What are you looking for?
Featured Topics
Select a topic to start reading.
Im getting so very very tired of politics. I'm getting so very tired of the mudslinging and the fearmongering that goes on on both sides of the aisle. I am an avid conservative, just getting that out of the way first. I am tired of living in fear of those who will hate me for my views. I am tired of being afraid of being cancelled. I am tired of being afraid of haters in the comments section. And I am tired of hearing that if the Democrats take the Senate all remnants of freedom will be gone. Even if everything the right is afraid of will come to pass. Even if America is about to lose its freedoms. Even if we are about to turn into a socialist oligarchy. Even so. I am just tired of fear.
The right is afraid of the left, and the left is afraid of the right. The left is afraid of white supremacy and individuals with opinions. The right is afraid of communism and collectives with opinions. Each side attacks each other in ways designed to provoke anger; each side publishes media designed to clickbait and scare; and each side attempts to dismiss belittle the other. We have reached a point where each side not only is afraid, but each side attempts to remain afraid. Neither side is trying to see good in the other, and neither side wants to be reassured that the other side may not be so terrible. If a right-wing commentator implies that the left isn't actually so terrible, people in the comments feel like their identity is being threatened and immediately reject the commentator as a traitor. The same is true on the left, probably to a much greater extent. I believe a lot of this started with the left years ago, but within the past few months this type of tribalism and identity crises have been afflicting the right tremendously.
We live in an age where information is spread at the speed of light, and theres just so so much of it! When there are so many people who not only disagree with you, but seem to actively hate you and are convinced that things you hold dear are not only wrong, but laughable, every time you turn on the opposing side's news you can have an identity crisis. This is true on both sides, but especially true on the right, and is why the right is trying to provide replacements to the "legacy media."
People are learning to fight fire with fire, and commit to mutually assured destruction. The right is slowly adopting the tactics of the left. We are facing a massive culture war. At least online and on TV it would seem that way.
People on both sides actively encourage demonizing the other, and both believe they are absolutely correct. The right believes the left are all a bunch of irresponsible illogical lazy socialists living off of welfare i.e. other taxpayer's money. The left believes that everyone on the right are a bunch of insensitive, arrogant, oppressive and pushy racists. People will have you believe that politics is black-and-white, good vs evil. I myself half believe that, it very hard not to.
Nobody is addressing the fact that each side is becoming more and more extreme. Nobody is trying to bridge the gap, and those that call for bridging the gap are seen as insincere (which is probably true). Nobody tries to say "hey maybe things won't be terrible." "hey maybe things will work out." Nobody wants to feel hopeful. Nobody is interested in hearing hope, people are addicted to outrage and fear. Some people seem to think that we cannot stand as a country if we have nothing in common. Some people are edging closer and closer to some sort of revolution.
We need to do something about this. I dont know what, though. Maybe we can start be calling that friend of ours whos on the other side of the political aisle and have an open conversation. People like to say diversity is a strength. Diversity is only a strength if there are some things that we hold in common. If we can't find the things that we have in common, we may splinter as a people. I firmly believe, that if we all get out off the internet, and honestly try to talk to the other side, we may find out that we really don't have as much reason to hate them. We are all Earthlings after all, and we have a lot in common, if we can only learn how to respect each other. Maybe we all just need to calm down and listen. Despite it all.
If you see a comment that is unsupportive or unfriendly, please report it using the flag button.
More Posts
-
Am I in the wrong?
(WARNING: POLITICS AND CORONAVIRUS, AND BAD GRAMMAR SORRY I SUCK AT GRAMMAR) I was always taught to not let political opinions get in the way. But I try not to...
-
The psychological impact of today's media
TW: in order to address this, I must touch on some fairly controversial topics, so please if you feel US politics is an aggravating topic feel free to skip this...
I'm in agreement with you on this. I've seen a lot of it too as well as from both sides. I can tell you what the main issue is.
People have forgotten that these are other people. They've lost sight of their humanity. With this tendency to regard the opposite as a mortal enemy on a structural, moral, ethical and even spiritual level.
This disease is much older than what most people know. It began to take root first, in video games. It didn't take long for it to spread into politics which was of no surprise to me. Considering even back then, it was known as identity politics/third wave feminism.
I can understand the dread of it all, and there is a couple other factors at play here on the grand scale.
The first and foremost being as you said, neither side wants to see eye to eye. Liberals want their way and they want it now! Whereas conservatives will still cling to these notions of the right to bear arms and freedom of speech.
The sub text being that the line has been drawn so deep that there is no way across anymore. The differences between the 2 are too great to overcome now. The Left demands change, demands obedience, demands conformity and has even gone as far as claiming that all conservatives and anyone who supported Trump should be forced into "re-education camps" and be blacklisted and barred from any gainful employment.
Whereas conservatives just want to be heard and to have their words heeded. Which is understandable, we're at a pivotal cultural shift in history and the pandemic did nothing to calm that storm.
The biggest difference between the two parties, most conservatives like being keyboard warriors and internet Chads talking about civil war and gun grabbers get their comeuppance. But that's all it is, it's just talk. They'd rather wait for the problem to reach their doorstep, by which time, it'll already be too late.
Whereas with liberals, they've shown multiple times throughout 2020 that they not only talked the talk, they also walked the walk. They promised chaos and they brought it. Completely unopposed and uninhibited.
There's a reason behind that, being that the Left is the media's darling child. Whereas conservatives are more akin to the "red headed step child" cliche.
Conservatives will not and cannot fight a civil war of this kind. They're too reactive vs proactive. Conservatives will lose and have lost every step of the way.
I suspect that one of two things is going to happen. Either conservatives are going to keep being lethargic and inactive, allowing this great country to sink and our way of life along with it. Or a group of radicals will act and you'll get to see those re-education camps up close and personal.
Either way, the American way of life will have died within the next 5 years and our country will resemble nothing of what it used to be.
For what it's worth, we had a good run but every kingdom crumbles in the end. We are the modern day Rome.
As the old saying goes "the more things change, the more they stay the same"
ReplyI think a distinction between the conservative old-guard Republicans and the younger MAGA-hat conservatives is in order here. I agree that in general, conservatives are reactive and not proactive, however that is not the case for all conservatives. Some few are willing to stand up for themselves and to stand up for their fellows. For example, I've seen more people standing up to cancel culture recently than I've ever seen.
ReplyYour post is so accurate. Can't agree more.
Reply