Blacksburg Bumpers, A Philosophical Microcosm
September 30th, 2008 cultural
I saw car with an Obama and Coexist bumper sticker today. You probably have too. Imagine asking the person driving this car the following question:
“Since this election is so close, how would you feel about letting John McCain and Barack Obama just share the White House? Maybe they could trade being in charge every other day and each be on call for a half day on Sundays. Congress too, would be mandated to have a quota of equal parts Republican and Democrat and can only pass laws with unanimous consent. After all, neither side has the right to claim they know what’s best for the country and enforce their views on everyone else.”
2 Comments Add your own
1. Thud | October 3rd, 2008 at 11:24 am
I think the question raises the bar on “coexistence” to an unreachable level. Coexistence and tolerance suggest that all people, regardless of political or religious belief, are entitled to a certain amount of human consideration. It does not suggest that all opinions have equal merit or validity or should be protected from criticism. But it does suggest that we should respect each others basic humanity.
McCain / Obama are already in a state of co-existence and power sharing, because, you see, they are not shooting at each other.
2. dave | October 3rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Well put. I hope you will continue to comment here.
I think every election cycle returns people to the paradox of having to hold these two sentiments: “Who am I to tell someone else what is right and wrong?” and “Vote for Candidate X because he’s right and the rest are wrong.”
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