Where do you stand when you stand in the middle?

I’ve always thought that adding one’s voice to angry discourse only feeds the mob scenes. In emotionally charged climates—take Arizona, for example—it is best to minimize discussions about things like immigration reform or SB 1070 . (That link is just the law itself. My effort to provide facts, ‘mam.)

Instead, I usually try (truly…I do try!) to practice peace…to build consensus and community. My post Us…them…Where are We? offers my Mimi in the Middle view perfectly: Can’t We Just All Get Along?!

Well, all summer, a well-meaning neighbor with whom I did actually share my opinions, has been hoping to improve or rectify my perspective. (Just for clarification, I am a registered Republican who often sounds and votes like a Democrat and who is really tired of hearing that Republicans don’t read!)

Yesterday, I received an email with these photos along with others, and an explanation that the people in them were “illegals” who were demonstrating against SB 1070 in downtown Phoenix on July 31. And there was much more accompanying explanation and interpretation.

So, what did I do when I got these photos? Originally, I did nothing. I just deleted the email and thought of all the countless ways in which I truly do love the person who forwarded them to me. I wanted to move on with my little world and ignore this ugliness about which I can do nothing.

Then this morning, something in me shifted. I spent a bit of time framing my reply to the email and pointing out a few factual inaccuracies, not that it will change her opinion. I don’t mind that her opinion is different from mine. In fact, as I’ve said many times, I love that about humans! I just mind when people inadvertently perpetuate hate and fear dressed up as information because they don’t check the facts.

My mindset may have been influenced by Jay Baer’s blog, Convince and Convert , which listed the reasons he’s moving to Bloomington, Indiana from Arizona, where he’s lived for 40 years. One factor was the state of this state—economically and politically.

Well gee, I want to move, too! And we would in a heartbeat save the fact that it’s not the fair thing to do to our children at their current stages of high school and college life.

So I’m bound to Arizona for the next four years at a minimum. And if this is to be my home, I may wear out my subject-changing, email-deleting, pleasant-faced disposition trying to be moderate. True, adding my opinion to the fray won’t help. But, it won’t hurt to let people know what I stand for either.

What do I think?

• We’re all tired of these times, full of fear and clinging desperately to what we have in an effort to keep our ground when everything seems to be changing. We assume that change is bad and that the past was better. It’s ironic that those who thought critics of the Bush administration were horrible are being equally contentious regarding the current administration. Ah, but as my history-buff husband frequently reminds me, that’s how it’s been since our country was founded. At least we don’t tar and feather those with whom we disagree anymore. Um, do we? Everyone needs someone to blame, a cohort with whom to commiserate or a hero to hang onto. Look how quickly Americans embraced Steven Slater!

• No news outlet tells the whole story and seldom tells even part of the story with a balanced perspective, or commitment to attribution and facts. It drives me nuts. I tried unsubscribing to the Arizona Republic, but I missed the morning paper news ritual.

• Fear led to the passage of SB 1070. I also  know a German company withdrew a business contract from an Arizona company for fear that their obviously foreign employees would be harassed and profiled in this state. So fear feeds all sides of this argument. I’m not sure much strategy or sustainable progress occurs when planning is done in a state of fear.

• Even when we participate in an event and think we understand it, we probably don’t get a complete picture. Think of going to a play. Maybe you’re so smitten with the dialog, you failed to notice the elaborate stage craft, but luckily, your fellow play goers point out to you how magically the set transformed. You might find yourself saying, “Oh! I missed that!” And you are grateful your perspective is expanded by additional views.

• Generalizing about anything—whether it’s based on one thing, a few things or many things—is incredibly dangerous. Statements that begin, “Well, you know how [   ] are…” Insert: Mexicans, Men, Women, Republicans, Democrats, Teenagers, Mothers, Southerners, New Yorkers, French, Blacks, Whites, Stay at Home Moms, Working Moms, Catholics, Muslims, Evangelicals, Lesbians, Presbyterians, Lawyers, Only Children, Californians…have I hit any hot buttons yet? Do you know how they are or how it is? Really!? Are you a subject matter expert? Cool! I know a little about a lot of things, but it never fails that I find out how much I really don’t know when I’m presented with facts and first-hand experience.

What do I believe?
That the one thing more powerful than opinion, and even more powerful than fear, is love. I usually call it goodness. It’s all the same.

And for it to grow, you can’t just sprinkle seeds and hope for the best!

Sometimes, you have to do the hard work of cultivating: weeding; understanding that what may seem like a bunch of poop may be the perfect organic fertilizer to create deeper roots; recognizing and uprooting the weeds masquerading as wildflowers that threaten growth…

Cultivating goodness. It’s hard work. And I guess it requires me to stand up and get a little dirty.

What do you think?

Note: Facts and analysis about immigration can be found through the Center for Immigration Studies: www.cis.org/.

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