Political New Year's Resolutions

In the spirit of the New Year, I’d like to make some political commitments and goals, both for this site and for myself personally, to work toward in 2017.

1.      Give Trump a chance. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating—I was intensely critical of Donald Trump during the campaign, and with good reason. I take none of it back. But the fact is that he is now the President-elect of the United States, has not yet undertaken any formal action as President, and therefore deserves a chance to prove all the doubters and naysayers wrong once more.

2.      Give Democrats and liberals a chance. This one will be harder. But it is important to remember that liberals are people too, with sincerely held beliefs just as strong as conservatives. Those beliefs may be wrong or stupid, but there is usually a rationale behind it—and a difference between the idea and the person holding it. If Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have as strong of a friendship as they did for so many years, and yet disagree so vociferously on the bench, in such a public setting, we can do the same with liberals we may know and work with. Politics is never an excuse to destroy friendships and relationships.

3.      Be careful about attacking liberal ideas and actions unless you have a better solution. It may be stupid, but at least they are presenting a solution. Don’t mock liberal proposals unless you have a better, conservative answer. Leaving an argument at “that’s stupid”, without any follow-up, is a good way to lose both the argument and personal relationships.

And finally…

4.      Remember that there is more to life than politics. This will be the hardest resolution to keep to in 2017, but also the most important. Not every family gathering has to be defined by politics. Not every chance encounter in the store has to lead to some political discussion. If it does, fine, great—but keep it civil. And if it becomes ugly, pivot to something that unites rather than divides. Even today, there are plenty of things to talk about that have absolutely nothing to do with Donald Trump or Barack Obama.

A New Year also brings new opportunities and possibilities. Let’s not waste it on the sniping that made so much of 2016 so tedious.