A friend of mine has a habit of getting into heated political debates on Facebook. I have gotten into debates with him. He is a good debater and he is very passionate. However, he can sometimes beat his point to death. It can be annoying sometimes. I just stop arguing when I have nothing more to say or I find myself becoming annoyed. Sometimes he continues posting. That is fine. I am done but he does not have to be. The other day he got into a political debate and it turned ugly. Some things were misinterpreted as can happen online. Next thing he knows this guy is threatening his life and bragging how he will be doing the world a favor by killing him. The guy says he has nothing to lose. He then shows my friend that he knows where he lives and his unlisted number. Now you can find these things fairly easily but it is very unnerving. Now the local authorities and the Feds are involved. Now he is in hiding and his family, quite rightly, is scared. This all from an internet argument over politics.
I often see some on the right express glee over things that upset those on the left. They are not even weighing in on if they agree with the policy or law. They are just thrilled that somebody with different political beliefs is angered or in distress. These are Americans happy that other Americans are angered. Like if you don’t think exactly like them then they must be the enemy. It seems like now many in our country are fueled by vengeance. Compromise is a sign of weakness and only total annihilation will make America great.
At some point you have to wonder who we are as a nation that we are willing to threaten, hurt, kill, fellow citizens over a difference of opinion. At best politicians want to create a better society but just have different visions on how to get there. At worst they don’t care about the average citizen and are just in the position for power or treasure. In either case I don’t think it is worth threatening your fellow citizen. I don’t think it is right to think just because somebody does not agree with you that you wish them distress or worse. I am passionate about politics. I consider myself informed. I get angry. For the most part I keep myself in check. What type of example am I setting for my child if I lose my shit over words?
I think society has a shorter fuse for those with different opinions because we tend to wall ourselves off into bubbles of people that think just like we do. They tell us how right we are. How bad they are. How they are hell bent on ruining America. And people buy into that and it fuels the hostility in a never ending cycle.
Leave your bubble. Meet your fellow citizens. Talk about your kids. Talk about music. Realize they are more like you than they are different from you. This world would be pretty boring if everybody was exactly like we were. Embrace the variety.