Far too often, I am baffled by the way a discussion can turn in the realm of politics. For years I have contemplated how people who otherwise live peaceably, side by side. can come to verbal blows when an issue is brought to light. Relationships are tarnished or ended and what started as a discussion turns bitter and rude and maniacal. Some of the dissonance can be attributed to basic lack of personal skills and verbiage, for sure. Add to that, the fact that some people can just be downright ornery and flare-ups are bound to happen.
I know I am not the only one to notice this. You would have to be paralyzed to not feel the bunching of the collective undies. The rise of entire industries that rely solely upon the political discord seems to be at an all time high. Despite all the rancor and divisiveness and social revolt, I hear very few taking pause to ask the question "What the hell is going on here?" No longer are people willing to see a disagreement for what it is, rather they label and demonize and viscerally hate anyone who opposes them. They feel personally attacked by words and ideas as if they are weapons wielded by an enemy.
For those too young to remember, this is a relatively new phenomenon. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me can still be a true statement if you allow it. Of course, name-calling is wrong. That doesn't stop it from happening of course, but when a differing idea expressed in words is now considered assault and when questioning political correctness is reflexively considered to be hate speech, I am going to stop and say "Let's See About That".
I grew up at a time when the people casting the stones were the conservatives. They stood on supposed moral high ground because they could see the evil of my generation. Having grown up consuming MTV and all the beginnings of rap and punk and the crazy eighties hairstyles was all the proof they needed. I was probably outwardly less rambunctious than some of my cohorts. I never really fell directly in with any subset. I went to a catholic school and was comfortable there. I was an alter-boy through my senior year in high school. Outside of school I had friends who were punkers, skaters, lot rats, and pot heads. In spite of the fact that I liked to party I was able to develop relationships with responsible adult members of the community while serving in volunteer organizations. I guess my parents raised me well enough to know that I needed to hide my hangovers when in certain company. I really always felt more like an observer for the better portion of my adolescent years and kind of floated through it all.
At that time, we were told that Russia was the enemy and nuclear destruction was just around the corner, and so we rebelled because if we were going to die soon because some assholes thought blowing up the entire world was a good idea, then why not have a blast. Then all of their hypocrisy became apparent with sex scandals and drug abuse, and child sex abuse in the very institutions from which they preached. It was almost predictable that the loudest televangelist demonizing homosexuals and drug abuse and infidelity was the next to get caught snorting lines of coke off off their underage male prostitute. Then their pearl clutching wives with bigger hair and more makeup than most rockers of the day would come out and ask for forgiveness. Classic. We were just being kids and we were right to point and call bullshit. The moral ground was ceded. The conservatives fell and the Republican party was anathema to us. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately, the lesson was lost on a huge portion of that demographic. I can't tell you how many times I hear those who were so sick of being scolded by the so-called moral arbiters being the so-called moral arbiters scolding me today. They grandstand and demonize and pass down their judgement without a second thought of their hypocrisy. When we were growing up we had a way of thinking. It was along the lines of " if you don't like what's on tv then turn the channel". That is much more difficult to do now but it doesn't make it any less true. For whatever reason there is less tolerance to the idea that we don't all have to agree in order to share this country. Mistakenly being demonized as a youth seems to have lead to their unwillingness to objectively assess if the bus they hopped on decades ago is still headed to their desired destination. Nope. They are Liberal Democrats and that's good enough for them because that means they aren't Conservatives who are all bad by definition. By being the exact opposite they are always right. What could possibly go wrong?
Regardless of the fact that they aren't the ones who are developing the agenda, they act like good little troopers who, as long as they tune into and adopt the newest catch-phrase and politically correct ideology presented in the media and think tanks and institutions of higher learning they can stay in the cool club. As long as they fit the ever expanding criteria determined by people they don't even know and chastise those they do know for not conforming, then they are obviously being progressive and inclusive. As long you uphold the ideals of your political party as determined by those in charge of that institution you are being a model citizen.
Before you go assuming I am just a partisan hack conservative republican, know this. I am a political atheist. I have never voted party line. I usually have voted for who I considered the outsider. I see this crap coming from both sides. Both are guilty. It just so happens that we have, who I consider an outsider in office and a media that is out of control. It also is a fact that this outsider ran on the Republican ticket, in so doing automatically became an enemy of the left and upset the balance on the right. Although some have come to grips with the changing of the guard, a large group still refuses to quiet themselves enough to actually verify that what they choose to believe is actually true. So please do me a favor, and save your breath. I care not what you say. That is the beautiful thing. I am on my side and can question motives of both sides equally. This offers me an objectivity I could never have maintained had I segregated myself onto the Partisan Plantation.
I recently came across an article I feel demonstrates this almost perfectly. It is an article that has been passed around in Liberal circles. Each subsequent share is forwarded by the same basic message, that "this perfectly explains how I feel". It is the same way I have seen most Facebook conversations progress. Just a series of articles written by someone else and delusion-ally passed off as their own. It is actually funny to see a whole string of these articles and memes written by who knows. Maybe you could hire someone to send those links and post them to your timeline so you didn't waste any of your time trying to explain all of your brilliance. It is almost as if the idea of putting your own thoughts out there is somehow not good enough. Sadly, for many, this is a very true statement. It can be remedied but only with some effort. The good news is that the very device you use to expose your ignorance can be the tool to set you free. Your grammar and spelling might also be rusty so please use the tools included in the app before hitting the post button. Don't even get me started on those who decide to respond by first letter only, that what was written was Too Long Didn't Read.
The main thing I wish to convey is the belief of this post-er that the righteousness he feels can only be attributed to one party of the political game. That somehow, an imaginary line bestowed upon and taken up by an individual, can, alone, dictate who is a moral being and who is not. In my opinion, this binary approach is false, attempts to boil an entire person down to an impossible simplification and does a disservice to any moral platform on which a person claims to stand. Just to be clear, you may be very surprised that, for the most part I feel the same way you do. I have purposeful conversations with people from all walks of life and diverse perspectives. The commonalities are striking. The vast majority of people, I believe, see eye to eye with the message contained in the post. The issue most will take is not what you wish to see happen, but the reliance on systems and methods that have proven themselves ineffective. I contend that the DNC and the GOP are not the bastions of salvation that their constituents believe them to be and with fair observation neither has done much to actually solve the problems, but rather allow them to linger. The dichotomy, is, for the most part, false and inserted in order to cause division. It also creates a form of indentured servants, sometimes generationally, on which they can depend to harvest money, votes, and power. Each side has their stereotypical membership groups believing that they are being served by their respective masters. Take politics out of the equation and people will more often than not, join together and fix what needs to be fixed.
I will be breaking the article up into talking points to further illustrate. I will be posting these in a series on my YouTube channel LSAT report. You can also find me on Facebook at Lsat-report. Feel free to click the icon at the bottom of the page. As always, I thank you for taking your time. I look forward to you commenting as you feel necessary.
Here it is.
Rick .............
I would like all of my right wing, conservative friends and family members to read the following. It explains my beliefs in a nutshell. I borrowed this from my buddy Barry Pearl, who borrowed this from another friend. I recently found out that the original author is LORI GALLAGHER WITT.This explains my views in an even tempered, logical way.
Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: Not every Liberal is the same, though the majority of Liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:
“1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.
3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.
5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. I'm retired and on a fixed income, but I still pay taxes. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.
6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.
7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.
8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.
9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I'm not opposed to deporting people who are here illegally, but I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).
10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.
11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.
12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.
13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is sensible policies, including background checks, that just MIGHT save one person’s, perhaps a toddler’s, life by the hand of someone who should not have a gun. (Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine).
14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?
15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.
16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?
I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.”
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