"The Human Race Has To Move On"
"The human race has to move on from fear & hate. How long does mankind continue on this path?" - Vicki Angus
I agree 100%. Over the past several months, I've had conversations with Trump detractors, who also say that "All" Republicans are the same.
Beverly’s a Republican. Not only is she a caring person, she’s not the least bit racist and gets along with all kinds of people. Her major concern isn’t money, but her family.
I’ve lived in a conservative area for 6 years now, and while there are exceptions, most of the people here aren’t that way.
A good place to see people interacting is the local Wal-Mart. The workers are black, white, old, young, even punk (piercings, rings, off - colored hair). There’s even more diversity among the shoppers. I’ve seen Hispanic, Asian, Islamic, gay, and racially mixed couples, and the thing is, nobody cares.
People are just getting along with their lives as best they can.
As Orwell wrote, most people are decent, but their fears are manipulated by those who crave power, most notably politicians, who work hand in hand with the wealthy, and the more power you have, the more wealth you need to sustain it. By and large, most promises we hear in political campaigns, everywhere, is propaganda and outright lies.
What matters most is getting elected. The “People” are basically pawns who after they serve their purpose are generally ignored.
The thing is, this all is such an integral part of human nature, that we aren’t aware we are doing it.
We like to believe that we are independent thinkers, and that our opinions are our own. The reality though, is that all through our lives, others have instructed us in how to think, feel, and behave.
To get beyond that, a person first needs to become aware. It’s a terribly hard thing to do, to admit that one’s behavior is flawed, that one is not the pinnacle of virtue which they see in their mind’s eye, and in some cases, are in fact the complete opposite.
About people who put others into a box, I’ve pointed out to them that our climate of political animosity is growing ever worse, to which they usually agree.
I then suggest that since the tactic of bashing the “enemy” over the past several decades hasn’t worked, in getting them to modify their view and come over to “our” side, why don’t we instead treat them as fellow human beings, with respect, and entitled to their own opinions? (*)
That is what a democracy is supposed to be, many views within a system of government, designed with checks and balances to prevent one group or individual from seizing absolute power.
To put it another way, what makes a democracy work is genuine tolerance for all, and not just the perfect.
Yet the people who put others into a box, they can’t see that. Their egos won’t let them. For them it’s an eternal war. There’s always a justification to just keep things the way they are.
And so instead of compromise, of cooperating to solve the common problems we all face, we continually pick sides and struggle against each other, while the problems keep going on and on.
And just to be clear, this also applies to those conservatives who habitually denigrate all things Democrat.
(*) - after all, isn’t that the goal, to win converts, to get others to see the world as we do? Then again, maybe there’s an ulterior motive that doesn’t want that at all, one that like in 1984, needs to be present in order to keep the people focused, and under control).
FB 2017/08/05
I agree 100%. Over the past several months, I've had conversations with Trump detractors, who also say that "All" Republicans are the same.
Beverly’s a Republican. Not only is she a caring person, she’s not the least bit racist and gets along with all kinds of people. Her major concern isn’t money, but her family.
I’ve lived in a conservative area for 6 years now, and while there are exceptions, most of the people here aren’t that way.
A good place to see people interacting is the local Wal-Mart. The workers are black, white, old, young, even punk (piercings, rings, off - colored hair). There’s even more diversity among the shoppers. I’ve seen Hispanic, Asian, Islamic, gay, and racially mixed couples, and the thing is, nobody cares.
People are just getting along with their lives as best they can.
As Orwell wrote, most people are decent, but their fears are manipulated by those who crave power, most notably politicians, who work hand in hand with the wealthy, and the more power you have, the more wealth you need to sustain it. By and large, most promises we hear in political campaigns, everywhere, is propaganda and outright lies.
What matters most is getting elected. The “People” are basically pawns who after they serve their purpose are generally ignored.
The thing is, this all is such an integral part of human nature, that we aren’t aware we are doing it.
We like to believe that we are independent thinkers, and that our opinions are our own. The reality though, is that all through our lives, others have instructed us in how to think, feel, and behave.
To get beyond that, a person first needs to become aware. It’s a terribly hard thing to do, to admit that one’s behavior is flawed, that one is not the pinnacle of virtue which they see in their mind’s eye, and in some cases, are in fact the complete opposite.
About people who put others into a box, I’ve pointed out to them that our climate of political animosity is growing ever worse, to which they usually agree.
I then suggest that since the tactic of bashing the “enemy” over the past several decades hasn’t worked, in getting them to modify their view and come over to “our” side, why don’t we instead treat them as fellow human beings, with respect, and entitled to their own opinions? (*)
That is what a democracy is supposed to be, many views within a system of government, designed with checks and balances to prevent one group or individual from seizing absolute power.
To put it another way, what makes a democracy work is genuine tolerance for all, and not just the perfect.
Yet the people who put others into a box, they can’t see that. Their egos won’t let them. For them it’s an eternal war. There’s always a justification to just keep things the way they are.
And so instead of compromise, of cooperating to solve the common problems we all face, we continually pick sides and struggle against each other, while the problems keep going on and on.
And just to be clear, this also applies to those conservatives who habitually denigrate all things Democrat.
(*) - after all, isn’t that the goal, to win converts, to get others to see the world as we do? Then again, maybe there’s an ulterior motive that doesn’t want that at all, one that like in 1984, needs to be present in order to keep the people focused, and under control).
FB 2017/08/05