I’m willing to bet I know you better than you think. Allow me to take a guess at some of the things YOU most want out of life… and let me know how I do.
SECURITY:
You want to feel safe. You want to lock the doors at night as a precaution, but you want to sleep soundly knowing your neighborhood is calm, and 911 operators are there if you need them. You want the best police and fire departments possible in case of emergency.
ACHIEVEMENT:
You want to compete. With yourself. You want to be better today than you were yesterday, even in the smallest of ways. And maybe you want to compete with others: for the best kept lawn, the fastest 10K run, the best-decorated house at Halloween. Nothing wrong with that. Competition is a human instinct.
CHILDREN:
You want your kids to have opportunities. You want good public schools anchored by teachers and administrators you can trust. But you also want the freedom to choose whatever sort of school serves your student best, even if that’s at home.
MONEY:
You want financial stability. You want to earn what you’re worth — as set by the market, not by the government. You want to buy things for a fair price — as set by the market, not by the government. And you want to be able to save a little for the future.
CIVICS:
You want to contribute to your community by paying a fair tax, volunteering your time and resources, and participating in the civic process.
FREEDOM:
You want freedom. The freedom to set your thermostat at the temperature you like; drive the car you want; select the doctor you want to visit; and come and go as you please.
You don’t want to be beholden to anyone without agreeing to terms. You understand that if you take out a loan, you’ll be expected to pay it back. You know that if you take a job, you’ll likely have a boss to whom you must report. And you understand that in a democratic republic, elected officials serve YOU — not the other way around.
And you want the government to uphold its end of the bargain. You voted them in, they work for you. You don’t want government agencies full of un-elected bureaucrats to have power over your money, actions, decision-making, and your security. You want your elected officials to keep a close eye on those entities and rein them in. Tightly. And you want laws to be enforced and upheld.
ETC.
Obviously, these aren’t the only things you want. We are individuals with different ambitions and dreams. Some of you want loads of children, some of you want none. Some of you want dogs, some want cats. Some of you want to earn a lot of money so you can enjoy life outside of work. Some of you want to love your work, no matter how much (or little) it pays.
You don’t want to hurt anyone. And if you’re hurt you expect justice.
You want to listen and to be heard. You want to worship freely.
You understand that “perfect” should not be the enemy of the good.
And reasonable people — in spite of their political leanings — understand there will always be evil somewhere, so we must fight it. We will never be without adversity, so we need resilience. We won’t always be happy, so we will discover acceptance. We won’t always agree, so we’ll search for common ground.
Because, let’s face it, when we are at the dog park, the grocery store, or at our child’s soccer game, politics don’t matter. Shared values do.
It’s all pretty simple.
Peace of mind. Security. Safety. Mutual respect. Prosperity.
Because with those things, we can all find moments of happiness and joy.
So… How did I do?