It’s US vs. THEM

I’ve lived 57 plus years on this planet and never before has that phrase seemed to ring so true.  Sad to say.  Left vs. Right.  Religion vs. Atheism.  Black vs. White.  Rich vs. Poor.  Male vs. Female.  The list goes on and on.

Exactly what is it that we’re failing to grasp?

Right now, the gap between the left and the right couldn’t be bridged with the Golden Gate.  Have we not learned that we cannot solve this problem by clinging tightly to our beliefs while pointing a finger towards the other side?  Yes, we have significant differences.  But what is scary is there seems to be little effort in trying to understand the other side and find reasonable compromise.  It doesn’t help that we have a leader who preaches division, not unity.  It’s easy to wrap ourselves in our beliefs and stand with the crowd.  It’s difficult to be a patriot, standing alone for what you truly believe is right.

Is this what the founding fathers wanted?  And don’t get me started there.  If I have to hear about the founding fathers one more time I might be sick.  Isn’t “free speech” just good common sense?  Did that have to be written down?  And why do we manipulate their words from several hundred years ago to dictate legislation on gun laws today?  In a world that resembles nothing of what it once did.  People who know what it is to be sensible and just and giving and fair don’t have to be told to do so.  They recognize it as a way of life.  It really is that simple.

More than 150 years after the Civil War, more than 50 years after the civil rights movement, why is it necessary to explain to ANYONE that Black Lives matter?  That every life matters.  Think of these idiots who believe in “White Supremacy”.  There’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one.  The race of white men has been in charge for how long now, and exactly how f***** up of a nation are we?  So much so that we have a national holiday named after a man that had nothing to do with discovering this country.  And yet, every year, every major city has a parade in his honor.

Why is it that religious people feel threatened by people who have no religious belief?  Why does that have to effect their own faith?  It’s sort of like marrying outside of your religion, you know, you can’t weaken the team.  Isn’t all that matters is being a good person, regardless of your belief?  Who is the better person…the maniac who kills in the name of God or the peaceful and giving person who believes in nothing?

Do the rich really consider themselves better than the poor?  Do the rich who believe in a “next life” really think any of what they possess in their 80 years here is going to amount to a hill of beans on their Judgment Day?  Does that belief get them through their day, and if so, who are they kidding?  The truth is, they don’t believe in anything, that’s how they enable themselves to live the way they do.

Women are finally getting their day.  Sorry, poor choice of words.  Their time.  To be heard.  To be listened to.  Not to be dictated to.  Not to be ordered.  Not to be abused.  The men recently outed who feel shame should feel shame.  And a hell of a lot more than that.  And yet, people like Bill Cosby can spend millions of dollars to try and avoid paying out millions more.  Or going to jail.  Not everyone deserves a comeback.  Ask the millions of women who have been abused or taken advantage of if they got what they deserved.

So, is the problem US…or THEM?  Maybe the problem is that after all of this time, we still have an US and a THEM.  And not a WE.  Doesn’t that document start with, “We the People”?  I don’t recall seeing anything about US or THEM.

People need to stand up and speak their truth regardless of the uncomfortable circumstances it places they in.  And they can do it without offending the other side.  In a manner that says, “I am different from you, but striving for the same thing.”  Because of that I can say…

“I am a member of the Left and proud of it”.

“I have no religious affiliation whatsoever but think no less of others who have faith of any kind”.

“I support people of every color and religion.  Because I believe we are all equal.”

“I believe everyone should pay a percentage of tax in direct line with what they earn, and that the rich should never be granted any special favors in this regard”.

“I believe women need to be respected.  And treated 100% the same in business.  And never abused in any format, for any reason.  And that any man who creates abuse should be outed and forever marked because of it”.

Speak your truth.  Don’t conceal it.  Don’t be like the cowards who say one thing in private, then another in public.  They are the worst of the worst.  They are the reason nothing changes.

It’s 2018 people.  What exactly are we waiting for?