It is hard not to think about politics at the moment. It seems like everyone is focused on the left and the right. It’s almost impossible to have a discussion about any controversial topic without those to words (ideas?) coming up.
Personally, my views are liberal and I wear that badge with pride. But, I don’t disdain conservative people, as though they are some sworn enemy, primarily because anyone who thinks about their views and values in life will not wholly fit into one camp unless they are an idiot.
These two ideas have many names. Some people call it progressive versus classic liberalism, others see it as a matter of birthplace and not viewpoints who one actually votes for.
What unites all politically active, thoughtful and conscientious people is that they care about others. Liberals may pretend that they love everyone but greedy rich people and conservatives may pretend they are concerned for everyone meant to be in their country and that’s why they are so hateful of outsiders.
Really, they just want to be sure that their mothers, fathers, and sons and daughters are safe. They are many different ways that people express these concerns and so I think that’s where the discord comes from. It’s like a bunch of people yelling at each other in different languages about something important. They all share the same concerns about the same thing, but their inability to express this causes them to feel ashamed, to feel hated and scorned and meaningless. What person enjoys feeling that way?
It’s the people who inflame others by bearing similar, yet false, flags who are to blame for the ills that make it hard not to think about politics these days.
Donald Trump, for example, says what people seem to be feeling. People are angry and without hope (though I couldn’t tell you why – reality and perception are oil and water). So Donald Trump, a man in New York with billions of dollars, starts complaining of the same things as those in Arizona, Texas, West Virginia and many other places. Why, one wonders, does he feel so appalled and shocked about these issues that are only really disturbing the poor, disenfranchised peoples?
People like Trump muddy the waters of proper discourse and they do it with a total disregard for the actual morality of their actions. I do not intend to read morals into the world,into his actions, I am saying that weighty actions, weighty words, ought to be considered more than the everyday actions and words of regular people.
That’s what is disturbing. Instead of actually considering why people are feeling angry, a problem which has plagued society since we industrialized really, these false-flag bearers merely react to the problem. Populism, Trump modus operandi, is the worst form of political discourse as it presents a reality where everything is easily solvable. Where the wounds are merely skin deep, and nothing has nuance or anything close to grey area.
-Clay
P.S. – When a boy scrapes his knee on the pavement, he goes and gets a bandage from his parents. They comfort him, soothe him and tell him that all will be okay. He continues to do this, and the parents continue to soothe him. Instead of ever asking their son why he is constantly ending up in situations where a remedy is needed, the parents keep on merely reacting to his pain. And this goes on till the end of history.
Clayton Tomlinson 