Some Families are Facing Real Political Divisions
Goodlatte, Miller, and Quiroa. That is not the name of a law firm; it’s a collection of family names that are involved in politics in the United States. And they have something else in common also: a political disagreement within that family has been featured recently in the news. There are others as well (I won’t get into the Conways: wife Kellyanne is a counselor to President Donald Trump, while her husband George sends out anti-Trump tweets).
Politics in the United States (as in some other parts of the world) has become more polarized lately and I doubt we’ve seen the worst of it yet. Blame U.S. President Donald Trump if you want. While the roots of the problem may be economic, it’s hard to deny that Trump and his supporters have elevated right-wing extremism and demonized his opponents in their quest to forge a more nationalistic politics. The liberal side of the spectrum has become energized in opposition to these efforts, and often appears equally extreme and uncompromising in pursuit of its own ideals.
More Divisions
Moderates and consensus-minded leaders have lost elections, taken early retirements, or been pushed out to the point where there are few politicians left who are inclined to work across party lines to get things done. Lost in all of this are the kinds of independent voices we really need: fresh thinkers who bring innovative solutions to the table and have a passion for getting things done. And we’re left with political poles that are drifting further apart than we’ve seen in the U.S. during most of our lifetimes.
As political factions have become more extremist, it has split some families into different camps. I’ve been fortunate, since my extended family tends to be of a similar mindset and we do not have angry disagreements at family events (more like angry agreements). But I have plenty of friends with families that strongly disagree with one another.
And it’s not just a simple disagreement about certain political issues anymore, which once were “off limits” for discussion during many families’ Thanksgiving get-togethers, wedding receptions, and other family events. “Don’t talk politics or religion,” they used to say, but now people expect you to take sides. An individual’s political alignment is becoming a critical element of his or her social and cultural identity, more so than I can remember seeing before.
On the one hand, I think it’s great that people are becoming engaged in the issues and movements of our time. So many U.S. elections have been decided based upon low voter turnout due to political apathy. Now, it’s getting much easier to see the differences between Candidates A and B; they are not just Tweedledee and Tweedledum anymore. Citizens should be involved, they should care, they should speak their minds, and they should be out there pushing for every vote they can get for the candidates and issues that matter to them. That’s democracy in action and I’m happy to see it on both sides of the political spectrum.
But on the other hand, the growing extremism has pushed people apart. Nowhere has that been more evident lately than in some families that have prominent members serving in high places. Here, I will cover three of them which have made the news recently…and wish them a happy time at their family events!
Miller-Glosser
Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to President Trump, has often been mentioned as the chief architect of the president’s hardline immigration policies. From the famous travel ban that heavily restricted visits to the U.S. by those in Muslim countries to the opposition to refugees and asylum seekers to the breaking up of families where the parent is deported and the young child may be kept elsewhere, these policies have had their fair share of critics. None has been more vehement than Stephen Miller’s uncle, David Glosser.
Recently, Glosser wrote an article for Politico magazine. It was entitled, “Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I’m His Uncle.”
In the article, Glosser detailed how Miller’s own grandfather fled the anti-Jewish violence and oppression in Belarus, arriving in America at the turn of the 20th century in search of a better life. Glosser went on to add: “I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, an educated man who is well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country.”
Glosser then shared the story of a refugee he had worked with at an aid society for immigrants. The man’s name was Joseph and he was from Eritrea. Due to a misunderstanding, Joseph had been persecuted for his religious beliefs, beaten and tortured for 20 consecutive days before being thrown in a military prison and ultimately ending up in a refugee camp in Sudan.
“Before Donald Trump had started his political ascent promulgating the false story that Barack Obama was a foreign-born Muslim, while my nephew, Stephen, was famously recovering from the hardships of his high school cafeteria in Santa Monica,” wrote Glosser, Joseph was suffering in Sudan. He went to Libya and was arrested, then ended up back in Sudan, to Dubai, to Brazil, and then eventually Joseph made his way up to the U.S. border, where he sought asylum and now lives.
Regardless of your beliefs on U.S. immigration policy or which side you favor, it was bold of David Glosser to call out his nephew in a major publication. And one could say that it’s equally bold of Stephen Miller to repudiate the immigration policies of the past that enabled his own family to settle in America. If uncle and nephew end up at the same table this Thanksgiving, here’s hoping they have some compassion left for one another and their fellow family members.
Goodlatte
If you haven’t had a ‘good latte’ recently, try Starbucks. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. :) Representative Bob Goodlatte is a powerful congressman from the U.S. state of Virginia. He is a Republican and a strong supporter of President Trump. As head of the House Judiciary Committee, he recently took a strong stance against the actions of an FBI agent, Peter Strzok, who had sent anti-Trump tweets to his girlfriend (who also worked for the FBI). Soon, the agent of 22 years was fired.
Enter Bobby Goodlatte, the son of Congressman Bob. He sent out one tweet expressing his embarrassment that own his father’s “political grandstanding” had ruined the agent’s career. His father, however, is retiring after his current term and is not running again. And son Bobby wasted no time repudiating the candidacy of Goodlatte’s chosen successor, one of his former political aides.
Instead, Bobby Goodlatte announced that he had given the maximum legal donation to the campaign of Jennifer Lewis, the Democratic (opposing party) candidate running for his father’s seat in Congress.
Again, we wish this family happiness and harmony in any future relations.
Article: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/13/638314832/in-politics-no-one-can-call-you-out-like-your-family
Quiroa
And that brings us to the Quiroas, father David Sr. and son David Jr. The father is a Trump supporter, while the son and most of the family do not like Trump. They often had political discussions in the home where they live in Rhode Island. When the father (a Republican) began talking about running for a State House seat (currently held by a Democrat), the younger Quiroa (an anti-Trump independent) thought about how important it is for young people to get involved in politics. He suggested that maybe he would run also, which the father thought was a joke at first.
It wasn’t.
Ultimately, both father and son decided to run for the state House seat. And they drove together to City Hall to file papers to declare their candidacies at the same time. They described the wife/mother as a ‘wild card’, since she has not said yet whether she will vote for husband or son.
Here’s hoping Mom can help the Quiroas to stay peaceful.
Even when politics divide us, families and other social institutions can keep us together. It's good that people are so engaged in political issues right now, whatever their beliefs. Hopefully it leads not towards more division but towards more effective leadership where we work together to make a better world.
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Sometimes I wish people didn't wrap themselves emotionally around politics, but at the end of the day, I just hope they don't let those emotions drive their actions.
Firing someone because of political views is certainly a big step, no matter the party. I hope he can sure the FBI and win.
This is such a great read by the way.
For me I started seeing that things were changing when we entered into the dynamic where people began voting for Trump because he pisses off democrats (the other party) that only incentivized people like Milo and the likes to troll the opposing parties to gain attention.
Then it was only a matter of time until the main drive of politics became one where you see the opposing party attacked and ridiculed.
Social media giants, who always aim to capitalize on attention started spoon feeding these types of narratives in mass.
If you're profiled as a liberal you'll be bombarded by content like "stupid conservative getting schooled" and if you're profiled as a conservative, you'll likely see "X person destroys clueless liberal".
We're getting in a point where the main attraction of politics isn't so much about social issues, but rather taking a shot at the opposing party.
I hope we all leave that game, and starting building something more productive as you said.
"Hopefully it leads not towards more division but towards more effective leadership where we work together to make a better world." Amen.
Well said. People deserve better than either of these sides.
Journalism (media), the fourth pillar of the state plays a very negative role in cultivating the reality and building the opinion in the minds of naive masses. I'm sportsman, a cricket commentator more appropriately. My entire life has been nothing but cricket. In my part of the world, from teenagers to old ones, everybody watches cricket in a way that they forget all other routine activities. Now, politicians know about this emotionalism for the game of cricket and play their dirty role not limited to making money but also to have other such gains. From selecting the incapable players and letting them play for years and years to making some good players retire early for no reason, all happens and make the masses frustrated over and over again. This is just one instance from just one game, Cricket.
This is same here in my country:
Our ex PM was listed in Panama Papers and is now behind the bars with his daughter and her husband. They are very corrupt people and have damaged our country more than anybody else in the past. Finally, this country has elected a Sportsman Imran Khan who is ex captain of Pakistan Cricket Team and has a great reputation all over the world. He wants to give back to this country and has already announced to turn PM house, CM and Governor Houses into Universities. He is also against protocol and is going to take action in this regard as well. Obviously, the machinery won't give up so easily and they are paying media heft amounts to do propaganda everyday on non-issues and naive people of Pakistan are once again falling for it.
This is a petition against Ishaq Dar who is a relative and ex finance minister of EX PM (yes, he distributed all the ministries to his relatives) :
https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-deport-absconder-pakistan-s-ex-finance-minister-ishaq-dar-back-to-pakistan
I'm just sharing the link to convey my message properly.
Hi @the-alient, Your analysis is great. I'm relatively new to Steemit platform and just connected with you. Looking forward to reading more of your value-packed analysis in future.
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The powers of the President will not be questioned? This is the most dangerous man in the White House. He's got to be the biggest fool I've ever seen speaking on behalf of a President. Being a fool and not knowing he's a fool makes him even more dangerous.
That wasn't the main focus of my post, but it's hard to disagree with you there. Dangerous and embarrassing.
I was dismayed at John Dickerson letting Stephen Miler off the hook. Miller implied that a judge in Seattle should have no right to tell a President how he should handle immigration. Dickerson should reminded him of a checks and balance system the founders of the Constitution instituted.
It's a beautiful thing that people are getting more involved in politics, but let our divergent views not destroy the very fabric of the community. Let us not destroy the most valuable and the building block of the society which is the family.
Nicely articulated. Thanks for the comment.
@donkeypong, Personally I hate every politicians under my condition coz more politicians try to seizing people everytime through their lies. I will present my opinion to you. It appears that US politics has become extinct in recent times. There is no doubt that. American politics is trying to conquer the other countries and destroy their economic equilibrium. Under this situation, people's confidence in politics has deteriorated.
But it is a must to intervene to determine the political leadership. If not, that country may become anarchy. Under these circumstances, people need to use their own power to determine the most appropriate leadership.
This is really interesting = amazing how people can differ from one family . I guess that is what makes life exciting. In our family we have that 'split' over the rugby teams we support..... politics not so much - In our country you have those who want better and those who act as though they want better but is destroying the country and the economics with their propaganda and influencing the uneducated.
Rugby would be a far better way to settle some of these differences!
True that and much more fun
President Donald Trumph has a lot of support and support. In my opinion, the political background should not apply to the political situation in the family context. If that is the case, the family background is destroyed and our economy will also be depleted. When we look at the political culture of the United States of America, the familial background is clearly visible.
A momental cycle around the globe. At a point alcohol was the source of division among family members then came religion and now politics. Money and its control was also an element. Please we all have to grow above all this and think humanity first
'Humanity first'. I like that!
Well actually i am not from the united state of america. But i guess this article also talks about my country also. This line you said caught my eyes that "Citizens should be involved, they should care, they should speak their minds, and they should be out there pushing for every vote they can get for the candidates and issues that matter to them. That’s democracy in action and I’m happy to see it on both sides of the political spectrum." Is true, i guess democracy is for citizen to express their mind and cast their vote but some country like my are not like that, some part of my country rig election which is not supposed to be because a citizen has a right to vote so why depriving him or her of that right. Citizen should be the one to showcase their candidate like you have said but not no more instead some top godfather who think they have the power now are now the one choosing their candidate and trying to rig the election in favour of them living out the right of the citizen. I will be glad if my country can make use of this line "Citizens should be involved, they should care, they should speak their minds, and they should be out there pushing for every vote they can get for the candidates and issues that matter to them. That’s democracy in action and I’m happy to see it on both sides of the political spectrum." This is really a great article and i must really commend you for this. I really learnt a lot from this. Thanks for sharing this with us.👍👍👍👍
I am just an observer from Europe, but the way the politics run in the US will probably have a big impact on family relationships... everyone has its own pride and might ruin the lives of the children involved.
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Europe is facing some similar divisions with extremist populist movements in various countries, so I imagine some of the same things could be true there also.