The Other Side

As we've discussed before, the internet has made it easy for every person to have a voice, and especially it makes it easy to hide behind a computer and post political or religious rants about the 'evil' that surely exists on the other side of whatever line is being discussed. Specifically people who believe my political or religious leanings have been called 'Morally Bankrupt' or 'Heartless' or 'Soulless' and so on. This isn't confined to current politics but the long running discourse that exists in our nation.


I get it, I do. Its easy to view the 'other side' as evil. If they are evil then you have every right to try and stop them and their agenda because it will destroy us as a people and maybe even as a species! Its so easy to view others as being make up for only what they believe politically or religiously, that we ignore every other aspect of their lives. Often it is in these other aspects that we find common ground that allow us to tackle the big, divisive issues.


As children, we determine who is our best friend based on who has the exact same interests as us. It's so cool they like all the same things we do! Into adulthood that just doesn't exist. I can't think of one person I know who has the same opinions as me on everything, or the same interests, or is at the same stage in life in every way. I also feel like its especially hard for me because I fall into a weird little life bucket that I have found very few with which to have true camaraderie with. Its probably an issue on my part more than theirs, its not their fault I have to always walk the path that no one else does. Thank you introvert/stubborn personality. But despite all this, I can still find common ground with many, many around me. I have good friends with and without children, who do and do not believe my religion or in a God at all, with those with college degrees and not, those who work and those who don't, Republican or Democrat or Independent. All those people are great people, even though there are many topics we don't agree on.


However, I'm beginning to see a need to reduce who I see and possibly who I chose to be friends with. Some are long time friends I've known more than half my life, but I absolutely can't take the constant bombardment of being told that I'm a bad person because of my large beliefs. Not something specifically I said, but because of their assumptions about what people like me believe and think. And its not just them, its their friends of like minded beliefs that jump on and fan the flames of hatred for those of us on the other side. Whenever I say anything about it, I'm told that that doesn't apply to me, I'm a good person, but the truth is that's nonsense. You can't say a broad statement about everyone in a belief system, but then pick and chose who it does and doesn't apply to. 'All Christians hate non-Christians! Except for you, you don't hate them.' I'm sorry, no. At some point you have to own your words and the words you allow your friends to post. Especially when it is the repeated aggressive statements. Eventually there will be consequences and long term friendships will be irreparably destroyed, because one side is tired of being made to feel to be the embodiment of the devil himself. It hurts on a personal level to have friends accuse you of things that are untrue, and then allow all their friends to continue to do the same. While I strongly believe in having friends of many beliefs so as not to fall victim to group think, there is no value in standing in the middle of a crazed mob pummeling you relentlessly. At least throw in a cute baby or puppy picture once in a while.


Evil exists in the world, and must be called out with the harshest of terms and rooted out from its core. However, I truly don't know that we even realize what evil is anymore. The term is thrown around so loosely that does it even mean anything? It's like an Oprah giveaway. You are Evil! And you are Evil! And you are truly Evil! Everyone is Evil!!!! At some point it doesn't mean much anymore, and then true evil can take root and grow.


I'm curious what the future will think of the hysteria of this time. There is much of it for sure, and very little of it actually has value. It almost feels as if we are in a massive fever dream that one day we'll wake up from and be embarrassed by what happened. Its like the Salem Witch Trials where any and every craziness is to be not just believed, but immediately acted on to the fullest extent possible. Again, I'm not speaking just of current politics but a long term trend of political correctness run amok and the need to believe every person's opinion on everything because it's their 'truth' so it must be taken as gospel.


We have all allowed this dangerous cancer to grow inside our population, we are fighting and destroying our own, but someday will look back and wonder how it got to the state it did? What is the cure for mass societal meltdown? Can there even be one? Or will we all end up alone, bitterly fighting to the death on Facebook in dimly lit bunkers, each with the smug satisfaction of scoring imaginary debate points, while our civilization burns around us?