In researching my place in the disgusting world of politics (of which I do not belong, thank God,) I am becoming more and more struck with just how hypocritical both parties are because of one very significant character flaw: blame.
It’s not always a trait of hypocrisy, but in politics, it may very well be the only universal trait that – if discontinued – would put a near instant halt to both division and disdain between members of either major political party. And I’m not just talking about politicians. I’m talking about the people on social media that do nothing but blame the other side while finding no fault in their own.
You see, the thing that a lot of diehards on both sides refuse to allow is the inalienable Constitutional right to be different. We’re allowed to be Christians or socialists or atheists or pro-lifers or capital punishers or liberals or conservatives or anti-partisan or even seven different genders all at the same time. All of those things are legal. They’re allowed here.
These things do not make us wrong; they make us different. Unique. Quirky. Passionate. Diverse. Nonconformist. Idiosyncratic. Independent thinkers. These are not bad things. These are actually things I love in people. So should you.
And yet we do nothing but blame. Cases in point:
Racism
You know what happens in my ninth grade Math 1 classes when somebody says the “n” word too many times and I have had enough of it? I ask them if there are any other “-er” words that they shorten in such a way that it becomes an “-a” at the end and thereby changes its meaning to something less than derogatory. Teacha? Fatha? Pencil sharpena? Wata? Cake Batta? Dry erase marka?
They have no idea how to respond. They just think I’m trying to be funny. But you know what I’ve accomplished in making light of it? Honestly, me neither, but that’s probably part of the point. I made light of it. It’s really not an elephant in the room. Black people know they’re black. Hispanics know they are Hispanic. It’s as if society treats race as if it’s some big secret that requires us to walk on eggshells and avoid for fear of offending someone.
But isn’t that kind of offensive? If you treat people differently simply because of their skin color, I think that’s pretty offensive. When my students keep saying the “n” word and I get sick of it again, I tell them that if it’s okay for them to say it in my presence, it’s perfectly okay for me to say it. They all tell me that it’s most definitely NOT okay for me to say it, even though the Hispanic kids can say it and at least once a week I hear somebody say the phrase, “My nigga” like they own the person to whom they’re talking. I point this out every single time and note the use of slave-like possession in that phrase. It usually leaves them with a look on their faces that screams, “WTF is this dude talking about?”
And before anybody gets bunched panties, I have never once said the “n” word in my class. I hear it probably 100+ times per week (and I wish I was exaggerating,) but I have never said it. And I won’t. Because it’s a stupid word. I tell them that, too.
So what does this have to do with politicians? Simple. They do not even attempt to squelch the onset of racism in daily life or go ahead and talk about the elephant while he’s still in the room; instead, they add lighter fluid to racism in the form of BLAME.
Democrats blame Republicans for racism in pretty much every single policy or platform position on which they stand because if there is a singular occurrence or tiny loophole or legal quirk or societal anomaly that barely threatens perfect equality, Democrats will find it and blame Republicans for being racist. And it’s getting tiresome to the point that people are starting to roll their eyes and ignore it.
Republicans blame Democrats for racism in part because they claim that Democrats were the ones who owned slaves and that Republicans were the ones who fought for their freedom. Perhaps these titles did exist back in 1860, but there are two problems with this. First, depending on who you’re talking to, there was a flip flop of parties and their subsequent platforms at some point in history, or if talking to another person, I’m stupid and have no idea what I’m talking about.
The second problem with blaming a particular party for slavery is a little phrase I like to call “Who gives a shit?” Not a single soul is still alive who owned a slave, the parties were so different that the same party that is claiming they fought to free slaves also fought to allow free immigration AND full rights to all immigrants (if you think I’m kidding, click here,) and I’m betting they might not want to claim that in the age of “the wall.” But if you’re going to trumpet one thing “your” party did in 1860, shouldn’t you trumpet all of it?
In other words, who gives a shit who’s to blame for racism. Just stop being racist to every single person in the world who looks a little different than you. If you can’t do that, you’re probably racist. Blame yourself. Blaming others accomplishes nothing.
Abortion
Oh my dear Lord, how many ways can we count the blame for this one? Depending on your stance and how large the bible is that you may or may not be holding, you can easily blame any or all of the following for abortion: society, heathens, the devil, education, rape, condoms, morality, incest, irresponsibility, escaping obligations, poor parenting, porn, social media, hormones, liberals, adoption, pedophiles, health care, birth control, rebellion, stupidity, evangelists, child care costs, child rearing costs, alcohol, drugs, or R. Kelly.
You know who is ACTUALLY to blame? One or both of the TWO people involved in getting pregnant. That’s it. Nobody else. It’s up to them to figure out how to fix it that makes the most sense for their lives. Other people blaming them does absolutely no good.
Care to guess what the number two question is that people ask me when I ask them for a signature to help me run for office unaffiliated? They ask my stance on the second amendment. Number one? Abortion. My guess is that about thirty percent of the population will not vote for a person who is not passionately against abortion because they BLAME them for its very existence, even if that person has never had an abortion, caused a pregnancy that led to an abortion, or even known a person who had one. They will blame you simply because you aren’t fiercely opposed to its legality.
A person can be pro-second amendment, fiscally conservative, principles first, country before party, totally against toxic partisanship, staunchly protective of the First Amendment and the Constitution, against the far left policies of free college and debt wiping and over-taxation, and yearning for compromise and decency in our great country, but if that person is not angrily opposed to abortion, they will not vote for me.
And yes, that last sentence described me. Because I want to see a law somewhere in the middle of the two parties (because I’m, you know, firmly planted in and hoping to represent the loonies in the middle,) nothing else on my platform matters and blaming me for abortion’s legality is in play.
On an extended note, the decision to vote against someone for one reason is completely normal and even encouraged (I’m running big on public education, after all,) but it just seems odd to me that people can love my entire platform, notice that I basically have no strong opinion about abortion, and immediately hate everything I stand for politically. Something that will most likely NEVER affect them takes precedence over twenty issues that affect them every day. It’s baffling to me.
And please, please, please stop saying that this is solely a biblical command and those who don’t condemn abortion are going to hell or aren’t allowed to be Christian. Have you actually read the bible? There are “suckling infants” ordered killed by God, sons being boiled and served for dinner, and even a ritual whereby God orders an adulterous wife to be placed under some kind of poisoned water miscarriage curse by a priest. I’m sorry, but if you want me to get up in arms about abortion because the “bible tells me to,” you’re going to have to bring all of that stuff to the table and fight for ALL of it. I mean, bring on Leviticus!! That should be FUN!! I just want to know how we’re going to kill all the adulterers and fornicators.
I saw something the other day on Facebook about all the reasons Republicans were terrified to have a Democratic president, and one of them was that Democrats want full term abortion nationwide. What?!?! That’s idiotic. Saying that – or repeating it – makes you look ignorant. Sorry, but it does. It’s just far too ridiculous to be taken seriously. The only thing I think about when I see nonsense such as that is, “Well, that person clearly has difficulty finding facts, they have no time or desire to form their own opinion about anything, they have no interest in the beliefs and opinions of other people, and they believe every gaslit meme that flies past their face.”
Nobody wants full term abortion. NOBODY. Think about that for a minute. Do you really think somebody out there is sitting outside Planned Parenthood with pom poms and kazoos cheering for PERFECTLY HEALTHY dead babies? Do you think they’re walking the mall looking for full term pregnant women and asking if they could kill their PERFECTLY HEALTHY baby? If these people exist, and I’m sure they do, they need to be institutionalized.
If you actually READ the “controversial” law that New York passed last year (and somebody reading this won’t; they’ll just believe what I say,) you’ll see that it was written exclusively for pregnant women in medical danger of losing their lives or non-viable babies (it’s almost exactly the same as North Carolina law, by the way.)
There isn’t a rational soul on Earth that wants abortions to be anything more than medically necessary and extremely rare, and if you think abortion is going away even if it is illegal, you’re wrong. And the response to that for some people will be to blame the woman who got herself into this mess, but the blame that rests at her feet accomplishes absolutely nothing, even if a person thinks it somehow advances an evangelical endeavor.
And to that I ask: how does blame help with that part? WWJD is still a thing, right?
The Economy
Republicans blame Democrats for being “un-American” because they want to bring a form of socialism to the United States. Democrats blame Republicans for lining the pockets of billionaires and their insistence on the nonexistent “trickle down” that never happens.
You know who I blame? The collective of financial idiots that can’t figure out that a fair, balanced budget is necessary for the long-term health of our nation. Lean it left, lean it right, pin it down in the middle, whatever. But whatever is decided, balance the damn budget. Within the next ten years, 20% of our annual federal budget is going to be spent on debt service, aka interest. That means that these idiots that pinned us with $23+ trillion in debt will now be spending one out of every five dollars WE pay in taxes on the interest to a national debt that accrued because of their incompetence.
Can you tell what’s happening right now in the United States? Republicans think they are in an all out war to keep socialism out of the country, but the reality is that they have no idea what socialism actually is. The rational response is to laugh at it because the chance of full blown socialism in the United States is about as likely as me being swallowed alive by a pine tree and living out my days regurgitating sap and crapping pine cones, all from INSIDE the tree. And the fear of socialism is as odd as that analogy, too.
All the extreme far lefters did was combat the sudden onset of extreme far righters and it looks to have a hint of socialism in a few policies. I don’t like free college and debt cancellation and all these multi-trillion dollar wish list items they’re tossing around either because the only thing they are guaranteed to do is put us further in debt, but it’s not socialism.
But ignorant blame brought us to a place where Democrats blame Republicans for being “un-American” because they think the billionaires are going to render the middle class obsolete and the Republicans blame the Democrats for being “un-American” for wanting to destroy the country with socialism. Neither is true or even possible and it’s just turned into a great big ole clustertruck because nobody actually has any idea what they’re yelling about, nor do they have any ability to rationally see what’s possible in the United States.
But instead of saying, “I understand that you like the idea of blah blah, and I respect your opinion, but we need to come up with some ideas for making blah blah more blah rather than jacking taxes through the roof or adding billions to our debt or whatever else is most likely blah. In other words, let’s find some middle ground. Yahoo!!”
Blame is simply easier than wisdom or altruism, and as long as the majority on both sides choose blame, the rarity of wisdom and altruism will be easy to drown out in favor of this oddly preferred condemnation of our differences.
And oh by the way. The economy. It’s booming right now, right? Is anybody else sick of hearing the debate on which party is responsible? “It started its growth under Obama, so Trump is enjoying what he started.” “But look at the records we’re setting now with Trump.” Blame is the ugly cousin of taking too much credit for something. And this is another case of who gives a shit.
You know what I think? I think a booming economy should not see a government grow their national debt by three TRILLION dollars. That’s asinine, irresponsible, and incomprehensibly bad leadership, and senators, representatives, and the president are all responsible for that. I also think that if we’re going to be a country of accusers, sometimes we need to accept some blame to go with all the credit we’re taking.
Immigration
Democrats blame Republicans for being heartless and not being WWJD because HE welcomed everybody, and they blame them for the cages and the racism of a wall. Republicans blame Democrats for wanting open borders and not putting America first and all the money we’re spending on healthcare and other social services for people who are illegal and blah, blah blah, blah blah blah.
You know who is really to blame? Every damn person on Earth. We’re all immigrants somewhere in the world. We would all do whatever is necessary to help our families in the event we needed to protect them. We would all seek out a better life if we couldn’t put food on the table for our children. We all hate people who don’t pull their weight. Some people are a hell of a lot nicer about it, but inside, every single person on Earth can’t stand to see somebody get something they didn’t work for or deserve. You pretty much have to be Jesus to not feel a little agitation towards people who are breaking the law and being rewarded for it.
What’s more is that we have all looked the other way for decades, as the trickle of immigrants got heavier and heavier. We all looked the other way while the government did nothing. We all enjoy the fruits of their labor because all of us white people don’t want to work the fields or perform lots of other jobs that have become “beneath us.” But we’ll sure as hell eat a sweet potato and then bitch about the migrant worker that picked it.
Nobody is to blame for the staggering numbers of undocumented immigrants in this country. We’re ALL to blame. Now how do we fix the problem that WE enabled?
If your first thought was blame, please don’t run for office. We have enough people like you accomplishing nothing.
Rhetoric
Every time somebody puts a political post on social media, it is infested with blame. If there are a hundred political posts or memes, only about one of them says something to the tune of, “Hey, can’t we all find a way to work together? We acknowledge there’s a problem, maybe we can accept some compromise since we’re all, you know, Americans.”
But the other ninety-nine political social media posts are riddled with rhetoric that does nothing but divide us. Even memes or posts as seemingly benign as “Hey Liberals, what happened to all of Hillary’s emails” or “Republicans have become the party of Russia” accomplish nothing but pissing off the people who don’t agree with you. And I get it. Some of you actually like pissing people off, and I can’t go away from this blameless because I have put some things online before that at least had a hint of blame.
But I just can’t do it anymore. It actually makes me feel bad about myself. It accomplishes nothing. And now, running for office, I’m not a bit scared to say what’s on my mind, but what’s on my mind recently is the fact that there are so many people to blame that it is sickeningly pointless to even broach the subject of blame. We have a broken government with leaders who enjoy division, they like it when people hate them, they care about their own party more than the country, and they exist on nothing but blame.
Their rhetoric – both sides, mind you – is full of nothing but hate and blame. They HATE the other side. They blame them for everything wrong and make up lies to make them even MORE wrong. And if you are a rational person, you have to see that there are very few ways that a bunch of grown ups could govern in a more childish fashion.
The bottom line is that both sides blame the other for standing in their way instead of embracing the inevitability of our differences and finding a way to coexist.
Our differences are naturally and gloriously inevitable. If you hate that, you hate what God made. Unless they are guilty of a crime, stop blaming your fellow man and learn to coexist. And if they did commit a crime, encourage them to take their punishment like a man and then immediately forgive.
Politically, socially, religiously, or whatever other adverb you want to put here, blame hardens us. It divides us. It festers. It encourages hate. We are all Americans. We are all different. Two parties can’t contain three hundred and thirty million people no more than two personalities can.
We are all deliciously different. We are not right or wrong. Our parties are not right or wrong. They simply have different beliefs.
So from the mighty leaders down to us minions, please go forth and grow up. Blame is what happens when my eleven month old baby girl steals a toy from my three year old. But they’re children. They get a pass. We don’t. Grow the hell up and be part of the revolution that fixes what’s broken, not the blaming finger-pointers among us that refuse to find fault in themselves and therein an avenue for personal or civic growth and – god forbid – compromise and coexistence.
Because you know what? In a lot of ways, this country kind of sucks right now. I blame blame.
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