One of our readers asked about my comment about avoiding politics. My response was that debating politics never makes me happy. I’d rather talk about golf or BBQ, so I do.
Today’s Political Discussion
So today I had the pleasure of being part of a political discussion. It was over text chat so I can go back and look at exactly what was said. It got heated.
Reviewing the discussion, it’s mostly Dems are …, the GOP are …, Libertarians are …, this politician is …, that politician is … Terms like fool, selfish, corrupt, blame, and messiah are peppered throughout.
That’s Not Politics
This all started with me sharing this article from Tangle
Here’s the headline:
I probably should have known better because this is a polarizing subject. Musk did this, Trump did that. Who’s right?
And I think that is what frustrates me about politics, it’s often more about who’s right and supporting our candidate or party than it is about a given issue.
Most of Us Are in The Center
Most voters seem to be somewhere in the middle. At least when discussing the issues.
However, I think the middle is slowly disappearing among our candidates. The left is now way left and the right is way right. In order to be in the party, we need to align with the candidates.
I wish it were the other way around. The candidates aligning around the will of the people. I know, that’s crazy talk.
Example
As an example, I’ll share my thoughts on a hot-button issue: immigration. Immigration was clearly a key issue in the 2024 race. Even democratic leaders in cities like New York and Chicago were starting to call for help. They just didn’t have the resources to house, school, feed and police/protect their people. The influx of people was straining capacity.
I think Trump’s stance on immigration played a role in the election, and based on the number of border crossings, he seems to have met his commitment. Even CBS News thinks so. Read here.
But, I’ll also say that I’ve got reservations. While I know we’ve stemmed the flow at the border and we’ve sent a lot of nasty criminals out of the country, I’ve also read the reports of innocent people being caught up in the net. Are the stories accurate? Who knows. But it still gives me pause.
But in the end, I support what we’re doing.
On the other hand, I’m completely frustrated with the tariff debacle. I have no idea whether tariffs will be a good or bad solution for the economy, or as a negotiation strategy. But on/off/on/off doesn’t seem to me to be an effective approach.
Am I a Trump Supporter?
I voted for him. I felt he was a better leader for our country than Harris, but I remember the tweets and texts and chaos of the 1st go-round and was certain we’d see it again if he were elected. But still, I could in no way get behind Harris.
I support some of the things that Trump is doing – I might do them differently, but I’m not President. I wasn’t even considered. Gasp!
I also dislike some things.
I see this situation as similar to when I told my wife I loved Dave Grohl. I am a big Foo Fighters fan. I like their music and Dave had always been the good guy of rock-n-roll – holding a BBQ for 1st responders and doing other nice things. Then he cheated and had a daughter out of wedlock. I still like the music but I guess I never really loved (or knew) Dave. Read more here.
The point is, I feel like we would be better off if we aligned with issues instead of people or parties. Or better yet, wouldn’t it be cool if the politicians and parties aligned better with what we wanted.
Where Did We Learn This?
Funny that we behave this way. Where did that come from?
Musk is calling Trump’s bill an abomination. Trump called Musk crazy.
In all fairness, it did start off as a discussion about an issue. Think what you will of the effort or result, Musk gave quite a bit of his time to the government (and to us) to try and cut some of our out-of-control spending. He’s got other things on his plate. We should at least appreciate the effort.
I’m sure it was hard for him to see a bill that adds to the deficit.
And then it went just as we’d expect.
So whether it’s Biden, Trump, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC…pick your favorite, name calling and personal attacks are in vogue. Why wouldn’t we join in?
Wrap-Up
Name calling. The politicians do it, the media jumps in, and then we follow suit.
We tend to choose a candidate or party and support them or it like we support our beloved New England Patriots.
The problem is that this all distracts from the real issues. We’re so busy deciding who’s right or defending our side that we lose sight of the fact that our government is spending like drunken sailors.
Important issues are being over-looked because we’re all distracted by the circus.
This is why I dislike politics.
In trying to get better at Chat GPT, I posed a query to ask Chat GPT to summarize the top 10 positions of the 2 major political parties & then explain each of the 10 bullet points in a 1-2 paragraph text summary. It grounded me in the reality that there are legitimate, balanced viewpoints out there that are worthy of debate. As a registered Republican, I’’d say I agree with the Repub positions on 6 or 7 of the core beliefs.
So where do things go awry with politics in this country? When you start injecting names of politicians & they start spinning THEIR versions of what the other side is saying. It quickly devolves into misinformation, quotes taken out of context, soundbites & pure, unadulterated lies in the worst cases. All because the worst of the politicians are more interested in self-preservation, getting re-elected (at all costs) & maintaining their power. If only they all were truly out to hel the people. Politics would be a noble profession…if it were’t for the politicians!
Thanks Randy. I’m reading The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century. Pretty fascinating view of Boston politics in the 70’s-90s.
My wife often asks, “Why do we need political parties?” Eliminating political parties would solve many problems and force radical change. We could vote for a candidate with values similar to our own.
My answer is always, “It’ll never happen. The system is too fucked. It’s all about the Benjamins.”
I like to think l’m a middle of the road kind of guy, but it seems I’m an out in left field kind of guy, or in the wrong ballpark kind of guy. I haven’t found a politician yet who shares my core beliefs. My conspiracy theory is that the two parties get together in a dark, smoke filled room and divvy up the issues in the most controversial way.