Make America Reasonable Again- We should be able to meet in the middle, right?
Then again, the "FUCK YOUR FEELINGS!!" crowd is out in force again....
It’s impossible to miss how much of our society has taken on a political tinge these days. So much of what we do or think is defined in terms of red or blue. If you live on the red side, everything has an ideological component and is ultimately about “owning the Libs.”
Life is no longer a ideologically-neutral undertaking, nor are the decisions we make. So much of what we do now is about defining who we are, what we believe, and, most importantly, what our politics are.
Take the red hat, f’rinstance. Red used to be just a color…until it became the official color of MAGA. While red really isn’t my color, now I’d think twice before donning a red hat of any sort, lest people have even the slightest reason to suspect me of Trump-adjacent affection. I’d have to think and re-think how badly I wanted a red baseball cap or toque before purchasing one.
The red MAGA hat has become a clarion call of ignorance, hatred, and being steeped in the Dunning-Kruger effect. The “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” slogan stitched across the front of the hat says to the world that the person wearing the hat is a hateful, bigoted, White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual.
It’s no wonder
describes it as “The Perpetual Victimhood of MAGA is Weakness Defined.”
And those of us who detest MAGA and what it stands for assume a lot when we see someone wearing a MAGA hat. We assume ignorance, racism, homophobia, transphobia, isolationism, perpetual victimhood, selfishness, and a world-class lack of compassion- the “FUCK YOUR FEELINGS!! Republicans” we saw at Trump rallies in 2020.
Most of the time, we’re not wrong.
Sadly, we’ll see them again soon. When you’re someone operating from a position of weakness, compassion and kindness aren’t high on your list, though you’ll often wear your mean-spirited ignorance proudly.
The “red hat” phenomenon has spilled over into other consumer goods. Spend any time on Facebook or most other social media networks, and you’ll probably see ads for clothing or other goods marketed specifically to “patriots.”
Yes, it should upset you that the Far-Right has co-opted “patriot” and patriotism in the same way they’ve co-opted the American flag. They’ve convinced themselves that THEY are the only true patriots. Only THEY genuinely love America. And, because of this, they and only they are the true and rightful keepers of the flag.
More than anything, though, as
tells us, “holy shit, Donald Trump and his worshipers are the whiniest diaper-babies ever.”EVER.
Yeah, and they display their MAGA flag everywhere because it’s possible they’re compensating for other…um, shortcomings.
Accordingly, those of us on the Left tend to be very careful about how and where we display the American flag, while those on the Right feel free to fly it anywhere and everywhere- at home, on their truck, in their front yard, etc, etc., ad nauseam.
The whining, weak, brittle, fragile, delicate, feeble, puny, victim mentality of the MAGA movement is one of the most transparently sad, snowflakey, and pitiful movements really in American history. The incessant whining followed by the usual deflection of some harsh attack that reasonable adults would eschew has really reached a boiling point in my tolerance of typical and normal political dialogue.
I was attracted to the Republican party for many reasons, but chief among them was my belief that a man could set his own destiny, defend his own family, live his own life, and leave others alone to live theirs. I was always taught that bad circumstances happen, as does loss and failure, and those are parts of life we need to learn from and learn to manage. Sometimes you lose your whole corn crop, that’s life. Sometimes you lose elections, oh well. YOU, and you alone, are responsible for your mindset and path.
The MAGA movement has become an infectious disease of helplessness and victimhood unlike any I can remember. Donald Trump himself is a master victim, suing everyone, everything, yelling loudly about how he is a poor victim of the “deep state,” Rinos, DOJ, FBI, China, Germany, Mars, the sun, and any other possible force of nature. But his victim mentality has spread to the GOP at large, and its the most annoying and destructive force in the nation. Seriously. This infection has destroyed the GOP.
The victims are everywhere. They believe their man to be the strongest alive, who has the courage to push back against dark forces coming to destroy America. Nevermind that many evangelicals specifically have been preaching this message for decades, THIS TIME it’s real. Their heroes of the Bible are not the Apostles, or even Jesus himself. No they are old testament kings who in one case, slept with his neighbors wife and had her husband killed. King David is supposed to be a story of redemption, and instead he’s become a model citizen, PRIOR to his repentance, because after all, that is Trump.
The Jesus I follow, as a believer, teaches us to not put our faith in this world, to be citizens of heaven, kind and just, and to FEAR NOT. He is in control, and he’s got this. He hasn’t lost an ounce of calm because of tax rates, Disney, or wokeism.
Man, don’tcha hate it when Kinzinger holds back?? And this was a guy who was a Republican Congressman…WAS, because, like Liz Cheney, he was drummed out for having a moral center and understanding why he was in Congress.
It wasn’t to serve Donald Trump.
Ah, but I digress….
The divide extends to where Americans get their information. Those of us on the Left trend toward MSNBC, while the Right leans overwhelmingly toward Fox News, One America News, Breitbart, Epoch News, and others that focus more on Right-wing propaganda than hard news.
In the public square, then, we can’t even agree on whose version of the facts is, in fact, “factual.” Too often, the “correct” version of the “truth” depends on the ideological viewpoint of the person defining the “truth.”
Of course, we all see the world through our own lens and what we see is filtered through our experience, beliefs, and- too often- prejudices. That means “objective” truth can be difficult to come by and may not be anywhere near objective. Very often, sometimes TOO often, truth is the product of what we already believe divided by what we need/want to hear.
In the battle of Right v. Left, Red v. Blue, Good v. Evil, White v. Black, Real American v. Commie Liberal, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, we have been significantly LESS than the sum total of our parts.
Collectively, we no longer recognize nuance. We’ve lost the ability to accept the truth that life is seldom Black and/or White. Life is often lived in subtle shades of grey, in those places where uncertainty and lack of absolute truth live. And then we find out that, in most cases, life is all about uncertainly and that absolute truth is a myth.
Not only that, Conservatives in their native habitat (CPAC) can be fucking nuts.
Understanding and being comfortable with nuance and uncertainty has become a lost art. Life is not about always having or even knowing the answers; more often than not, it’s about searching for the right questions to ask. Once you know the questions, finding the answers becomes significantly easier. Searching for those questions means existing in a realm in which uncertainty and nuance reign supreme.
From where I sit, the problem is that the Far-Right believes in a very concrete reality- America is a Christian nation, Republicans are the rightful leaders/owners of America, abortion is wrong, women are the property of men, etc. There are a lot of very black-and-white aspects of ideology in there. Things are or aren’t; there are no grey areas, no confusion about right and wrong.
Right-wing ideology and Christian theology provide the answers to life’s questions; grey areas are unwelcome because questions can lead to unpleasant consequences.
The Left, meanwhile, believes life is little more than a smokescreen of grey areas. The problem with religion is that it creates an all-consuming one-size-fits-all morality and social structure that’s supposed to fit in all situations and work for all people. It allows for no deviation.
But for those of us on the Left, the human condition is a constant parade of deviations from the “norm,” whatever that might mean, especially when Christianity is using a 2000-year-old set of rules and expecting everyone to conform.
Life is little more than an exercise in dealing with shades of grey. There are no blanket, easy answers to life’s great questions; all religion does is paper over difficult topics with pat, simple answers that ultimately solve nothing and create more confusion.
Worse, it helps to create a class of people more comfortable with being told what to think than to engage in critical thinking. Not that there aren’t thoughtful Christians, of course, but the minority making noise aren’t the ones trying to live Christ-like lives. They’re the ones trying to overturn the separation of Church and State.
Let’s not kid ourselves; America has always been divided. Perhaps what’s changed is the degree to which that division has permeated almost every aspect of our lives. It now defines almost everything we see and/or do today, which is quite sad. There are so many times I’d really rather just deal with a person one-on-one without having to think about their politics.
But, when Far-Right politicians like Rep. Marjorie Trailer Greene (R-GA) have suggested a national “divorce,” one has to wonder if (or how long) we can keep the republic together.
I don’t know the answer to that question. I know only that America stands at the edge, with all ten toes handing over, as we stare into the abyss that is fascism and autocracy. In seven months, we’ll know the answer to the question: “Will we jump?”
It’s a good thing I’m not a gambler.
All of my posts are public at this time. Any reader financial support will be greatly appreciated. Currently, there’s no paywall blocking access to my work (except for a few newsletters). That remains an option down the road. I’ll trust my readers to determine if my work is worthy of their financial support and at what level. To those who do offer their support, thank you. It means more than you know.
"Fascism is Not an Idea to Be Debated, It’s a Set of Actions to Fight"
-- Aleksandar Hemon
The MAGA(t)s accusing the political Left of being divisive, which is another of their favorite tropes, would be funny were it not so pathetic.