Victory Over The Enemy: a political critique

Political discourse has become a vilification of the "other side".

By discourse I mean all of it: debates, social media posts, ads, fundraising, private and public conversations, all of it.

I find myself sickened by the approach of people who dehumanize, degrade and despise those with different viewpoints to theirs. Slogans have become weapons of abuse and differing or changing opinions are seen as betrayals, weakness or stupidity.

Just this past week in America, one side portrayed their position with the massacring of their "enemies" while the other side, in order to evoke a laugh, denigrated a position to be doomed to loneliness and singleness ("if you can find one").

This post isn't about a position on either of these sides: it's about an action. If you really feel the enemy is the person or position on the other side from your position, the best action you can take is to VOTE. This is how you get Victory Over The Enemy. Get out and VOTE.

Marching, rallies, protests might have a place and might create momentum, but change comes from VOTING. Social media posts that are at best yelling at the other side about their position, and at worst, dehumanizing and degrading the people of the other side, might make you feel good but they largely entrench the other side into persecuted.

I live in a world where each side feels persecuted by the other side.
And you know what, they're right. You're right.

You are persecuted.
And you are persecuting.
Maybe that was harsh, but not by much. Because (in the current political world), for the first sentence to be true, the second one is probably true.

If we want a different world we need everyone to VOTE. We need everyone who is part of our community to turn out and VOTE their values, VOTE their beliefs, VOTE their conscience.

But we also need people to VOTE AND treat people on the other side as PEOPLE (with stories, hopes, dreams and hurts). We need civility, dignity, respect and love back in our political discourse. We need to reduce the voice of social media and mainstream media deciding how we feel and start talking to people like us, different from us, opposite to us, and allow our feelings about the other side come from our personal interactions with PEOPLE from the other side.

Politics in my opinion, (I would say humbly, but I am far too aware of my own arrogance to say that with truth), should be about PEOPLE not POSITIONS. People matter, positions can change.

What if the next election in your area, saw the highest turn out than ever before. What if, the polls were filled with PEOPLE celebrating their right to VOTE and then committing to work with the PEOPLE in their community to make a better world regardless of their position.

PEOPLE first
Positions second

Victory
Over
The
Enemy

VOTE!