Pro-life Democrats, Republicans who support gun control, and Dodo birds. At one time they all walked the planet on two feet. They are all now extinct.
Politics have become our religion and no one is allowed to stand in the middle. Once you don the cloak of political religiosity, every action and attitude, no matter how extreme, illogical or even cruel is justified because God is on your side. This includes bludgeoning flightless birds and moderate politicians. Those who do not accept their party’s platform in its entirety are no longer viewed as individuals with a different opinion, but as heretics. As with any religion, it is perfectly permissible to destroy heretics. In the post-modern world we burn them at the stake of public opinion and shun them in the town square of social media. In the world of Dodo bird politics, civility and discourse are weaknesses to be eliminated, ridicule has replaced reason, and humility has lost its once held status as a virtue.
Our community is no longer defined by the houses, neighbors, shops, churches and schools within a certain geographical radius, but has become the news-feeds, sites, and sources that we can trust to support our world view and reflect back to us, in the warm glow of our computer screens, opinions that mirror our own. Critical thinking is viewed with suspicion and distrust, and let’s be honest, critical is such a negative word.
Blue-collar caucasian men, voting in the proper manner, are the backbone of our country. Strong of back and stern of jaw, they are the working class, the salt of the earth, honored and revered. Until they offer a differing opinion, then they instantly become just “uneducated white males”, the lowest of the low, suitable for sacrifice on the altar of disdain. There are so many of them, who would miss a few?
Our new prophets descend from Mount Hollywood and the white marble temples of D.C. to deliver their meme’s and wisdom a daily basis, engraved not on tablets of stone but on tablets and phones. Entire Gospels are delivered in 144 characters or less.
The social media fueled political centrifuge spins faster and faster. No shades of lavender or purple can exist, they are spun until separated into either red or blue and flung in opposite directions. The roar of the centrifuge prevents conversation with anyone others than those crammed closest to you, and maybe that is for the best.
Perhaps red or blue stickers would be in order every time we left the house. This would prevent an accidental discussion with someone of the wrong sort in the grocery line or at the coffee shop. Better yet, why not divide into towns of only red or blue? It would be comforting to know we could attend church, go to school, do your shopping with no danger of encountering one of the others.
Having only red or blue cars would eliminate the need for political bumper stickers. It has the downside of more road rage though, so maybe that’s not such a good idea. Unless those cars never came close to each other. Maybe we are thinking to small. Why not just divide the country in half? We could hold an election and decide if the division would run North-South or East-West. An East-West division would probably be best. Using terms like Southern-Left or Northern-Right is just awkward. We should stick with our comfortable categories of left or right. It would also be easier to build the wall separating the red from the blue through the prairie states than over the mountains. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
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Don’t feed the hate, talk to your neighbors and may God have mercy on our souls,
Poppy
Poppy Walks the Dog ... 