Becoming Our Better Selves
MPAC

In his last State of the Union address, President Obama reflected on his legacy and described a vision forward for the future of America. Speaking with the confidence of a man who has accomplished many goals, he reflected on the state of discourse in our nation.
"It doesn't work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political opponents are unpatriotic,”  he said, claiming that his being unable to temper the rhetoric between the two parties as one of the regrets of his presidency.
The toxic political environment in Washington relates to our nation as a whole and does not just occur  in a vacuum. To blame politicians or to say that politics in DC is the problem is to have a parochial view of the situation. The rancor in Washington is merely a symptom of the larger societal trends of fear, extremist political ideology, and lack of empathy that is not only present throughout our nation, but also gaining popularity. Our leaders come from amongst us.
The Tea Party, anti-immigrant groups, and Islamophobes are ubiquitous today. Fear is leading us to exclude and harm those we deem the other. And an inability to compromise on other issues, has led us to do what is needed to gain political clout (like gerrymandering), or going far as to break the law (as is in the cases of   Kim Davis   and the   Oregon extremists ).
And the President pointed out that we must be that change we want to see, stating, “Changes in our political process  —  in not just who gets elected but how they get elected  —  that will only happen when the American people demand it. It will depend on you. That's what's meant by a government of, by, and for the people.”
It is up to us. And it goes beyond just voting - as the President put it, we cannot merely vote out politicians we don’t like. We must learn to work together, compromise, and put our egos to the side in order to ensure we do not let the great be the enemy of the good. When it comes to the civic engagement, we must be involved in campaigns, be involved in local government, and engage our elected officials.  
The change begins within us. That includes viewing our fellow citizens as genuinely trying to do good for our country, having sympathy for our fellow man, and manifesting the values of mercy and compassion in our daily lives. It is then we can meet the challenge of the President when he said, “If we want a better politics, it’s not enough just to change a congressman or change a senator or even change a President. We have to change the system to reflect our better selves.”