9) two wings, same bird

My December to Remember II: Day Nine

News: Second and third round of Twitter files released, reveals suppression and shadowbanning of users based on reach, content; confirms content coordination between Twitter’s top brass and FBI/DHS/DNI officials around 2020 election and January 6th.
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema switches political affiliation from Democrat to Independent.

When did ideology become the driving force in all that we do? Who decided to put these idiots in charge of everything? How did the world get to a point where we’re told what to do rather than given the tools to succeed on our own? I’m not a child, I don’t need Daddy Government to hold my hand through every aspect of my life.

Why, just today, New York City suggested people wear masks again because, surprise surprise, it’s flu season. But why is it up to a government entity to announce things like this? I should just be allowed to take my chances without having to listen to asinine suggestions from supposedly elected leaders. Also today, Jill Biden, not President In Name Only Joe, came out with the strangely still-salient White House Covid team, telling Americans to get ‘their’ boosters before the holidays. They have to keep up with the lie that vaccines are the only way for the average Joe Six Pack to stay safe against an endemic virus that’ll make you feel shitty for a few days, particularly after punching several holes in your immune system. Just another day in the good ol’ fakeass U.S.S.A.

And you know what? Some people will. Because for some reason they feel indebted to be at the behest of these insane people who certainly don’t have your best interest at heart. To invoke George Carlin: They’re selling us an American Dream we’d have to be asleep to believe in.

It never felt natural for me to be on a ‘team’ of like-minded individuals, especially when it comes to politics. Things became extra clear to me in my freshman year of college. It was 2004, the first time I was legally able to vote. But my choices were between incumbent George W. Bush and John Kerry, both of whom gave me bad vibes. So I exercised my right to not vote for someone I don’t like. But that certainly wasn’t the case for the rest of my dorm-mates.

In the common room on election night, many rooted for Kerry, going as far as dressing in red, white, and blue while holding up signs they created. One girl’s sign read thusly: The Only Bush I Trust is My Own. Which grossed me out because now I had to think about this dumb bish’s bush. And it just struck me as overall odd. Did she think Kerry could see her through the TV? We were just sitting around, who was that sign actually for? And when everyone asked me about who I wanted to win, I didn’t have an answer. I just said both these guys suck and left it at that.

The cultish nature that slimes its way out of politics has just been growing since then. And now, we’re in a spot where our livelihoods are driven by these sociopathic anti-people, who think anyone who doesn’t tow the party line deserves to be punished, blocked, canceled, reprogrammed and shadowbanned into oblivion.

Is is that unreasonable to actually want to try and work together to build a more perfect union?

When it comes to a look at both sides of the aisle, I am currently of the humble opinion that liberals are cringey douchebags, and conservatives are nutless losers. Neither is a ‘side’ I want to be a part of. I have my opinions and know where my moral compass lies, which is good enough for me. I pledge allegiance to no man, especially not one paid by my tax dollar to lie to me. And while I know I cannot expect this mindset out of everyone in the country, I can hope that this sheen of ‘my team is better than yours’ will slowly dissipate, even if I can’t see it as I drown in the liberal shithole that is New York City.

This current divide is the deepest I’ve ever seen it, and it’ll only get worse if we don’t say something about it. I don’t need coordinated coalitions to ‘get out the vote,’ or organized sign-holding picket lines to push for change. I’ll always believe in the organic approach, that talking things out can yield results, even if they’re not instant, like society keeps promising is the only way to go. But it has to start on a micro level, and I’m afraid we’ve forgotten how to have a civil debate on the matter.

Years ago, I spent forty-eight hours in Vermont. I had been wanting to explore more parts of my country for a while, so I figured a quick trip to a place I’d never been was just the ticket. I dream of going back all the time, buying up a little lakeside home and living a solitary life forever writing my stories. But that day isn’t here. Yet. Either way, I found myself a date one of the evenings. He was a nice guy around the same age as me. A born and bred Vermonter. We met at a bar and hit it off pretty okay. First dates are always a little awkward, especially when the subject of politics was brought up. He bristled when I mentioned I voted for Trump, but something magical happened where he dropped the façade of good Vermont liberal and told me he had to hold his nose to vote for Hillary. There was no pre-registered talking point of telling me she was the ‘most qualified candidate’ or that I’m somehow a racist, sexist, xenophobe who loves to put children in cages because I helped vote in Orange Man. It was a nice change of pace, considering how many times during online dating I’ve been excoriated for leaning conservative.

We found a lot of common ground on issues, and agreed how stupid it was to hate someone specifically for a political leaning. There were far more important things going on at the time, and the hope was that a right decision was being made, and the proper pushback on the wrong things was applied. While that was all just a one-night thing, I felt very encouraged by what had taken place. It was just two people talking and discussing, finding agreements and healthy disagreements. Why is that such an impossible feat for Americans these days? Have we forgotten our humanity so much that we can’t see past a label we specifically place on ourselves?

I always, always, always pray for people to wake up. I don’t want them to think exactly as I do, I want them to examine why it is they feel a certain way, instead of living comfortably in denial of just how bad things have gotten. Some douchebag in my neighborhood keeps using the abandoned building’s scaffolding to write political messages in chalk everywhere, saying things like “Come on Georgia voters” and “When they go low, we vote blue.” I feel like getting some chalk myself and writing, “Get a Twitter account, you cunt,” but I’m not that brave. It’s the price I pay for living in the Big Apple, which has a long way to go in stopping the rot at its core.

I know some people prefer to stay asleep. I can’t save everybody. Instead, I just pity them. I don’t coordinate to wish them out of existence, nor would I ever do such a thing. It’s what once made this country so great: Our God-given right to free expression, protected by a governing body that’s supposedly there to uphold that tenant. Sadly, that is no more. And it’s up to me to stay focused and clear, love the middle, and never give in to political pressure. I’d rather die than betray my fellow countrymen and I’m not being dramatic about that. Liberty or death, as they say.

In the meantime, all I can do is point out the bad where I see fit, and amplify the good when it happens. There’s a shift in the winds as the American Bald Eagle finds Her strength again; To flap and fly high as a beacon of freedom, and bring good things with her as she comes home to roost.