Democracy in the USA - useful reminders?

To my American friends, in view of the presidential election.

Speak to each other and remember when you listen to either side in the debate: "The most important guide for the understanding of the true meaning are the consequences of a statement for the practice of life."

Reminder for the Republicans: "If Stalin's version of Communism spoke in the name of Marx, of the idea of a brotherhood of man, of justice, etc., the unreality and the purely ideological character of these concepts could easily be recognized by the deeds of those who pronounced the concept; furthermore one could see that the concept served only as a screen to cover the reality of the system."

Reminder for the Democrats: "Let us think on the other hand of a deeply conservative person who is attracted by a conservative or even reactionary thought system. He may believe that those who speak for 'progress' are actually bound to do great damage to the human person and that they advocate, in the name of progress or revolution, a system which destroys the human substance. If we study his personal attitude and his behavior we may find that he is the real humanist while many a Leftist might be found to be a hater and a destroyer."

I found these words in a paper written by Erich Fromm (On the Relativity of Conceptualization, Protected content .

And to finish off, a few lines from Leonard Cohen's song Democracy:

"And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen."

Conclusion: get off the computer or the smartphone and get yourself out there on the agora and talk and discuss - specifically with those whom you are in disagreement with!