It’s not fashionable to speak positively about the government, particularly in the United States, and particularly during the current administration.
And to be crystal clear, I believe our current president has no business being in the White House, and is a colossal embarrassment to this country.
What I’m grateful for, however, is that I can say that.
It’s no surprise that we take many freedoms for granted. Health is perhaps the most obvious.
Particularly when things are perceived as not going well — as today, at least as perceived by what I believe is the majority of the American people — people complain. Spend any time on social media, and you’ll see it. In fact, it’s difficult not to see it — so much so that just yesterday I added filters to my Facebook feed in an attempt to remove most of the political posts from my view.
And of course for every action there is an opposite overreaction. And to that, a responding over-overreaction. And so on and so on.
Public discourse is broken, there’s no doubt about it. As a country we seem more divided than ever (though, admittedly, it’s possible we’ve always been this divided and new technologies have simply brought it to light).
But you know what? It’s a public discourse. That people are having what can most politely be termed “spirited” debates, in public, is a precious thing.
I know that some are concerned that it’s at risk. I tend not to believe so — at least not inappropriately so — but only time will tell.
Today, right now, in this country, we can do something that many in other countries under more restrictive regimes cannot: speak our mind publicly.
That something we should all be grateful for.