Together We Stand - Divided We Fall

Let's work together despite our differences

We live in challenging times here in America today. Despite America being the greatest nation of our time and still likely the best country in which to live it is becoming increasingly difficult to have opinions these days without making enemies. For this reason, many people seek to keep themselves as far away from politics as they can. They may go and vote but they’re going to do everything they can to avoid conversations and developing strong opinions themselves because in America there’s no safe space to disagree. The left hates the right, the right hates the left, and more and more they’re demanding your allegiance or they’ll declare war on you. We’ve all seen the comments sections on our friend’s social media pages that quickly escalate from presenting opinions to declaring any who disagree with them as the enemy. This happened in a Westbrook Facebook Community group chat recently where someone posted frustration on the failed school budget and declared that anyone who disagreed with them was selfish, hates education, and more to the point if they even offered an opposing view they’d be swiftly kicked out of the group. We’re far from the America that was a melting pot of ideas and instead find ourselves either in an echo chamber filled with those who agree with us shouting at the other side or we’re out in the cold. The left and the right don’t want people who are sitting on the sidelines, sitting on the sidelines is as good as working for the enemy or so their lines of reasoning seem to suggest. Given this divide how can we possibly civilly move forward?

Democrats will argue that they can’t find common ground with racists, transphobic people, and followers of the patriarchy seeking to take away a woman’s right to determine her medical care. Conservatives will argue they can’t find common ground with people who want to murder babies, mutilate & groom children, people who want to take away their property and their future and give it to others. We are in a pickle it is true. If we don’t find a way to come together, to see that though we have significant disagreements about some core issues those we disagree with are they are still human beings and worthy of dignity and respect, then things in this respect are only going to get worse. So far this divide hasn’t gotten that bloody but the way it’s building it may get that way. Part of the problem is that both sides are seemingly trying to force-feed their view on people who don’t agree with them and the process isn’t going so well. Gone are the days when we could disagree with someone strongly about something and still be friends or if they aren’t gone those friendships are very uncomfortable.

I know my side talks a lot about the founding fathers but they had some good ideas. One of those ideas is the idea of freedom of speech. They understood how necessary it is to ensure that society can move in a positive direction and that falsehoods can be exposed. This is why freedom of speech was enshrined in the Constitution and why it’s so vital today. I don’t like people disagreeing with me and coming after me, pointing out things I’ve said that don’t add up but that’s a small price to pay for ensuring rulers don’t become dictators and that we still can challenge lies being spread by politicians. Regardless of whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green Party, Libertarian, etc, you believe that politicians lie to the public. One of the biggest moments in our nation’s history was when The Washington Post published the internal government documents detailing how the US government was lying to the American people to prolong a war we knew we couldn’t win because we were trying to save face and we willing to see 10’s of thousands of our troops die to do it. While we all believe politicians lie we tend to ignore reality or pretend that it’s only the other side. Donald Trump is a liar, no Joe Biden is a liar. When the truth is both of them said things that at the very least weren’t entirely true. Most politicians lie. Most politicians don’t seek the good of those they serve but instead are self-serving. Sometimes that looks like earning favor with their own party, or the global elites who fund campaigns, to get more support so they can stay in power, seeking to advance their agenda rather than that of the people they serve, or seeking a means of enriching themselves and their friends and family. It’s a sad fact of life that regardless of whether you’re talking about Democrats or Republicans many are servants not of the people but of the global elites who have their fingers honestly in both parties. We sometimes say the deep state, the establishment, or the uniparty but what we’re saying is that these people aren’t serving their party or their constituents but instead the interests of the rich and the powerful. How else would it be that while the majority of Mainers have seen our lives get decidedly worse since the pandemic the rich have gotten richer?

Democrats claim to care about the people but their policies crush small businesses by overregulating them to a point where they can’t compete with the larger businesses increasing the wealth disparity. The claim is that they’re helping the worker, the problem is that their policies over and over again cause businesses to seek ways to have fewer employees and lead to small businesses closing their doors. For a good example look at how many jobs (over 10k)¹ were eliminated in California as a result of its increased minimum wage for fast food workers.

Republicans on the other hand instead of simply focusing on deregulation for small businesses come in and deregulate in a way that makes it easier for major corporations to continue to grow. They argue that in a free market economy, the market will work itself out. The reality is we created anti-trust laws in the country for a reason and that reason was to protect the consumer from the tyranny of large corporations owning so much that you don’t have a choice but to go with them. As it currently stands you’re almost definitely reading this on a device powered by one of three companies: Google (Android), Microsoft, or Apple. We essentially have to do business with these companies in an increasingly digital world. On top of that, the information we consume on these devices is filtered by these companies and they work hard to ensure that you see the world through their lens.

There is this belief that Republicans are for big business but Democrats care about the average man and though this idea is largely being challenged today the reality is that the majority of both parties are in the pockets of the global elites: Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, etc. The question you have to ask yourself is do you want a politician representing you who’s sold out to the interests of the rich and the powerful? Or do you want a politician who is going to represent you and push back against the rich and the powerful? Before I move on I have to address the criticism I’ll receive on this as the Democrats will cite their efforts to make companies pay “a fair wage” and “tax the rich” but 1) if that’s really the aim of the Democrats why are the rich giving more and more money to Democrats each year and 2) why are things getting better and better for the rich and the powerful where the average man’s life gets worse? Dems would likely argue that the problem is the Republicans or Capitalism or something along those lines. The truth is what they’re calling Capitalism many would argue is Crony Capitalism because our politicians are in bed with the globalists bowing to their whims allowing Apple to buy up any would-be competition, allowing Amazon to go behind the backs of those selling on their platform to their manufacturer to cut them out and have more control as well as be able to put more pressure on those manufacturers to get a better price, allowing Google to own the internet search engine and digital advertising space, allowing Facebook to buy up their competition Instagram. This has all happened on the watch of both the Democrats and the Republicans. We need people in office who are concerned about the average person, not puppets of their respective parties or the global elites.

I want to be that person. I want to represent the people. I want to seek out policies that don’t just sound good but are good in reality. I am not and never have been a company man. I have always pushed back against policies and ideas that I believed were not in the best interest of my clients, my co-workers, or my employees and if I’m given the opportunity to represent you I will seek to craft policies that will benefit the average person not the rich and the powerful and I’ll do that by having a pragmatic and results-based approach to improving our society.

So far I’ve failed to address the question of how we can come together despite our many differences. I will seek to do what I believe is in the best interest of the people I am serving. That doesn’t mean we’ll always agree on what the path forward is but what I can tell you is that I have friends who are on the other side of many of these issues from me and who are educated and intelligent people who are excited at the prospect of me being in political office because while we disagree on some issues they know my character. They know that when I say I’ll seek to look at things from all angles and find the best possible solution for each and every problem, I will. Even in these difficult times, I have ongoing conversations with Democrats even in areas where we disagree because we need to consider all angles and the unintended consequences of policy to avoid making things worse in an effort to make things better. It’s a difficult task but I believe that having this ongoing conversation is important because though I’m firm in my views I’m also open to the possibility that given some new information, I may change my mind. For some of you the idea that I might potentially change my mind down the road is frightening but to quote Winston Churchill “Those who never change their minds never change anything.” In a time of worsening economic, social, educational, and interpersonal environment here in Maine we need a change because simply voting for a candidate from your own political party isn’t working as the results show quite clearly. I am Chuck Ellis and I approve this message.

1. https://nypost.com/2024/08/02/business/california-fast-food-workers-demand-another-minimum-wage-increase-four-months-after-4-raise/