I've been trying very hard to remain above the political fray on-line. The vitriol, the lack of understanding, the unwillingness to see the grey in every argument... I couldn't get into it.
But today, I'm chiming in.
I'm amazed at all the post-election rumination on the Romney's loss and the Republican party's need to reach out to a more diverse populace in order to actually win a national election.
I've been saying for a long time that the world reflected in the Republican party is not the world I or my children live in. And we live in a pretty un-cosmopolitan place!
Yet, my kids' classrooms are filled with kids from different cultural backgrounds. Their friends come from homes lead by single parents, stay-at-home dads, same-sex couples, grandparents, two working parents, and, yes, more traditional set-ups. There are kids who live in mansions, and kids who live in apartments. Thankfully, at least in our supposedly upper middle class town, there don't seem to be many kids who are homeless. That doesn't mean that the local Food Pantry isn't busy, however.
Certainly there are kids whose skin-color doesn't define them. Half white, half African American, one-quarter Chinese, one-eighth Indian, one-tenth native American... Racial definitions are incomplete, and say nothing about who the kids are. They are Christians of all stripes, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, atheists, and, yes, Mormons. Some practicing; some not. Some of those kids have parents came to the United States for education and greater opportunity-- from all corners of the globe.
And, just a few miles away, there are kids who live without. Without decent schools, decent housing, and a decent shot at a better life.
Racially, culturally, socio-economically diverse. That's what the US is and will continue to be. We have problems-- certainly big economic ones. But leaving more than half of the population out of your argument is no way to get your point across. Everyone values opportunity-- the chance to work hard and succeed at whatever you choose to do-- but when the playing field seems open only to those who look, sound, and act alike, you're left with frustration and disenfranchisement.
So, in a world that doesn't look like a country club holiday party, it astounds me that it has taken this long for the Republicans to realize that a growing percentage of the population doesn't feel like the party has much to offer. Embrace the change or flea from it.
