It goes without saying that America appears to be strongly divided right now. I heard a point made on a podcast the other day that, based on approval and disapproval ratings in both parties, Donald Trump is the most polarizing President in recent history. “Wow, Jon,” you may be thinking, “that is quite the surprise. I had no idea.” Hey, buddy, why don’t you just settle down and let me finish this thought, okay? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. They went on to point out that the previous holder of that title was Barack Obama. And before him? George W. Bush. Now I am clearly not the smartest man in the world, but that certainly looks like a pattern to me. I have recently spoken with several people on the right regarding the state of things in America right now, and there are murmurings of a potential civil war brewing in this country. Now, not unlike most of the conspiracy theories that a lot of them seem to be so fond of these days, a slight scratch at that surface does not turn up very many credible facts. But I believe that the fact that the thought of civil war, no matter how actually unlikely it may be, is being kicked around among people, is definitely further evidence that things are very sharply divided right now.
So what can we do about all of this? My beloved co-host, Dick Loverboy, is thoroughly convinced that Joe Biden absolutely has to win this election, and to certain degree I agree with him. I think that a massive amount of fear and paranoia and anger, racial tension, bullshit nostalgia, tribalism, and frustration with a system was stirred up by Trump and successfully capitalized on when he ran four years ago. And since that time, and he has done nothing if not to double down on all of it. I am thinking that he has burrowed himself way too deeply to the right at this point, and I am hoping that the American voters will push back against it in November. But I honestly can’t be sure. I do think that even if he loses this election, which is most likely the best course for the future of this country, all of that shit is still out there. I heard it pointed out the other day, I believe by Neal Brennan, that whenever a law such as the 13th Amendment or the Civil Rights act is passed to correct an injustice, it does not just suddenly do away with the thinking and the conditions that led to that injustice.
That part is on us. That is our responsibility. So what do we do?
Step back. Try to get good facts from an objective source. Sometimes that means multiple news sources, and I accept that it can be frustrating, especially for our parents, who grew up in the days of a very few, mostly trusted, nightly newscasters. I like the BBC news for a good non-partisan view of the big stories in America at any time. At this point, do not trust television news. It is almost across the board bullshit these days. Also, please note that if your news source is constantly railing loudly against something, there is a very good chance that it is bullshit. Try your best to read your news, and Facebook absolutely does not count. Social media has learned what you react to, and it feeds you those two things: what it thinks you agree with and what it thinks angers you. And also animals being cute, woodworking videos, and humans hurting themselves in stupid ways. Okay, maybe Facebook is not all bad.
Converse. Regularly talk with people who have different opinions than you. Seek out people who are smarter and/or more knowledgeable than you and engage with them. Feel free to civilly disagree with people on things, and stop taking disagreement so personally. Understand that having your beliefs challenged will ultimately make your belief system better. Recently, I have seen close friends and loved ones cloister themselves intellectually and surround themselves with only those that agree with them, and I am almost always saddened by it. It feels like I am watching a decline or an atrophy. I am hoping that way of thinking is not just a side-effect of getting older, but I guess we will see. Also, very importantly, LISTEN. Don’t just sit there waiting on your turn to talk, like an asshole. If you are just interested in spewing out your take on things, you should probably bypass the conversation and just start a blog.
Laugh. Do whatever you can to find the humor in life. It will make things better. I feel that this is of exceptional importance and also extremely challenging in the time of Covid, but you can do it. I believe in you 100%. Humor will make you feel better about things, and it will hopefully lessen the likelihood that the person with whom you are currently disagreeing will attempt to cause you serious bodily harm. Accept that life can just be funny sometimes. I think that there is certainly a debate to be had, but to me some of the strongest evidence in favor of the existence of God is the fact that we fart. It is just a naturally occurring joke that never fails to make me a little happier. Maybe that is the indicator that you are taking things way too seriously. If you are able to rip ass and not find it the least bit funny, then maybe it’s time for you to call it day. Also, lose my number, because you are pretty much dead to me.
I strongly believe that there is hope for this country. I think that its foundations are strong, but I can also acknowledge the serious flaws that have been such a part of its history. I believe that how sharply divided people feel that we are right now is one of those flaws, and we are just going to have to put in some serious effort to work through it. There is most certainly hope. But we the people have some work to do.