There has been a great “compare and contrast Democrats and Republicans” list out there for quite a while, and trust me it is great. But recently, something struck me as the biggest difference of them all. Let me tell you about it. And yes, it may sound hokey, but there is definitely a lesson to be learned here.
I worked in an office that was 90% Republican, 10% Democrat. We had a little kitchen that wasn’t very well kept up, but we managed. Towards the end of my assignment in that office, there was behavior that just struck me as odd. Here’s what it boiled down to: When a Republican was in the kitchen and in need of a paper towel to clean things up, they walked about 10 feet away to the bathroom, got a few paper towels, and cleaned up their mess. Once clean, they went about their day. When a Democrat was in the kitchen and in need of a paper towel to clean things up, again they walked to the bathroom. However, every single time, the Democrat brought back enough paper towels for multiple jobs, not just for what they needed to clean up. Republicans and Democrats would both use these reserve paper towels to clean up the mess, until such time as they were gone. Then the whole cycle would start over again.
So what does a lesson in paper towel usage between Democrats and Republicans teach us? That Republicans do what they need to for the short term, whereas Democrats do the same job, but at the same time, plan for the future.
So there may be a good “compare and contrast democrats and republicans” list out there already. But all you really need to know comes from a little office kitchen, and how Republicans don’t plan for the future, while their Democratic brethren most certainly do.