What does that mean? Why am I doing this? In short - to use
my life experiences to help bridge the divide between my southwest Ohio
formative years and my Chicago academic and career pursuits. My aim is to
provide synopses of informational articles, offer my own commentary and thereby
encourage thoughtful consideration of opposing viewpoints. While I have
wanted to do this for a long time, the election of President-elect Trump (and
the resulting angst demonstrated by both “sides”) has been a catalyst in
ultimately pulling the trigger.
For those who don't know me
but would like to know the perspective from which I write (because after all we
are ALL biased), here goes nothing.
My roots were established
in an overwhelmingly conservative area of southwest Ohio. Reagan lovers are everywhere – we even have
Ronald Reagan Highway which routes nearby my high school. Obama supporters are
few and far between. Like many millennials, I left my suburban bubble and
went to college. Most of us know that academia, outside of a very few
institutions, means immersing yourself in liberal thoughts, ideas, and culture
for four years. That was certainly my
experience at UChicago. I also now live and
work in the liberal bubble that is Chicago. Obama supporters surround me. Bottom line, I lived and breathed
conservative principles for my first 18 years and yet successfully navigated
ultra-liberal university and city life for the last five years. Comically, both Ohio and Chicago people
wonder how I did it!
Then came November 9,
2016. And the fissure between my two
“lives” became a crater. At quick
glance, nearly all of my Ohio friends and family were pleased by the results of
last week’s election, if not because Trump won, then at least because Clinton
did not. At the same time, friends,
teachers, and acquaintances from both the university and the city were
devastated by the same results. I
share with them in this disappointment in the state of America but come wholly
short of being upset that Clinton is not the President-elect.
My UChicago friends presume
my Ohio friends, many of whom I know voted Trump last Tuesday, are uneducated,
racist and/or sexist. I absolutely refute this assumption. My Ohio friends and
family are generally well educated and thoughtful. We went to school and
played sports with friends of all races, religions and sexual orientation. Most of us are not racist, sexist or any
other “ist”. Indeed, even many of the
women that have been most successful and inspiring to me were very relieved to
see HRC lose this election, not because she’s a woman, but in spite of that
fact.
Despite the decidedly
liberal leanings of my professors, classmates and teammates in Chicago, I am
grateful to have been more broadly exposed to their views. I also acknowledge the University’s role in
forcing me to thoughtfully consider and form my own opinions. In this spirit, I offer this blog as an attempt
to bridge the gap between these two groups and to challenge ALL to see valuable
insight from opposing perspectives. If
we can be thoughtful before being reactive, we stand a chance to become united
in purpose, unleashing the shackles of binary thinking, and empowering the
people to discover new strategies to combat issues in America.
Linked articles and
synopses are not necessarily endorsements by me and are offered for purposes of
worthy and thoughtful consideration.
However, I caveat that you have read my perspective, so proceed at your
own peril (said with a wink and a nod.)
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