Mitt Romney came back with a quick rejoinder, "We don’t belong to government; the government belongs to us.” Now, that's a powerful enough quote to be quoted for some time to come.
I love Romney's quote. But I do wish he had attached a qualifier, saying he wasn't trying to put the DNC down, wasn't trying to say there was anything wrong with the DNC quote.
The word "belong" can be used two ways. It can mean "part of," or it can mean "property of." While we don't all belong to the same religion, or the same community, or the same political party, we all belong to America. That is all the video was saying. Nothing wrong with that.
Which, then, does this controversy point out? Does it point out that the average person doesn't have time to study the issues, not so much as to even know the context of a quote before criticizing it?
Or, does it point out the ill will of people today? Because picking at each other, and misrepresenting each other is one of the problems America has. We are too divisive, too quick to find fault. We twist what each other says, and are not fair with each other by doing this.
My niece, Tracina Navarro, posted a great post on Facebook yesterday, pointing out that the same common courtesy taught in the classroom ought to be expected of our politicians. She wrote:
"So, I have a lot of time on my hands from the time my head hits the pillow, and when my brain actually shuts down. So I think I'll just share my thoughts. It might seem naive of me to say this, but I sure wish that the 'big guys' could run this country in the same manner my kids classes are run. The rules of common decency are required, everyone must respect the teacher, lying is not tolerated, each child is expected to put forth their best effort in to open their minds up to learn something new DAILY, they are encouraged to lead by EXAMPLE, often being asked to HELP each other and work together regardless of what 'level' they are on, and following the rules is required by ALL not just the popular kids. At home we try to prepare them for school by teaching our children healthy boundries, tolerance, compassion, and a genuine sense of what is RIGHT and WRONG. We expect them as parents to do these things to prepare for school, for life, but as parents and teachers of this younger generation...ARE WE PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH? Getting fired up is one thing, firing upon someone is quite another. In the end, are our own 'values' getting lost in the passionate throws of politics? Have politics just turned into one more reason for hate, anger, intolerance, and greed to take center stage and divide us? I'm sad for the day our children find out the preaching done by us, might not be the rules that our "great leaders", or for some, even their own parents, really live by."
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