Recently I watched two different documentaries about the insurrection on January 6th.
I watched them both because I wanted to hear what two different viewpoints had to say on the very same topic.
The first documentary was on Newsmax, and it said the insurrection was not an insurrection at all. It was a demonstration that got “a little out of hand, was mostly orchestrated by Democrats, and was not nearly as bad as any of the protests for Black Lives Matter."
The second documentary was on CNN, which said the insurrection was the worst thing that had happened to this country since 9/11.
Both docs made it a point to blame the other side for everything and said that their side was 100% right.
That seems to be most political discussions these days. It isn’t “let’s agree to disagree,” it’s “we’re in a Civil War, and the fate of our democracy lies on this moment.” That’s something I heard when I was 9 back in the 2004 election. Then again in the 2008 election. Then again in the 2012 election. Then again in the 2016 election. Then again in the 2020 election. You know what, I may not be a psychic, but I’m making a prediction that we’re going to hear the same thing again in the 2024 election.
I think it’s time we realize, that while violent extremism does exist on both sides, both sides also just have people that don’t have any dark motives, plans for world domination, or whatever other crazy shit gets posted on Twitter. Both parties just have everyday people that are trying to survive everyday life, with ideologies they believe are right for them.
Your neighbors, your friends, your family, they’re not always going to agree with you on everything, and we have to decide now if that means we’re willing to lose those relationships or just say to ourselves, don’t go there.
Now look, don’t get me wrong, I’m a Democrat, and when I found out that President Pumpkin Head (sorry I couldn’t resist) won the 2016 election, I had myself a good cry and contemplated drinking the antifreeze in the garage. But I didn’t. I accepted it because this isn’t just my country, it’s ours. As much as I love Obama, I know it’s not worth the argument at Thanksgiving.
We’re not always going to agree on everything. We’re different people with different experiences, so obviously we’re going to have different opinions.
I know we as a species can get along. I’ve seen it. One of the documentaries talked about how people act after hurricanes. There are no Democrats, no Republicans, just people who need help and others who are willing to help. That could have been what Covid was. The expression, “we’re all in this together” was botched by politics; we politicized it.
I’ve heard different theories as to why that is. One is the mainstream media, and don’t even get me started on those assholes. If you want my opinion on that topic, I refer you to my blog about the news.
However, just because Don Lemon says one thing doesn’t mean it’s a biblical fact. Just change the channel. We’re adults. We can make up our minds. We’re not robots.
Do I think that people should change their political beliefs? Of course not. Do I think that we shouldn’t have healthy and respectful debates? No, in fact, I think that’s a good thing and can make for interesting conversation. But it doesn’t seem like we can handle that anymore. We should be able to speak our minds without potentially causing a fistfight.
As someone plagued with anxiety, I can tell that a big part of what drives people to this rage is fear. Fear can make us do stupid things, violent things. Fear is driving our society right now, and it shouldn’t. It’s not necessary. I want to get along with people. I don’t want to fight.
January 6th, whomever you choose to blame it on, happened because society believes one side or the other is evil, and most people aren’t. Assholes? Maybe. Evil? No. Scared? Definitely.
Cinnabon, they’re evil. Your uncle screaming about socialism isn’t evil; he just has a different opinion.
Being a Republican or being a Democrat also doesn’t automatically mean you’re stupid; that’s another thing I hear a lot. Believe me, we can all do stupid things, but that doesn’t make us stupid.
Politicization in society is nothing new; it’s been around long before I was born, and it’s not going away anytime soon. But perhaps individually we can try to do better. Next time someone goes off on a rant, try to have a discussion, and if you can’t, leave it alone. It’s not worth it. Sometimes you can’t work with people.
I don’t want two Americas, and I know most of you don’t either. But it’s already being discussed. There was talk last year about Texas becoming its own country, and nobody was kidding when they said that.
Let’s stop fighting PEOPLE with different ideologies, and instead focus on the different ideologies themselves.
Especially when those ideologies say things like Tom Hanks eats babies, which is obvious insanity. He did however come up with the idea to kill off Hooch, so we can be mad at him for that, but that’s all.