{"id":7676,"date":"2017-07-13T11:02:29","date_gmt":"2017-07-13T15:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=7676"},"modified":"2017-07-13T11:02:29","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T15:02:29","slug":"indivisible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=7676","title":{"rendered":"indivisible"},"content":{"rendered":"

The meeting was called to order. Together<\/em> they recited the Pledge\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 one nation under God\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 indivisible\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 with liberty\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 and justice\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 for all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And then the small city\u2019s mayor, after four minutes of sharing only his own thoughts, ended the meeting due to a public comment on a fellow council\u2019s member\u2019s Facebook page \u2014 a member with whom he shares multiple dissimilar views. The comment suggested that another council member\u2019s behind be kicked. This was then referred to as the \u201cstraw that broke the camel\u2019s back\u201d and \u201cthreatened violence.\u201d On a hotly contested night by a hotly divided vote, the meeting was abruptly adjourned. There would be no governance taking place that night.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 one nation under God\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 indivisible\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 with liberty\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 and justice\u2026<\/em>
\n\u2026 for all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In my sweet, small town, we seem to currently be having trouble getting government right. We seem to have trouble remembering that those in charge only have said position and power due to the consent of the governed \u2014 all<\/em> of the governed\u2026 not just the ones with similar views. And then we justify a lot of fighting. The fighting obstructs the fixing of the challenges they were elected to address.<\/p>\n

I suppose we shouldn\u2019t be shocked. Our quaint suburb of 12,000 plus is merely a microcosm of what we\u2019re seeing on a grander scale\u2026 the finger pointing, the indignant offense, and the vast hyperbole articulated in the offense\u2026 and then, of course, more resulting division.<\/p>\n

Have our leaders forgotten what \u201cindivisible\u201d means? Have we?<\/em><\/p>\n

And what will it take to end the fighting and start the fixing?<\/p>\n

One of the movements the Intramuralist has been watching is a group called \u201cNo Labels.\u201d It\u2019s an organization that began some seven years ago, as over 1,000 citizens from each of the 50 states gathered together, sharing their frustration with Washington\u2019s \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d way of doing things. And so Democrats and Republicans convened for the purpose of launching a movement that would prioritize our entire country over any party. Party affiliations need not be shed, but fixing America\u2019s problems is more important.<\/p>\n

I appreciate, especially, this stated belief: \u201cAs long as they are intellectually honest, we respect conservatives, liberals, and anyone in between who has a sincere desire to address the nation\u2019s problems. No Labels supports a diversity of viewpoints; we think it\u2019s one of America\u2019s strengths.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Agreed. Allow me to share more…<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Labels is building a movement for the legions of people who are tired of a political system that simply doesn\u2019t respond to the priorities of the vast majority of the American people.<\/em><\/p>\n

We believe that to solve a problem \u2014 any problem \u2014 leaders first need to unite behind goals, and then commit to a rigorous process to achieve those goals.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So when I see the diverse co-chairs of Jon Huntsman and Joe Lieberman\u2026 the varied viewpoints, backgrounds, etc. of vice-chairs Charlie Black, Lisa Borders, Al Cardenas, and Mack McLarty\u2026 when I see the left and right come together \u2014 with no place for the yellers, screamers, nor disrespectful \u2014 I\u2019m encouraged (www.nolabels.org<\/a>).<\/em> I also think they know their Pledge.<\/p>\n

What again does \u201cindivisible\u201d mean?<\/p>\n

It means to stop fighting, start fixing, and commit to being respectful.<\/p>\n

Together.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The meeting was called to order. Together they recited the Pledge\u2026 \u201c\u2026 one nation under God\u2026 \u2026 indivisible\u2026 \u2026 with liberty\u2026 \u2026 and justice\u2026 \u2026 for all.\u201d And then the small city\u2019s mayor, after four minutes of sharing only his own thoughts, ended the meeting due to a public comment on a fellow council\u2019s member\u2019s … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “indivisible”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[636],"class_list":["post-7676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event","tag-no-labels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7676"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7682,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7676\/revisions\/7682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}