The U.S. Congress recessed on September 29 to prepare for mid-term elections that will take place on November 7. The Congress will return in mid-November for a short “lame duck” session that will likely end sometime in late December before the Christmas break. So far, HR5680 has not made it to the House floor. And, although some may disagree, it is unlikely that this bill will make it to the House floor before the end of the session.

However, now might be a good time for both the supporters and opponents of HR5680 to reflect on the lessons learned about the democratic process in the United States and the role played by the large Ethiopian American community.

Lesson One: There is no one individual or organization that speaks for all of the Ethiopian community in the Diaspora. This may come as a surprise to some but there is a wide divergence of opinion among Ethiopian Americans on issues affecting Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Diaspora is a microcosm of Ethiopia—a heterogeneous country of 78 million people—with a broad range of interests and opinions. For many years, some have acted on the assumption that Ethiopian Americans speak with one voice. We have all observed that this is not so. Let us see diversity as a strength and not a weakness of our community. No one has all the answers to Ethiopia’s myriad of problems. We need to start listening to one another so that we hear all sides of an issue.

Lesson Two: Facts are more persuasive than rhetoric. The emergence of other voices in the debate over HR5680 forced both supporters and opponents to abandon meaningless rhetoric for more substantive arguments that articulated the pros and cons of the bill. For too long, Ethiopian American’s have been stuck in a quagmire of empty polemics—equating disagreement with lack of patriotism and such. Let’s just stop it. It doesn’t work. We should all respect and appeal for support based on the intelligence and integrity of the Ethiopian American community.

Lesson Three: In a democracy, the outcome isn’t always what you think is best. The U.S. political system is a pluralistic democracy. In a pluralistic democracy, the common good is not defined a priori. What becomes the common good (i.e. HR5680) is reached during and after the process of negotiation within the pluralistic framework (i.e. the U.S. Government). Each side (those in favor and those opposed to HR5680) presents its case and the U.S. Congress, through its elected representatives, decides what is the common good, in other words, what is best for all members of society.

Lesson Four: Ethiopian Americans need to respect and tolerate different opinions within the community. Differences arise out of diverging interests and positions. In a democracy, these differences can only be resolved through dialogue. Through dialogue, the Ethiopian American community can find some common ground to pool their vast intellectual resources towards the betterment of Ethiopia’s 78 million people.

And so, let’s use our knowledge of how American democracy works to create a new political culture based on respect and tolerance of other people’s viewpoints. This may be the best thing we can send home to our people.