I’m Right, and You’re an Idiot!
A cancer has been growing in the people of America for a long time. It is intrusive, it is malignant and it is infecting nearly every part of our population. I knew the cancer was bad, but I had no idea of how deep it had sunk its hateful claws into us.
Our nation, the wonderful United States of America recently had a birthday. This is a grand and wonderful time to reflect on how far we have come as a nation. It is also a prime opportunity to consider where we are currently as a nation, a people and a country.
As always, we have had our bad times and our good times. I find myself compelled to really look at our current situation, and speak with others around me about the current state of America. My goal is not so much to convince people of my particular political point of view but to foster friendly, intelligent debate regarding politics and our country. I think it’s absolutely vital for any healthy country’s citizens to be actively and openly involved in politics. It is not only our responsibility but our duty as Americans to remain well informed and constantly pursue a better life for ourselves and each other.
However, I have discovered that the sickness has embedded itself into my closest friends and family members. Before I go on, I’ll define the cancer about which I speak:
The cancer is intolerance.
The cancer is hard lining.
The cancer is disrespect.
The cancer is hate.
The News Media, Popular Entertainment and the Public Eye
Modern media and the American people have strange ideas of what is entertainment and what is news. The news and media have never been perfect, but it has most certainly gone downhill over the last decade or so. News is no longer the news. News is now editorials, opinion and spin based off of whatever political agendas the super corporations hold. Fox is one of the worst offenders but no corporately owned news organization is immune to the bias. They report “their side” while ignoring and oftentimes defaming and insulting the “other side”. Some no longer even hide behind the veil of impartiality and outwardly admit they are supporting a certain agenda. Even if they don’t, the stories they cover or don’t easily tell you which side they are on. And when they report the news, do they speak favorably or do they speak with disdain? The difference is painfully obvious in these corporately owned news organizations.
I would direct you to a very interesting documentary: Outfoxed at http://www.outfoxed.org/
This documentary is a bit outdated now, but it is still full of great examples on how our “news” manipulates stories and our opinions of them. I’d recommend it for that reason alone.
The lines have become blurred between what is presented as news and the talk shows and editorials. They are no longer separated or specifically identified as one or the other. It seems to be more effective to convince people if you allow a celebrity news personality to determine what is fact, news or editorial. Viewers (or listeners) make an unconscious decision about what they want to believe, then justify the belief by saying (and believing) it was delivered as factual news.
Our politicians treat each other terribly, which doesn’t help anything. We see them up smiling and shaking hands with the same person they horribly insulted or said some terrible things about only moments before. We all know after the smile and handshake they will go back to being horrible to each other but for some reason we accept that as OK and elect or re-elect these people that just say what they think we want to hear at the time. We as a publically conscious people, and the news media, need to hold politicians accountable for this duplicity and disrespect, but it depends on which “side” the viewer or the news outlet is on, if any accountability is held at all.
Much of our popular entertainment has also gone the route of being rude, horrible and even amoral as the standard form of entertainment. There are shows about humiliating people publically, trashing them privately and even openly betraying them in hopes to be the “winner”. These terrible and destructive shows are not so much politically based but they do influence our perception of what is right and wrong and how we treat each other. If we were truly a moral people (regardless of religion, or lack thereof), we would be appalled by such entertainment and shun it. However, that is not the case and the traits we see in these shows tend to seep into our day to day activities without us even knowing it. Since these types of actions on these shows are ok, it has become OK for us to treat strangers that way, then friends that way, and ultimately our own families and the people we most care for.
Shame on us.
Tainted and Flawed Political Discussions
Political debate and discussions can scarcely be called such anymore. This insidious cancer is eating away at America’s political soul. I have, and often do, get into many different political discussions with many different people of all types of political views. More and more frequently, these discussions are failing to actually be discussions. Instead of the intelligent and respectful debate we should be having with each other, it is turning more and more into name calling and insults, being rude and disrespectful. When a celebrity commentator ramps up the rhetoric and drags a person who holds a dissimilar viewpoint through the mud, it may seem amusing. The networks and stations have discovered, of course, that sensationalism and extremism gets viewers, listeners, and ultimately, high-paying advertisers. These people are being rude, offensive and are no longer debating. This is name calling and bickering. Why this kind of behavior suddenly makes for good entertainment is beyond me.
Respect, integrity and honesty are missing from these discussions. The inability to even consider another viewpoint is all but gone. The ability to be informed with actual, real facts seems too much a burden for most. The real and productive type of debate seems to be almost extinct. It has become very obvious that our elected representatives have taken this change to heart, ignoring the wishes of the majority of their constituency in favor of pleasing the most vocal and vicious of their party.
For some reason, winning a debate with a more honest, respectful, factual and open discussion than the other person has been replaced with insults, hard lines and name calling. The other side becomes tired of being insulted, they realize there is nothing to discuss because it has ceased being a discussion when the opposite side seems intent on simply talking at them. When the other side is simply tired of being disrespected so they end the conversation, there is no winner. That is not a victory. That is not validation of a point or a political stance. The only thing that validates is an inability to actually discuss and debate important political matters that affect each and every one of us.
Shame on us.
The Reality of our Political State
What exposed the cancer in our political world to me now was this most recent 4th of July. As is typical for this time of year, a feeling of patriotism was high and made many of us think about our current political climate. But whenever a political topic came up during the usual backyard barbeques, my friends and family tended to turn every discussion or debate into name calling and bickering within minutes if they didn’t agree with my position. This astounded me. This was shocking and horribly depressing. I have watched it on TV for years but now the closest people I love and care for are treating me like a punching bag for my opinions.
To my dismay I found myself pulling out of these discussions almost immediately, unwilling and unable to “fight back” in such rude and pointless ways. I was not about to start calling people I respected and cared for idiots, communists, Nazis or any of the other many terrible things that are flung about these days. It’s not right; it’s not how you treat people you care about. We shouldn’t treat anyone like that, honestly. We should be better than this.
Shame on us.
Chemo for our Political Cancer
The only people I found I could talk to were people that agreed with my position. And while it is nice to experience agreement while we enjoy our freshly grilled hamburgers, it’s not very productive. We are not furthering the cause of healthy political discourse and looking at common problems from different angles. Political discussion or debate is best had with those that don’t necessarily agree or understand your own position. It’s not about regurgitating the viewpoint of someone who is getting paid to entice advertisers to a timeslot. It’s about hearing the stories of people and gaining an understanding of why they feel a certain way. Why would a person passionately hold a certain view if the only reason they hold that view is because someone told them to think that way? Why would we insult a son, daughter, mother, father, uncle, aunt and anyone else for something like that? We must recognize what we are doing to each other and end this barbaric and self-destructive behavior.
Republicans and Democrats are not opposing football teams, though we seem to be acting very much like it, unfortunately. We shouldn’t be treating each other as we do. We shouldn’t instantly insult, demean and be condescending toward each simply because we identify more or less with a broad political group.
We also can’t stick unreasonably, without facts, without thinking, to our current party line politics or stances. All parties change their stances to some degree over time. All parties completely switch political standing, more now they ever! And no political party contains all of your own personal political views 100% in line with their own. This means nobody should take hard line stances along political party lines. Nothing is black and white; everything has shades of grey no matter how you look at it. So take more time to look at the political issue at hand and find out where you stand, on individual issues, regardless of party lines or what political party you may affiliate yourself with today.
And above all, no matter where you find yourself politically, you must open your heart and mind to other possibilities and options. We are all wrong, at one point or another. We all take a stand on the wrong side at times. We all have the ability to learn and grow as long as we are open to new ideas, new facts and new opinions. By shutting out these new ideas, new facts and new opinions, we shut ourselves off from being politically informed. This changes people from political assets, to political liabilities. We should strive to make sure we are political assets in order to help to make a better America.
Each and every one of us has been infected with this cancer, to at least some degree. If this cancer isn’t cured, it will consume us, to our ultimate sorrow.
We must all strive to treat each other better.