One of the most puzzling, frustrating, and destructive aspects of our thinking is our tendency to define others by their worst acts. We hear about one decision a politician made, one thing that that we disagree with, one mistake that someone made, and we write them off completely.
Joe Biden doesn’t do that. He knows he has made mistakes in his life (as we all have). Biden works to grow and learn from his mistakes. He offers that same grace and wisdom to other people.
He also knows that he can disagree with someone on many issues — or even see some of what someone does as wrong — and still find ways to connect with them. He can still find common ground. He gets it that people are complex, and he tries to find the best in people so that he can work with them to get the best for America.
This leads even his opponents to respect him and learn from him.
For example, Biden joined the Senate on a platform of civil rights and he stuck to that platform, pushing for civil rights legislation for his entire career. Despite that, he refused to ignore the capacity for change in men like South Carolina’s Senator Strom Thurmond, a fervent segregationist in the decades following the Second World War. Biden found common ground with Thurmond and, over the course of his career, Thurmond did change.
Modjeska Simpkins, a longtime advocate for civil rights in South Carolina, told The News before her death that she believed Thurmond had genuinely changed. "Down there somewhere, there was something fundamentally all right" about the senator. She said she asked Thurmond for help, and "he has never refused to help, and he has helped in every case."
I.S. Leevy Johnson was one of the first blacks elected to the South Carolina General Assembly in the 1970s. He said Thurmond was "not forgiven for the obstacles he put in the path of African-Americans to exercise the rights and privileges taken for granted by others." But he said Thurmond worked to address black concerns and was a strong supporter of black colleges.
Another black political pioneer, state Sen. Kay Patterson, said Thurmond's early record on race is indefensible. But Patterson said he believes Thurmond had "a change of heart on the road to Damascus, like Paul. He woke up and saw the light."
We can’t know if Thurmond’s friendship with Biden was one of the factors that led him to change. But we can see that the friendship meant enough to Thurmond for him to ask Biden to eulogize him at his funeral — despite their strong differences.
Of course, all this doesn’t mean that Biden doesn’t see, recognize, and call people out for what they have done. As we’ve already shown, Biden hates a bully, and he will call people out and hold them responsible for what they do.
But Biden sees the promise in people. He is genuinely kind. It is why Obama calls him a brother. It’s why Bernie Sanders notes that Biden was one of the few people in the Senate to treat him with respect before he became the beloved “Bernie.” It is why Lindsey Graham said, “If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, there is something wrong with you.” And why John McCain said, “Joe Biden doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
Biden refuses to define others by their worst acts, traits, and decisions. He will hold people responsible, but he doesn’t see them one-dimensionally. And it’s part of why he achieves so much.
Joe Biden is a great president.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done far more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several other notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.