To Toe a Party Line; a “Dear Neighbor” concern in 3 chapters: Chapter 1 – Actions Have Consequences; Chapter 2 – Who’s on First?  It’s definitely not “the people;” Chapter 2 – How It Could End

To Toe a Party Line; a “Dear Neighbor” concern in 3 chapters (Chapter 1 – Actions have consequences)

Dear Neighbor, 

Russell Kirk, who is considered by many to be the father of American Conservatism, wrote a book in the 1950s entitled “The Conservative Mind.” Kirk was an advisor to many Republican presidents throughout his lifetime. Interestingly, he lost favor within conservatism during the first Gulf War, calling it a “war for oil.” Russell Kirk was a genuine cultural and social conservative. Conservatism, at its root, means ‘to conserve’.  Kirk was consistent in his belief that many of the conventions of society should be conserved and not be thrown away. I would like to suggest that many of the things which gave order and stability to our society have all but vanished. 

I could make an extensive list here, but that defeats the purpose of this writing. Anything I would write would immediately be examined under the microscope for what I am referring to as ‘the party line.’ There are certain catch phrases and words that people latch onto in order to try and define which political party one is affiliated with. If you do not agree with all of these tag lines, then you must be for the other side. Even the word ‘conservative’ pushes one into a political category that really does not exist anymore. We do not have a conservative party in the United States at this moment in time. And boy, do we need one now!

There are things that both parties have done to erode traditions, morals, and basic human rights in this country and in the entire world, something historically called colonialism. I do not know the scope of everything that our government has done; I do know from history and my own personal experience, the damage we have done in Central America and South America. 

Part of the war that we are now witnessing in our own cities, schools, and shopping centers on immigration is because of the decisions that have been made by every administration since the 1970s. We have both militarily and economically colonized almost every country in Central America and many in South America. Both parties have backed unlawful military coups in those countries in order to further the economic interests of the United States. I know much of this from firsthand experience because I have been involved with many human rights delegations to these countries. 

On one such delegation, I visited a village in Honduras and spent the night with a family who had no electricity or running water. Oscar Romero had just been made a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. The rural farmer in whose home I was a guest, knew about this. He was excited as he told me about it. He said “Now that Senior Romero is a Saint, he will fight for us because he will tell the Son about our persecution and the Son will tell the Father–and He will remember us.” They were fighting for the river on their lands which had been privatized by the government of Honduras. A mining company was going to build a dam and flood their farms in order to supply power to its operations. Guess who owned the mining company and whose economic interests were being put forth ahead of the local farmers who were just trying to feed themselves and exist? Yes, a company from the United States. 

To some degree, what is happening in our country is a result of our foreign policies upon the people living in these countries and their response to worsening conditions and nowhere to turn. How ironic in 2025 that the United States was seen as a beacon of hope. As Malcom X once said, “our chickens are coming home to roost.” 

Both political parties in the United States have supported atrocities in these countries to further the economic gain of large corporations. So, if you think that you are a liberal, you are not. If you think you are a conservative, you are not. There are no such categories in this country right now, there are only slogans, tag lines, and memes which encourage us to toe the party line and turn us against each other. We need to put down those ideological weapons, talk to each other, and leave behind a need to always toe the party line. 

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.

To Toe a Party Line; a “Dear Neighbor” concern in 3 chapters (Chapter 2 – Who’s on First? It’s Definitely Not “The People”)

Dear Neighbor, 

In “Chapter 1 – Actions have consequences,” I described how part of what is happening in our country with immigration right now is the result of a foreign policy that has been economically colonizing most countries in Central and South America. I believe both political parties in the country are equally culpable. I know this because I have been to those countries and talked with people in those countries. My spouse has protested the US foreign policy in these countries in every administration since Ronald Regan. 

The real issue, for me, is that the ideologies of both parties are deliberately turning us against each other in order to divert our attention away from the atrocities that we have committed in other countries and also within our own country. The Epstein files are an example of an elaborate cover up perpetuated by the rich and the powerful. The files are now being released because representatives talked to each other and refused to toe the party line. 

If you look at the rhetoric on social media, you will see a consistent pattern of a logical fallacy known as “Tu quoque” which basically means, “you too”. Just look at the typical Republican versus Democrat arguments and you see that the response to the lies of the current administration is generally that the former administration lied too. The other one that is striking is that when you point to the moral failings of the current administration, you hear a response of “all politicians are liars.”  This is a fallacy of composition which assumes that what is true of parts is also true of the whole. I don’t know if you have noticed, but I deliberately left off the names of the leaders of these parties because just the mention of their names sets off a visceral reaction. 

The problem with the moral decline in this country cannot be attributed to one person. That person must have the cooperation of millions of people. Political parties begin with getting rid of the opposition first and then dealing with the problems that no party line (or policy) has adequately addressed in the last 50 years. 

Do we need to resist the absolute civil and human rights that are being violated every day in this country? Absolutely. Do we need to cry out for all of the information on Jeffrey Epstein to not only be released, but scrutinized and acted upon? Yes! Do we need to express horror and despair about what is happening in the Caribbean? We do. The problem is that these things have been happening all along and well hidden by many who toe the party line. 

We cannot solve our problems until and unless we are able to look past our own ideologies and face how they may have contributed to where we are now. We have to find a way to put down our ideological arms and call a truce with our neighbors. We have to talk to each other without sizing each other up to determine who they vote for. It looks to me like both parties are responsible for the cultural, moral, and economic decay in our country. Until we stop toeing the party line, and take responsibility for our own relationships in our community, we have no hope. 

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.

To Toe a Party Line; a “Dear Neighbor” concern in 3 chapters (Chapter 3 – How It Could End)

Dear Neighbor, 

It is really easy to blame whichever party is in power for all of the ills in our society, but I am afraid that the illness is much deeper than that and possibly terminal if we toe a line rather than ask the hard questions and also listen to the response. What questions do you, the reader, have with the January strike in Venezuela by the current administration? 

I have seen the armor of the memes on social media come into sharp play since President Maduro was taken prisoner by the United States Military. Generally speaking, the liberal politicians appearing on the talking head news programs, are in arms over this as a violation of International law, yet they concede that Maduro was an authoritarian leader. The advocates for the actions of the current administration point to the danger posed by drugs coming into this country as grounds for an invasion. 

Meanwhile, the voting public ends up fighting each other, once again, over a foreign policy that most of us cannot fully understand. Mostly, our chosen side of the political aisle gives us hope for ourselves as a nation and therefore, we do not want to admit that our side does things that are pretty wretched sometimes. And, let’s face it, they  ask the hard question; Are those in power doing those things to benefit “we” the people of the United States? 

It seems that once again, instead of focusing our anger at the corporate greed which has driven our foreign policy for the last 50 years, we turn on each other. I have seen this, having lived and worked in countries in Central America and have seen with my own eyes how governments in those countries have capitulated to US corporate interests by literally taking land from farmers to grow palm oil and flood farmlands to extract minerals for the sake of profit.  

I think we are fighting the wrong fight. I think most of us, no matter which side of the political aisle we fall into, just want what is best for our families. We want groceries to be affordable. We want decent jobs that pay a living wage. We want to be able to go to the doctor or the hospital without going bankrupt. We want to feel safe in our own homes and neighborhoods. And it just seems like no matter who is elected, those issues never quite get addressed since we can’t move to discussion of issues and actual problem solving because of that knee jerk reaction to toe a party line. 

I believe the strong political shifts in our elections do not really come from division. They come from a collective sense that something is wrong with our government. I do not know what the answer is, but I do know that we need to turn our anger away from each other and direct it toward corruption and greed in whatever party we can see it. 

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.