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I woke up this morning, poured a cup of coffee and made my way to the patio to enjoy another beautiful Colorado morning, replete with the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, a deer making its way through the neighborhood, and the sound of sizzling bacon coming from the neighbors window. My morning routine has become a ritual that allows me to prepare for the day ahead, enjoy the silence, and catch up on the news.
Fucking news...
I'm used to being disappointed and/or frustrated by the news; however, this morning I became angry, a pure unadulterated rage that served mainly to fuck up my entire morning. As I write this, the backdrop is the same, the bacon is still sizzling, and the birds are still chirping, but deep down inside, a fire is burning and my words cant come fast enough. A long hike is surely on the docket.
Surely I would be justified if my anger was directed at politicians, who regardless of which way you lean, are clearly out for themselves and the lobbyists that bought them. I would be justified if my anger was directed at our prison system that does more to encourage criminal behavior than truly rehabilitate offenders. I could be justified if my anger was directed at whatever new thing someone is offended by today, but instead, my anger is directed elsewhere. My anger is directed at YOU, the American citizen.
You sit there, every day, getting your news from CNN or Fox or MSNBC or Huffington Post and believe everything you're told. You look at posts on Facebook and take it as bond because it was posted by your best friend, or the head of the PTA, or your favorite actor. You deem yourself an activist because you shared that post on your page, or you made your profile pic a rainbow, or you garnered an opinion based on one goddamned post from a left/right leaning website without doing an ounce of research to determine the legitimacy of anything. Propaganda is alive and well and you take it as oath so long as it agrees with your views.
Need proof?
Donald Trump sits at the top of the GOP presidential candidate rankings. Donald-fucking-Trump! This is the same guy that has filed for bankruptcy 7 times in his life due to his failed business dealings. This is the same guy that sued a woman because he didn't follow through on his lease agreement and she wanted out. This is the same guy that, despite McCain's military history, mocked him for having the audacity to get caught by the enemy. Yet, countless people have jumped on his cock and are ready to anoint his ass the next president. A reality TV star! I'm assuming Kim Kardashian will be his running mate and ya'll will tout her as a supporter of womens rights, just so long as its not some "socialist tree-hugging welfare loving liberal." Yet, you support him because all your other right leaning friends support him because all their right leaning friends support him and you'll be goddamned if any of your right leaning friends judge you any different for not following along with the masses.
Then you have Hilary Clinton, whose greatest hits reads like a terrorist love story. Never mind all the bullshit she has pulled over the past 30+ years, never mind the lives she has cost, never mind all the people she has screwed over, never mind the proven lies and deception. Are people merely supporting her because she is a woman? Or because she is a Democrat and NOT a "disgusting redneck gun-owning racist Republican?" Don't believe me? Check this out.
Because you identify with one party over another, you glom onto a candidate without recognizing that the two-party system is bullshit. The two-party system forces me to vote for shit I don't believe in just to vote for a single issue I do believe in. For instance, if I believe in the 2nd Amendment, then I must also vote for someone against gay marriage and abortion. Or, if I believe in immigration amnesty, then I must vote for someone that wants to limit defense spending, which I don't agree with. Its like ordering a Mexican entrée. Sure, I love empenadas but I cant stand Spanish rice, but I have to order it anyway in order to get the damned empanada that I want. At least with Mexican food I can substitute more beans and cancel the Spanish rice. Wouldn't that be great when voting for a candidate. "Yes, I'd like the 2nd Amendment, but can I have immigration amnesty instead of anti-abortion?" Unfortunately it doesn't cause the division that both parties are seeking.
Thing is, I don't blame the government. I blame you, the American citizen, for accepting what the media feeds us and for sticking to your moral high ground without recognizing that the country has different needs at different times. I mean, is now the right time to be opening up our borders with ISIS running rampant? Instead, you have two parties battling it out and you pick a side. In turn, you judge someone for being a liberal or a conservative and make that their entire identity. In other words, you've allowed our country to become a mirror image of our government, divided.
How did this happen? How did we allow ourselves to become so divided that we are now on the brink of another civil war? Simply put, you believed what the media tells you. You follow along like little kids listening to Grandpas stories, with wide eyes and a gullibility that leads you to actually believe Grandpa once walked 10 miles to school barefoot. You pick and choose who you get your news from, opting for the source that will be most aligned with your individual viewpoints so as not to experience the dismay that comes from being let down by your ideology.
If you believe that Fox News is the anti-Christ, if you like to call them Faux News or whatever other trendy little name you can come up with, then you must accept that Huffington Post is equally full of shit. If you truly believe that the news you get is honest, unfiltered, and without bias, then you probably also believe the test results that come from taking Buzzfeed quizzes.
As for Facebook, if you genuinely get your news from a social media platform, then you deserve NOT to vote. If you believe something because your coworkers wife, who went to Colombia Law School, posted an anti-personhood column that she got from her sorority sister, who got it from an old elementary school friend because she agreed with the headline but didn't read the article, then you have no business voting for our president. You would be better suited voting for People magazines "Hottest of 2016" award.
At the same time, you fail to notice how social matters become more relevant around the same time that political measures are approved that will, ultimately, fuck over the entire country. For instance, was anyone aware that while gay marriage was voted in (which, lets be honest, was bound to happen eventually) the POTUS also passed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) that will send hundreds of thousands of jobs overseas? Or that it gives foreign corporations powers over our legislation that directly hurts their business? Where was the outcry over this? Oh yeah, there was none because we, as American citizens, are lazy and only swallow what is fed to us. Look at every social matter that has been passed and you will likely see another political measure that was snuck through.
Even as I write this I don't expect anyone to give a shit. Why? Because what consumes most people aren't the issues, but rather, what will garner you the most 'likes' on Facebook and what the other person is doing to push their agenda. So continue on being sheep that eat only what the media and politicians tell you. Continue to believe that politicians truly have YOUR best intentions in mind. Continue to limit your scope of reasoning by getting your news from those that tell you what you want to hear. Continue to cast your vote based on limited information and blind loyalty.
Me? I'm going to do some research. I'm going to engage in polite, sometimes heated, debate with people that believe differently than me, not in hopes of being right; but rather, in hopes of gaining a better understanding, all the while, maintaining my friendship with them NOT because of their beliefs, but because they are good people. I'm going to vote based on what our country needs right now. In four years, I may change allegiances depending on our needs, but I damn sure wont subscribe to a party for the rest of my life like some cult. I am an American and my voice will be heard, not because Im told what to believe, but because I tell THEM what I believe in.
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