Wednesday, June 27, 2018

US VS. THEM IN AMERICA


While I truly am tired of the division between liberals and conservatives in America today I felt it necessary to list a few of our major differences.  It hasn’t always been this way. Before America elected our first president of color, Obama, and before Russia helped elect our first president of ill-repute and ill-temper, Trump, those differences weren’t typically a catalyst for hate between the two political philosophies. But today sadly we are as divided as I’m sure they were back in April of 1861 when the Civil War started, and we may yet fight another civil war on American soil if something doesn’t give; if people don’t settle down, start to talk calmly, rationally and honestly LISTEN to each other.

The differences between all of us as individuals is far less than our similarities however it seems that the division between liberal and conservative indicates that even though we all share basic needs and desires that when it comes to politically we are as far apart as our sun is from the center of our galaxy; perhaps even further apart than that.

I know what I’m about to share will anger some but that’s not the point of it. The point of it is to get an overview, from a distance, of what exactly the people of this great country want in a country and in a society.
  • ·      Liberals want total equality for all human beings; not only in the eyes of the law of the land but also in the hearts and minds of the people who share this land and in how we treat one another.
  • ·     Conservatives want to say that there is equality but want to make sure that people with white skin have all the power, receive the most opportunities for improvement of their lives and appear to fear the idea that all men are created equal in a practical, everyday life kind of way.
  • ·       Liberals will tend to ‘own’ their white privilege and have a desire to change the system so that white privilege is a thing of the past.
  • ·    Conservatives are in complete and total denial that such a thing as white privilege exists, get  angry whenever it’s mentioned and behave as if to point white privilege out is to mount a campaign against them and all white people.
  • ·      Liberals believe that our borders should be secure, but that we should always observe the tenets as laid out by our forefathers to continue to be the one safe place on earth where people can come to be free and to make their lives better; to become a part of what is America.  Liberals mostly agree that immigration laws need to be overhauled to make it easier, not harder, for honest, decent people from other countries to enter the country legally.
  • ·    Conservatives choose to fear all ‘foreigners’, especially those who don’t speak English, don’t have white skin or don’t follow the same religion as they do (i.e. Christianity), and want to build walls around our country to keep new people out. It appears as if they have the attitude that now that their family is in America, after emigrating here from somewhere else, no more people should be allowed to come here.
  • ·       Liberals want our taxes to fund programs that help ALL citizens have a healthier more productive life, while helping those in need have a better life and don’t mind paying a few dollars more in taxes to benefit from programs that benefit EVERYONE, not just people in need (i.e. Medicare for all). 
  • ·    Conservatives want tax cuts and don’t want any of the taxes we pay to go to help people who are struggling to survive through ill health, a disability, a lost job or a bad economy; unless who needs help is them. For conservatives it’s every person for themselves, except themselves.
  • ·   Liberals are for a strong military and don’t mind funding it, BUT require sensible distribution of funds that come from our taxes and accountability of the military when it comes to the spending of tax dollars.
  • ·     Conservatives want to give most tax dollars collected to military because they are sure that most other countries are our enemy, are dangerous, and that we must have a strong military to defend ourselves against our enemies.
  • ·       Liberals have a great deal of respect and love for our flag and for those who serve it be it in the military or as a political leader. But liberals understand that when the flag, a representation of everyone in America and American values, is not representing all Americans, isn’t representing justice for all and isn’t representing core human values that we, because of the First Amendment, have the right to refuse to acknowledge the flag until it once again flies for everyone equally and justice is served for everyone.
  • ·     Conservatives say they have a great deal of respect for our flag and for those who serve it but use the flag and our military to sow discord and to measure the patriotism of others by. The flag for conservatives is more of a weapon to use against others than a unifying symbol of the core human values we have sworn to uphold and when necessary, to question.
  • ·      Liberals, as a rule and usually in the majority, want to have civil discourse to bring out issues that relate to everyone so that both sides can be heard and hopefully a mutually beneficial and satisfying solution can be reached.
  • ·     Conservatives, as a rule and usually in the majority, claim the right to be rude, insulting and hateful to those who don’t agree with them while demanding that all others who don’t agree with them show them the utmost respect and change their views.

I’m certain that the list is much longer and is full of many extremely important issues that concern people on both sides of the equation, however this is all I can think of now. Again, the list is not mean to divide, although in some ways it probably will, but is meant to be informative and hopefully a catalyst for civil discussion.

I’m also certain that I have some things wrong about both liberals and conservatives but I have only the experience of my personal interactions with people on both sides to go on. While some assumptions may be made, and may be incorrect, the list is based on issues and discussions I have personally had with many, many people on social media and face to face.



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