I already said this in my post last week, but I really don't like to talk about politics that much. Historically, it has always been one of those topics that should be approached gingerly. Along with religion, there are just too many opinions on both sides. It generally leads to nothing but an argument.
As much as I tried to avoid it, the recent US election made it nearly impossible. I think we all know the outcome by now, and since that time, I have been having some discussions on other outlets trying to wrap my head around everything. It brought to light some interesting truths that I felt I needed to share in my blog.
So I apologize in advance. I know this is a touchy subject, and we are probably all sick of it by now, but I think some of these conversations you will find interesting. I know I did.
First off, I'm a firm believer that there is a severe lack of empathy in the world today. I think if people would just stop and put themselves in the other person's shoes, we wouldn't have nearly as many problems as we do today. Generally, that belief usually puts me on the "Left" (liberal,democrat) side of things.
I also believe that people should work hard if they want to get ahead in life. I don't think everyone deserves a hand out. I also think shoring up our borders and paying a little more attention to what is going on in the US instead of out in the world isn't a bad thing. Perhaps I am a bit more moderate than people think.
RFK Jr. is a bit bat crap crazy (my opinion), but if he can clean up the US food supply like he says he can, that might not be such a bad thing... Hopefully you get the point.
All that being said, I think Trump is a pretty vile human being. Obviously, some of his policies are interesting (like cryptocurrency), but in general, it baffles me that people thought it was a good idea to vote for him. Don't get me wrong, we haven't been given a lot of good options in the past decade or two, but wow.
So I decided to jump onto one of my Telegram channels where I know a lot of the people lean to the right (conservative, republican), and I decided to bite the bullet and ask some questions.
This is how I started things off:
bozz, [11/8/2024 7:23 AM]
I'm willing to entertain the idea that some of the alleged stuff he did was just spinning by the MSM. I'm also willing to throw aside the Jan 6th stuff and the sexual assault stuff.
bozz, [11/8/2024 7:24 AM]
But he still said some pretty disparaging things about the military, women, foreigners, people with special needs, and several others. It's on the record, he said it and he doesn't deny any of it.
bozz, [11/8/2024 7:24 AM]
Does that not bug you?
bozz, [11/8/2024 7:25 AM]
Are you just willing to overlook it? Or do you feel it was all made up even though he said it?"
I then followed up by asking if they felt his character had no bearing on his ability as a leader. I added that as a guy with a sister, a husband an an uncle to nieces I have a problem with the message that sends and that is what I have been struggling with the most.
The key response I got (and I have seen this in other forums as well) is this:
Actions speak louder than words
They don't really care about any of the things he said, they just care about what he does (did...).
They immediately jumped to the subject of Trans people which seems to be the knee jerk reaction of these sorts lately. That's the thing that they are most concerned about. I view this two ways, either the democrats want them to be focused on that while they are working on something else, or the republicans have radicalized the subject enough that everyone thinks it's a bigger issue than it is.
One of the people even suggested that schools are indoctrinating kids to be trans. I work in a public school. I might not be able to debate with them on political foreign policy, but I know the school system. It's just not happening. It might have happened in one location and it got a lot of press, but it's the exception, not the norm.
Then another one mentioned the whole Israel/Palestine thing. That's a whole other can of worms. I suggested some alternative facts just to play devils advocate, but that only seemed to enrage them.
Then they went back to Epstein.
Who I pointed out Trump was quite close with. You don't think his name is going to be on that list? Or more likely conveniently stripped from it before it hits the public?
I'd like to point out, that I was pretty cordial during this whole exchange. I fully understand the Mainstream Media spins things. I know not everything we see is fact, I also know that our leaders aren't infalible. As I said, I was also honestly and earnestly trying to understand the other point of view.
It's that whole empathy thing I was talking about.
Finally, I decided to cut to the chase and I asked this question:
bozz, [11/8/2024 7:50 AM]
Okay, maybe this is a better question. What would Trump have to do for you to be like holy shit, we might have made a mistake here.
I had one reasonable fellow who said that if he didn't appoint the people he said he would or follow through on the policy he promised, he might second guess his decision.
Another responded with this:
They then determined that my opinions were based on hurt feelings and me believing too much of the MSM and that I was possibly "fixable".
Okay, for the sake of your time, I'll start wrapping this up.
There was a bit more discussion, but none of it was really relevant and it went about the way you would expect.
One of the first things I really noticed was how they tended to talk down to me. I will admit, I may not know as much about the subject as them, but I'm a man in his late 40's. Being talked to like I am a child by someone probably younger than me is a bit off putting and doesn't help you get your point across.
Second, It seems that as much as they like to blame the MSM for spreading false information, when confronted with something that challenges their beliefs, they immediately dismiss it without even considering it. I know this is just one small group of people, but I have seen it happen across the board on social media lately.
Finally, the last thing I took from this conversation was that at this point the chasm just feels too wide for either side to ever agree on anything.
My hope is that even if the republicans control all three branches of government, there are enough moderate people in office who don't agree with Trump that those people along with some of the democrats will be able to work together to actually effect some positive change in our country.
As for the citizens... Unlike myself, I don't see people willing or able to ever find that common ground.
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