I can remember learning about our government in grade school. I can remember thinking to myself…this is cool, the whole checks and balances thing and I remember my parents often telling us we lived in the best country in the whole entire world.

Now, there is certainly truth in that. For example, I just read a book called “A Father’s Betrayal”, a true story about young women who lived in Yemen. It was horrifying and kept me up at night. These women were actually sold by their fathers at a very young age (some as young as 12) to men two or three times their age. One scene in particular that troubled me was after the marriage was “consummated,” often by rape, the man had to carry a white cloth out and show all the people waiting outside blood that only a virgin could produce from their first sexual experience. If the young woman didn’t bleed, she could be killed. And yes, this was a true story.

So when you think about stories like that one, there is no doubt, America is a great place to be.

Lately though, I’m going to venture a lot of people would argue that point.

It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly we went wrong as a nation but what we have going on now is borderline insanity.

Here’s the deal…all of us will never agree on everything. That’s not a realistic or an attainable goal. However, can’t we all work together despite our differences? Isn’t that what we learn in kindergarten and in every grade and sporting event that follows? It is possible for people who don’t like each other to work together successfully. I’ve experienced it myself.

When I think about the last four years in the United States, it’s hard not to acknowledge the fact that President Trump was never really given an authentic opportunity to be successful.

Don’t get me wrong…he did absolutely nothing to help himself out in this department… he and I could never be friends. His inability to shut his mouth makes me insane. He agitated people on purpose so he only fanned the flames of distrust and negativity. However, regardless of whether the democrats liked that he was our President or not…he was in fact our President and they did do everything in their power to make it hard for him to do his actual job.

Again, not saying he’s perfect or that he isn’t without flaws. He has many, but when one political party works tirelessly to minimize your authority it isn’t helping anything or bringing us closer together in anyway. It certainly doesn’t help anyone achieve their goals. I think a guy named George Washington warned us that this would happen with political parties.

So, for all the people that want to blame this entire thing on Trump…I’d ask you to dig a little deeper.

To me, the bottom line is we all have had to work with or for people we don’t like, but, if we want goals to be accomplished, work to get done and at the end of the day…be employed, we have to suck it up and find a way to work together. For those of us that played sports…we’ve all had that teammate that made your skin crawl. Selfish, arrogant…a bad teammate through and through. Yet again, if we want to be successful we have to figure out a way to work together.

When I was a kid learning about our government I thought that picture of checks and balances and people working across the aisle was what our government was supposed to look like; two groups of people who don’t agree on everything finding a way to work together. In the past 12 years, especially, we have not seen that at all. Each political party works against the other and rather than tackling meaningful problems they attack each other.

They waste taxpayer dollars in things like impeachment hearings that will go nowhere rather than using those valuable dollars to make real positive change in areas like equality or education.

I just don’t see how calling people names and constantly attacking one another is in any way helpful.

It’s hard to believe sometimes that these are adult people.

Instead it’s much easier to view them as egomaniacs that can’t see past their ambition to get continuously reelected. We need term limits, but that is a conversation for a different day.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are good people in politics and I am not the kind of person that would paint any one group of people with a broad brush…but it’s safe to say that those that are in Congress that have the greatest of intentions are fighting an uphill battle with all the problems we have on Capitol Hill.

In real talk, these people need to get over themselves and do their damn jobs. They need to do what is best for our country and figure out a way to work together. If not, and I know I’m not alone, there is a scary forecast of what is to come.

In fact, just this week the FBI issued a warning to all 50 states to be prepared for armed protest in every capital city between now, inauguration day and the days that follow it.

When I watch this disaster unfold I just keep thinking to myself, I wish we could coach these people up. I’m sorry for all the sports metaphors, but this crap would not stand in my gym. Figure it out or get out. Period.

If only it were that simple! I’m not naive enough to think it is…

I keep telling myself I am not going to tune in to it anymore, but, as a history teacher and person who cares, that seems socially and professionally irresponsible. So I am trying to read the most unbiased reports I can and read both sides of the story. I want to have an educated opinion on this but the media sure does make that hard.

I’m sad for our country, I’m sad for our your kids that will inherit the problems that will be the fallout of this political upheaval for years to come.

But…mostly, I wish it was as easy as telling these well educated adult people to put their big girl and boy pants on, get over themselves and figure out a way to get along.

Now that, would be nice.

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