Hey Dude, What Planet Are You From?

Photo by Christian Beuhner

I arrived at Cal-Berkeley on a late flight from Philly to take a graduate course on The Importance of Women in the Bible by a leader authority in the field. Even though it was midnight, I stood in line outside a restaurant on Euclid Avenue to have dinner. I was midway in a long line wearing a blue blazer, a button-down shirt, Khaki pants, with casual shoes. I looked like the poster boy for Lands’ End. The folks in front and back of me in line had multiple earrings, piercings, tattoos, long hair, and hip skimpy attire. The person behind me asked, “Hey dude, what planet are you from?” I said, “Philly.” He said, “That explains it!” We went on to a very friendly conversation for about twenty minutes as it was a long line and soon, I felt very much at home because of their interest in me and not because of the attire that screamed out “Difference.”

It was a reminder that difference can be a good thing if placed in the context of a friendly exchange among people who were interested in knowing a bit more about one another. The same is true for our political life. We need strong Republican, Democratic and Independent Parties, and no Trumpism. We need to think of the Republican Party as the party of Lincoln and Reagan, the Independent Party as the Party of Eisenhower, and Democratic Party as the party of FDR. Right now, we have identity politics without a clear understanding of the historical ideology of each group.

Since websites and other online references can have a biased view of the ideological differences among the Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, I went to that neutral source, Webster’s Dictionary, for a balanced definition of the differences. Notice these definitions are neither right nor wrong but have DIFFERENT views of what serves the nation best. Since Trumpism is not an ideology, it is difficult to explain their role in this discussion. America first to the exclusion of other priorities seems to be the most accurate depiction.

“The Democratic Party is generally associated with more progressive policies. Democrats typically advocate for the civil rights of ethnic or religious minorities, and they support a safety net for individuals such as Medicaid and food stamps. Democrats often endorse funding these programs and initiatives through taxation. In addition, Democrats support environmental protection programs, gun control, less strict immigration laws, and workers’ rights.”

“Republicans advocate for reduced taxes as a means of stimulating the economy and advancing individual economic freedom, and they generally support conservative social policies. Republicans also tend to support an economy with fewer government regulations and fewer government social programs. Regarding foreign policy, the Republican Party traditionally is supportive of national defense and the aggressive pursuit of U. S. national security interests. Republicans also (in most cases) support state’s rights against the power of the federal government.”

Above are the core elements of the three political parties. In addition, as of November 15, 2024, the growing cohort of voters according to Gallup are Independents (40%), Democrats 29 (29%), and Republicans (30%).

In Ethics we have something called the Reasonable Person Standard. If you put ten people in a room, would they agree that the above descriptions are neutral descriptions in terms of their core values of these political affiliations. I think that they could agree that all three of these delineations have the intent of helping the nation. I am not asking who is right or wrong and why?

There are many considerations in choosing one’s political party, but if you listen carefully to the media, one is right and one is wrong while the core issues are not discussed. The issues are what should be discussed. What we hear is mostly attack and more ad hominin attacks against the other person. The core elements are pushed to the sidelines because, in my opinion, they do not sell but more importantly there are no “Where are you from, Dude?” elements. You would be surprised by how quickly our differences between my greeters at Berkeley changed to really wanting to know about why I was there and where I came from and the jobs they had and what their interests were. I was more interested in them and what they were doing and the same for them toward me.

“Where are you from, Dude?” is simply but profoundly about taking the time to get into someone else’s shoes.

I had all sorts of political people in to address our community in chapel about character and faith and every one of them agreed that lack of social conversation was the problem. Chris Matthews, a liberal, spoke after he wrote a book about the relationship between Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan, the paragon of different political views. They had a standard time to talk about anything but politics at a non-alcoholic cocktail hour. As  result they got more done during meetings with Congress than most people.

We had a teacher /coach at EA, Roger White. He was a legitimate tough guy who coached football and ice hockey, icons of tough sports. He died too young. One of the speakers at the memorial service for him made a comment to highlight Rogert’s strength. He said, “Roger is the only person I ever met who would carry on a half hour conversation with a telephone solicitor. He was tough but patient and honored everyone without a need for recognition.”

I will never reach that standard, but I know how valuable a question is like “What planet are you from, dude? “And the conversation that follows.