Enough is Enough is Enough

After looking at the events at the capitol, you have to ask why. Why are there people this upset? Why did they resort to a peaceful protest on the capitol? Yes, there were a small faction, less than 100, that went to violence. But most were there in disgust of how the election went down. There were obvious activities taking place that caused everyone to question the validity of the election.

For starters, never, in the history of our country has an election just “paused” and then resumed hours later like GA… only to yield thousands of votes that just “appeared” for only one candidate. That’s statistically impossible. This is obvious. Then there’s the truck driver in PA that was carrying blank ballots that were later “counted”.

There are more but let’s stick to the point. The point is that in our nation’s history, when a group of people felt oppressed, they spoke out. If they felt they weren’t heard, they speak louder. Then they turn to protests. Let’s not forget what happened in MN over the summer that sparked many violent acts and some peaceful protests along the way. I have a friend that supports BLM that said he went to Nashville for a peaceful protest and everyone he saw there left at the same time. Only later did the violence occur. Meaning, that an entire group wasn’t responsible for the nonsense of a small faction of that group. So, we can’t hold the entire #MAGA group responsible for what these few idiots did either. And certainly not Trump. He actually spoke against violence of any kind. And his speech never even got in the zip code of meeting the Brandenburg vs Ohio test.

It was once black people. It was once women. It was once LGBT. They spoke out against the oppression and didn’t feel as thought they were heard. So they protested. They stayed angry at the situation. In most cases, it stayed peaceful.

Four people die. Zero businesses destroyed. This is considered a riot

Now insert conservatives/republicans. They’ve been called every name in the book. Been made to feel inferior. Called racist with no evidence or base to the claim. Been told that being white is automatically a sin. Was told that being a male makes you toxic by nature. Written off as conspiracy theorists only to find total validity in such theories, such as Biden’s connection to China or the made-up allegations against Trump (ALL of which were proven false). As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of how many small, locally owned businesses were completely destroyed and it was consistently called “protests” by the media, but around 100 white punks (who deserve to be in prison) storm the capitol and it’s called “riots”. This is obvious. The media isn’t even trying to hide their disgust for all things conservative. Same goes for Hollywood and secondary education. Conservatives are the extreme minority that is tired of not being listened to and sick of being treated so poorly.

At some point, those people stand up and say, and I quote Joe Biden, “enough is enough is enough.” Yes, Mr. Biden, enough is enough. Enough kicking republican voter location workers out without explanation while the democrat workers stay and count alone. Enough mail-in voting that has proven to be an easy device for fraud (absentee is different, they’re requested first and validated by voter ID). Enough writing someone off solely based on their party affiliation.

Twenty-five people die. 1500 businesses destroyed. This is considered a peaceful protest

Have both sides done this? Of course they have. This is why blind tribalism is a total cancer that is eating our country. Democrats have objected to the last three GOP presidents. Democrats said to go ahead and appoint a SCOTUS before election in 2016 and don’t wait. Democrats supported the protests and refuse to condemn the violent looting and destroying of local businesses, citing that sometimes this is the only way to get the attention of the difference makers.

Now all of the sudden the GOP does these exact same things and it’s all of the sudden atrocious. Well the “deplorables” have had enough. They have watched as the so-called leaders of our country trample on the 1st, 5th and 14th amendments and absolutely spit on the separation of powers while basically saying, “What are you going to do about it?”

Did Trump cause this? Partially, yes. Obama? partially yes. These two presidents had an opportunity to unify the country and only did more to divide it. Part of their job is the set the tone for the nation. Trump never accepted that role. He just made brilliant business moves and got the country back on a very good fiscal track while tweeting the dumbest and most antagonizing things ever. No tone set. Obama set the tone that cops are racist and white people should pay. As a result, we see what we see. If you truly believe that one of these presidents did NOT divide our country, you, my friend, are guilty of Tribalism at the worst degree. Anyone paying attention would agree that BOTH of these presidents divided our country, unless you’re blinded by tribalism.

What is the solution? END TRIBALISM. Also, A third and fourth party being treated as equals. It can never happen as long as super-pacs are allowed. But its’ vital. We have to have leaders that speak up against the nonsense of their own parties, to call out the hypocrisy within the party. We have to have leaders that seek to truly bring unity. To support both the LEO’s and black citizens. Not vilify either.

When the sudden exodus to Parler came, you have to ask yourself why a large group of people would do that. Why would they leave the most popular format on the planet for something else? Are THAT many people just “stupid”? Of course not. Then why? Because they are being mistreated. Again, does this go both ways? Of course. Liberals are often mistreated by conservatives as well. Usually for no reason. Making comments like “dumb libtards don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground” by the right or “hope Parler lets you find FreeDumb!” by the left does nothing but further divide. It gets us nowhere.

If you want to be part of the solution, shake off your blind tribalistic allegiance to party and only support other Americans. We all want to get to the same destination. We just have different ideas of how to get there. If conservatives aren’t treated better, if the constitution isn’t treated better, if the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 14th amendments continue to be under attack, and separation of powers is routinely ignored, a live-action reenactment of the Boston Tea Party will take place. This can be avoided, but unity and understanding must take place. And that can only happen if you seek to understand a person with an opinion other than your own. This goes for Conservatives AND Liberals!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

The 4 L’s

In December of 2015, the New York Times released an article after following a group of 85-year-old people for a year. What they concluded was that it was certain what mattered to them was laughter. They spent “no wasted time on anger and worry.” They were quoted as saying “with old age, I listen a little more.”

What did matter to them was The 4 L’s: Life, Laughter, Listening, and Love. Notice what did not matter to them; none mentioned a thing about current events, politics, donkeys or elephants. Only life, laughter, listening, and love. 

I’ve learned that I have no control over what someone does in the White House. I have no control over what they do in the Tennessee capital. I have no control over what happens in the Sumner County sessions. The closest thing I have to control is a vote. And I use that to the best of my ability. After that, it’s out of my control. 

Think back before covid. Who did you go to concerts with? Who did you have dinner with? Who did you hang out with, double dates, play dates with kids? Remember when it didn’t matter how they voted? 

What’s changed? Boredom and Social media. And a lack of pursuit of the things that matter. We’ve turned our focus away from the friends that make us laugh at dinner and decided they’re no longer dinner-worthy because they dislike Trump. Or they’re no longer someone you want to go to a concert with anymore simply because they don’t like Biden. Think about it, do these politicians know who you are? Do they care? Debatable.

Boredom. Covid put us in a place where we were in search of something to do. People were playing the stock market that had never done so before. There were no sports. This was the closest thing to it. 

One thing that is stoking opinionated fires needlessly that not many are mentioning is social media. Social media has unintentionally, yet successfully driven a wedge in our relationships while trying to bring them closer together. How could that be? 

Originally, it was meant to bring people together. Family that didn’t live close by could keep in touch. People would be positively reaffirmed with “likes”. But it was free. They had to make money. So the social media platforms sold data on what people were clicking on and watching- the algorithm. In order for them to make money, you had to stay on your phone. In order for that to happen, they put things in front of you they knew you’d like and agree with. Algorithms again. 

You kept feeding their data machine and they kept sending you things you liked and agreed with. The more you watched, the more money they made. Little did they, or you, know that the things they were putting in your face were creating total political polarization

So now we’re willing to lose friends, people we’ve been doing life with, over things we can’t control. That’s how ridiculous this has gotten. It’s gotten so out of control that an idea about something you have no control over, an opinion, is driving wedges in families, friends, communities. 

There has to be a point when we realize it’s just not worth it. That whether I back the blue or believe Black Lives Matter, or manage to believe both has no effect on the years of closeness I’ve had with someone prior to this social media experiment. 

I seriously doubt we’ll be 85 saying “I’m so happy I ended that 20-year friendship over my opinion on a police department in Wisconsin.” That just won’t happen. We’ll wake up with so much regret we won’t be able to function. We must get to a place where we focus on what matters: Life, Laughing, Listening, and Love.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger