For the last six years the American public has been bombarded with a ton of garbage that has basically set the country on two different courses.
The country is divided and there really is no two ways about this. Gone are the days of the moderate. In politics, in business, in the family dynamic, it’s gone.
Everyone has an agenda and everyone is out to say how right their ideas are.
I am somewhat guilty of this as well. However, I do believe that there are other valuable opinions other than my own. You have thoughts on Gay rights, I’ll listen. You believe that everyone in this country is a racist, I don’t agree but I will listen. You want the government to fund everything, It’s your prerogative. We all have opinions and once again, these are opinions. They are not facts for the most part and when they are facts, they need to be sourced. In my columns over the last two years I have voiced strong opinions about certain things. Some things I will eventually concede I may be wrong about. Some opinions I will stand up for till the very end. Doesn’t mean your opinion is wrong, it just means I disagree.
Given all that, why do people feel that their opinion is worth more than any one else’s opinion? Why do people completely shut out a dissenting voice? I just never got that.
I used to say that people that identify as Democrats rarely, if ever, listen to the contra side of their opinion. It was their opinion and that opinion was fact. I used to think that Republicans had the ability to at least listen to the other side. Make a case for what they felt and then moved on.
Now I see both sides act exactly the same. It is their way or the highway.
I will give you an example. I am on several text chains and everyone of these chains is Republican. Some dangerously so (hey, they are my friends and I love them just the same). One of the Memes I got a few days ago said basically this:
“133 million registered in the US 74 million for Trump 81 million for Biden 74 + 81=155 million You don’t need to be an Einstein”
So, I did some fact checking. There are 168 million registered voters and 156 million voted in the past Presidential election.
That is just one recent example by the way.
To me, it seems Republicans or conservatives are spewing an equal (well almost) amount of garbage and expecting people to believe it as well.
The one thing I will say is that Liberals control the media in this country and it just appears that they spew more BS than the Conservative media does. It has to do with volume. They control every narrative and when 75% to 80% leans in a certain direction, it can sway the general thinking. Somewhat.
I know it will never happen but I do think we are getting to a tipping point (hate the term but it’s useful here). Do we divide this country and cause all sorts of unimaginable harm to democracy? Or do we come together and work out our differences with each other and try and build a bigger, better country?
The anger in this country is getting more severe as the days and weeks play out. There are so many issues right now that it may seem impossible to deal with all of them and come up with a consensus that will work for the majority. That’s what Democracy is all about.
That is my reset. Everyone should take a step back, hear what your opponents have to say and decide. If people listened more and talked less, things in this country would be somewhat different.
I get that no one wants to listen and probably with good reason. The opinions of the other side are counter to your beliefs. Counter to what you have grown up with and developed over time. So having some sort of reset will be impossible.
Here is an admission. I am a Republican, yet I have voted for several Democrats over the years. I actually lean more towards being a libertarian. Our government is a monolithic power that can’t be stopped and if there is one thing everyone will agree on, it’s that our government is the largest malfunctioning organization that has ever existed on this planet. It is way too big, it is ineffective for the most part and trillions of dollars have been wasted over dumb ass decisions. The US Government has failed at pretty much everything it has ever put it’s hands into and will continue to fail because it is a bloated bureaucracy that needs to be trimmed down. This is why I probably will continue to vote for Republicans because at least I get some sense of common sense as far as spending goes within the Federal Government with them.
Wednesday could not be complete if I didn’t throw Joe Biden under the bus once again. The administration has been crowing about this IRA that they managed to get passed. It is a success for the administration. An administration that can count successes on one hand and count their failures on the leges of a centipede. Yet, there it is, another 765 Billion dollar giveaway. I do know administrations will try and pass extensive legislation like this when a precarious election rolls around. You can’t win votes with policy, buy them. If the Republicans believe they have a good chance of winning back the House, now is the time to get things going because, while momentum can be a powerful thing, straight talk about the real issues is more powerful.
My last thought on this reset. This country can not, or will not, have any sort of reset until the two major players in this play leave the stage.
Mayhem follows Donald Trump around like the flies on Pigpens blanket. He should just drop out and leave the party to someone else. Granted, the DOJ won’t allow that to happen and the whole Mar-A-Largo thing seems politically motivated but at some point they need to just shut it down. Trump should retire quietly to his golf course and bogus real estate deals.
President Biden should announce now that he is not running for another term and leave the party in someone else’s hands. Someone who wants to work to actually bring this country back together. The bench isn’t deep on the Democratic side and maybe thats why you haven’t actually seen anyone stepping up to the plate. If anyone writes me about Beto O’Rourke, I think I will vomit.
Great article Peter, however I doubt very seriously that the left will ever listen for realized facts, we have all been swamped my green , climate change, and government giveaways. Unfortunately, I think it will take a significant world event that will bring both sides back to center.
I hate to think that , but the whole world is in trouble and will remain for quite sometime in my opinion.