameda came together during the past couple of weeks in support of the Coast Guard families. We weren’t liberals and conservatives, we just loved our neighbors in the Coast Guard.
This Thursday, the Better Angels Organization is making its boldest statement yet. We’ll be conducting our own version of the State of the Union. Originally planned two days after the President’s State of the Union Address, this was designed to be a discussion of what Unites us rather than what divides us. The thinking was President Trump’s address would focus on why his policies were superior and why the democrat’s policies were bad. The democrats would respond by focusing on why their policies were better. Both sides would say, “my side is good, the other side is bad.”
The Better Angels SOTU will take place as scheduled at www.better-angels.org, this Thursday. My friend Joe and I will be hosting a viewing party at Joe’s office. We expect the address to be a positive event that uplifts all who watch it. Here are the details:
· Thursday January 31
· 5:45 PM, we encourage you to log in about five or ten minutes early
· It will be live streamed at www.better-angels.org
· If your near Alameda, pm me and you can join us at the viewing party. Pizza will be served.
Friends, the best way out of this political divide is to have conversations with the “other side.” I encourage you to check out the Better Angels website and join us in de-polarizing America.
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