I liked politics before it was cool, assuming it is cool now. I was really just a sucker for history in high school and by extension loved civics lessons. My affection for politics grew in 1992, when Winter Park High School’s Mr. Bass had my class follow that year’s presidential bid. Was that the year politics became cool? Was it Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on “The Arsenio Hall Show” that started this whole mess?
My early political views were shaped by my parents and our economic situation growing up. We had each other, but not much beyond that. There was a time my family was the beneficiary of government programs, mainly when my mother was left to raise five kids on her own. Later, my family would suffer again following the economic policies of Reagan/Bush. I spent my senior year of high school sleeping on an Army cot in a room I shared with my parents in my aunt’s apartment. Perhaps that’s where I developed my bleeding heart for the underdog and the disadvantaged.
My parents tried to hide how bad things had gotten, but I was able to pick up on it. Near miss car accidents shed light on our lack of auto insurance, as did paying for food with money that didn’t exist. Today I can’t imagine how hard it was for them, and I harbor no judgement as there is no shame in financial struggles. I saw how hard my parents worked, how much they sacrificed and how no matter what they did they just couldn’t get ahead.
I believed then that I was on the good side. I was a Democrat and everything was so black and white. We fought for the average Joe, helping give a leg up to the underserved. On the other side, just my impression at the time, Republicans gave the leg up to the advantaged with the notion they in turn would help those who were less fortunate.
At the time I saw there was a common goal, just differences on how to financially achieve those goals. I remember there was partisanship, but that each side presented a case and worked towards something. Of course I was young and naive but progress was being made on a national level. The budget was balanced for a hot second.
So what happened? Why do we now live in a time of such turmoil? Was it 9/11? Was it the historic election of Barack Obama? Is it social media and 24-7 news? Why is everything so polarizing and politicized at a time where we all need to come together as one?
Our human race is suffering at the hands of a pandemic that leaves us with more questions than answers and we have found a way to make it political. The two sides of this coin are Republicans who want life back to normal now and Democrats who want to shelter in place until the pandemic is over. There is a happy middle ground somewhere, but the extreme views are all over my social media timelines.
Lately I’ve had many conversations regarding the fate of the coronavirus, small business and the people closest to me. I’ve been told my views are too Republican by some and too Democratic by others. I wonder why we have to be so binary.
We have to find a way to safely live with a virus we have no control over. If treatment is one year away, we can’t sit around and wait. We need solutions now. But we must be diligent with safety, protecting those who are most vulnerable. We need to put partisanship behind us and work together to make our world work again. We need both sides of the coin, freedom and safety, but we have to work together to make it work.
Practice your freedom to go outdoors, but be smart about it. Wear your mask, cover your nose and mouth, wash your hands and stay a safe distance away from each other. Do it for your freedom, do it for your loved ones and do it to better humanity. Wearing a mask isn’t Republican or Democrat. Eating at a restaurant isn’t Republican or Democrat. Let’s stop senseless arguing about it and get on the same page for the greater good.
In this issue of Watermark we introduce you to Elliott, a Flagler County trans youth, and his father who are fighting to show the school board that all trans students deserve to be shown love. In Central Florida we check in on LGBTQ advocates making masks for underserved essential workers and in Tampa Bay we take a look at some of the LGBTQ restaurants reopening.
We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.
