Monday, August 19, 2019

A Civil War of Words



We are so split as a people….I worry about our country.

This is the 21st century version of the Civil War. Hate, venom, and the lack of discourse plague our society. There’s no opportunity for humor or satire without rampant condemnation.

Our skins are union thin. Tongue in cheek comments will get you fist-in-cheek responses. Our police officers are recipients of buckets of water in New York…and waves of bullets in Philadelphia.

It seems, in my lifetime, there were always things we could all agree on. I’m not so sure anymore. And because of that, I’m not so sure we could rally as a nation as we did during the world wars….or as recently as 9-11. Would we pull together as Americans against a common foe…or would we splinter and identify with our enemy? For the first time in my life, I have my doubts.

I refuse to watch cable television news because I have enough conflict in my life. Why would I want to watch people argue in my spare time. I get enough of a ration just punching the clock and running a little radio operation in rural America. Who sees abuse as entertainment? Not me.

How do you handle the hysteria that has become our everyday lives?

Here’s what I do. I know my values and I hold them close. You think differently than I do, God Bless You. It's your right to disagree. We have lost the ability to disagree respectfully….without screaming, using foul language….without questioning the integrity or the intellect of the person with which we disagree.

There are many who would like to see the demise of our society….

I pray they never get their way.

5 comments:

  1. When having an opinion you must prove why you have it. Arguing with stupidity is never going to work. Easy way is keep them to yourself as we have for the last 2oo years.

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  2. Say hello to David Land have a great time on morning coffee.

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  3. I know that it would never work. BUT the solution to at least part of the problem would be to abolish the Democrat and Republican parties. All political parties for that matter. Let candidates for office just make their case without swearing allegiance to any party. Let the model be our local election where people don’t identify as R or D when they run for mayor or alderman. Then people would have to listen to their positions on issues instead of immediately be for or against them because of what is after their name.

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  4. In 2001 we had an adult as a leader. While a lot of his policies weren't great, he carried himself with a sense of pride, morality, and character that our current 'leader' has none of.

    He likes to point the finger at immigrants and other groups of individuals from all walks of life as the central problem that plagues America. Most of his base is too stupid to see that he is simply deflecting from his own issues. When I first voted in 2000, the republican party was running on strong family values, morality, and character because of the transgressions of Bill Clinton. As a proud voting member of the right, I routinely called for his impeachment based on his inability to simply follow the laws that we all are required to do in this country. I was not alone. While it eventually failed to gain enough support, that doesn't mean it wasn't warranted.

    The Republican party lost those high character values along the way and became the party that lacked any social understanding of those that surrounded them. For every group that was fighting to get their voices heard, there was often a white right wing conservative preaching as to why their voice didn't matter. Today that hateful rhetoric continues daily. It shows up in your writings, it shows in conversations up at the local coffee shop, and it shows up on social media. More importantly it shows up in the words of the man that is supposed to guide our country to greatness.

    When those of us that find his rhetoric classless, and at times incoherent, hear him lose sight of what made our country the great melting pot that it is, we are going to speak up. And we are going to be loud.

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    Replies
    1. Donald Trump won the presidency for one simple reason. He was running against Hillary Clinton. Almost anyone else would have beaten him handily.

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