What will we have? What if, God Forbid, the Other Side wins (doesn't matter who you are voting for - the point is the same for ALL)?
Will we be able to put aside the Feverish Speech, the Frenzied Defenses of Our Side, the Refusal to Interact with Those Awful People?
What will the holiday be like? Never mind that they will likely be different, because of this generally less-than-lethal virus. Will all sides be able to gather at the dinner table, and enjoy the family's bonding time?
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I'm not the only one that thinks we may be - at least for now - split into two or more factions, that will NOT interact. The difference in their position on what is real and what is "Fake" is too far apart.
And, that's a shame. If the North and South could eventually come to reconciliation, after the War Between the States, I'd like to believe that it's possible for us to do so.
The Atlantic posted about this recently. It comes down to trust - and, that's what we lack. We no longer trust that the opposition will operate within agreed upon limits. We don't trust that they will not lie, or, at least, purposefully be blind to the truth.
It's what finally breaks down a marriage - it's not the financial difficulties, it's not necessarily infidelity, it's not growing into people with different interests and opinions.
It's no longer feeling that you can TRUST that person to act honestly and with integrity.
That's true of governments and institutions, as well. And, if on top of that, you add in uncertainty, and the inability to anticipate some aspects of life's changes, such as the value of money, or what the regulations and laws are, well, it's over.
It will take a dedicated effort to re-build trust. It will take stability in government, as well as a willingness to rein in the unelected judiciary and bureaucrats, to get our nation's commerce to begin to function without cash handouts.
People will not put down their guns, as long as they cannot trust their government to respect their right to be left alone and manage their own life.
So, the solution is at least two-pronged:
- Rein in the tech giants/business interests that pose a threat to Americans' rights, and have effectively set up a competing governing authority over every aspect of private life.
- Here's where executive orders can come in - FCC regulations that force the social media companies to choose - will they be publishers, censoring viewpoints, and opening themselves up to lawsuits for their actions, or neutral content providers, exempt from action?
- Banking/finance/platform providers - again, regulations or executive orders can handle this (legislation can follow later). All are in industries that are regulated; if they will not comply, anti-trust actions can be used. (Not to mention discovery would likely uncover a treasure trove of communications they would rather not have exposed).
- Reduce the budgets of agencies that have been abusive of citizens. If they have enough time to get into things that are not their job, they have too many people - aim for 20-25% reduction EACH YEAR.
- Get Congress to pass legislation that abuses of citizens' rights, or partisan action ON THE JOB, is grounds for not only dismissal, but loss of pension (they can have back any money they personally put in), AND lifetime ban from any job in any level of government, even as a contractor/advisor. Any such person working for an entity that receives government funding will trigger that company or organization to lose any government contract/money. That specifically includes schools, colleges, and universities.
- And, of course, such persons will have to surrender their law license and teachers' license.
For many, many years as I moved to the Right, I still trusted people on the Left. I still believed they were differently motivated, but at their foundation still loved America.
ReplyDeleteThen they elected Barackus, twice. And in their four years of screeching opposition to Orange Man Bad I have finally understood they hate everything I love: America, Western Civilization, Israel, Individualism, Profit, effort, merit... the list goes on.
https://youtu.be/QihpwDe2WeU
Short rant by a young woman who gets it.
Deep down they've hated everything I love; they've hated me. Trump didn't create that, he just brought it to the fore.
So, now, I hate them back.
Do I enjoy this feeling? No, no, no. I'm not a hateful or hate-filled person by nature. But I have increasingly taken to heart their openly-stated words about wanting me "expunged from society" (a la Keith Olberman) and channel that through Elie Wiesel: "When someone says they want you dead, believe them". That, and the Talmud: "When someone comes to kill you, arise and kill them first".
I keep saying it. I don't want violence. This was not something of my choosing, it was forced on me.
Here's the thing - I've never refused to interact with anybody. My wife and I used to be members of the SCA. Society for Creative Anachronisms. We loved it. I fought heavy, so did my wife. (That's how we met). We did cooking, brewing, leather working, you name it. And after Trump was elected, it was like people just went insane. The vitriol and hatred poured out. Former friends declared that we Catholics were "Dead Flying Jew Worshipers". That's a direct quote. They also claimed that NRA members were "Homicidal terrorists with the blood of dead children on our hands". That's another direct quote. And those are some of the more mild ones.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, we are no longer members of the SCA.
Despite my nom de cyber, I'm actually a pretty mellow guy in person. I don't get in people's faces. I don't react in a hostile manner until it's truly deserved. And yet, the people who I've shared food with, once I was safely out of reach, treated both my wife and I with such hatred and vile invective that the only sane option was to remove myself from the entire organization.
Seeing your wife in tears will move you to such actions.
I didn't used to consider them evil. But they considered ME evil, and through their actions have proven themselves to be on the side of Satan, not of God. As such, the only thing I can do is remove myself from them, and do my best to blunt their actions. But I didn't choose this path. They chose it. All I can do is protect myself.
Sometimes, that requires the proper application of hot lead. But again, I didn't chose this path, they did.