Maybe I am overthinking this, but I was just sort of mulling over what it is that divides our country so much these days, and that led me to start pondering what it was that each side tends to vote for or complain about.
The conclusions are obvious… and startling…
Republicans always seem to worry about themselves. They are fixated on the idea that they might have to give something away… like their rights to have as many guns as they want with no stings attached. That is just one example, but I am trying to figure out where to start.
I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that republicans don’t want anything to change. That is sort of the definition of ‘conservative’. But they don’t seem to mind change at all… as long as it benefits them. They want their healthcare to be cheaper and better. Which is fine. I mean, Jesus might be opposed to the idea that holding on to your money at the expense of poorer people not having any freekin’ healthcare at all doesn’t seem to cross their minds, but who am I to judge?
I don’t have the time… or the energy… or the mental fortitude to go down the list of every issue that we all should be worried about, but just to make my point, here are a few of the big ones, stated from the republican perspective:
Marriage- we got ours, but there is no way that the non-straight people should have it.
Healthcare- we got ours, but it could cost us less, and if poor people want it, they should work harder.
Oil- we got some, under our feet, and it creates jobs, so screw the planet, screw the damage to our air and water, we want it cheaper.
Climate change- it can’t be real, because it would cost us more money, or make us give up… something.
Jobs- we still don’t think we are doing as well as we should be doing, and we need to blame someone, whether it is Obama or foreigners or whatever.
Immigration- well, there is no funny way to talk about this issue. This deep-seated feeling that ‘others’ are going to come in and take things away or make things less safe… it isn’t a new idea. It is as old as mankind is. It is ingrained in our DNA, like fear of the dark and monsters. We can’t get over our tribalism, the idea that wherever we are, we need to protect that spot and those around us, with whom we are familiar and comfortable.
But we are never going to advance as a species until we can grasp the fact that the world is covered with people… one species… not a bunch of separate races. There is an irony in that simple fact, and that is this:
There is a word for the process of a species advancing and improving and becoming better than it was. That word is ‘evolution’.
And a depressing number of republicans don’t believe in evolution.
Pouring My Art Out 