Political Rhetoric, Division, and Assassinations Have to Stop

     We're living in a time when truth is under attack from Left and Right.  As a former Conservative, I used to look at the Left and be able to see the bullshit that comes from that direction.  But, I refused to accept that MY side... MY PEOPLE... might be doing the same thing to me.  A few years ago, I saw a shift on the Right that concerned me.  Before long, I saw that it was time for me to leave the party I had been a member of since I was eighteen.  I had to... I recognized that a change of bearing had occurred.  They hadn't changed direction, rather, they had shifted farther to the Right... dangerously far.  That's when I started looking at the platforms of the main two parties - the parties holding our country hostage while they play games with our freedom.

    I don't want to get politically motivated on this blog. If that happens, I will most likely make enemies of most of you. I used to be a Republican. Like I already told my friend, Andrea, I'll make no apologies for that. When I first registered to vote (like a million years ago), I believed in the direction of that party at the time. I haven't believed that way in a long time, but held on in the hopes that it would get better. It only got worse!

    So... have I become a Democrat, then? Hell no! I didn't like the Democrat Party 47 years ago, I like it even less now. The Right has gone farther right, and the Left has gone farther left. The hate and lack of empathy on both sides has gotten bad. If you don't see the hate on your side, you seriously need to do some in depth soul searching. I've seen comments from many of you that you may not even realize came from a place of hate. That's how jaded we've become as a society.

    If you believe that the "other side" doesn't empathize with your side when something bad happens to a figure head from your side, you need to pull your head out of your ass. For nearly two decades all of my online activity was politically motivated. I became polarized, just as EVERYONE does. I didn't think anyone on the Left gave a shit when something happened to anyone on the Right. I doubted the honest concerns of Democrat voters. These days, I see the concerns of both sides, but I also see that neither side is concerned for what's best for our country as much as they are for the good of their side.

    FUCK YOUR SIDE!!! I don't give a shit for your side!

    We have become so polarized as a people that you may not know this, so I'm going to tell you something that every American needs to know. This country was never intended to be a Left-centric nation. Nor was it meant to be a Right-centric nation. If either side ever gains ultimate control over all, the personal liberties of members of the opposition will fail, and vice-versa. America is supposed to be the land of liberty; not the land of Left-leaning liberty, or of Right-leaning liberty. Just liberty... PERIOD!

    Just yesterday, Charlie Kirk, a Conservative activist I used to admire for his quick wit, was murdered in a public place, on camera, and in front of his young daughter. There was nothing admirable about the incident. A life was taken that should not have been taken, in a manner in which it, or any life, should not be taken. And, no, I'm not referencing, calling for, or condemning the use of firearms. I'm talking about hate. No life should be taken out of hate. That's exactly what his murder was... a hate crime.

    It's been said that he was on a tirade of anti-trans propaganda when he was shot. I don't know for sure whether this is true, or not. It's also been said that the trans community was almost immediately blamed by many on the Right. Whether the shooter turns out to be trans, or not, has no bearing on the whole of the trans community. Just as if the shooter winds up being a cisgender white man it doesn't mean all cisgender white men are bad. The old adage comes to mind here: "One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch." Pick out the rot and the rest will be fine.

    After getting news of the shooting, I immediately became concerned for the trans community. How much of the blowback would come to my doorstep? Then, I became concerned for the main community... the American community. I believe in the sentiment first verbalized by George Washington; that we should all identify first as Americans. Neither race, nor creed, nor color. Not religion, sexuality, gender identity. We are Americans, first and foremost. By identifying ourselves and others as Americans first, and putting other demographics second, we gather together. By putting our Americanism second, we divide ourselves. And, if we continue to divide ourselves, we put ourselves in the position of being conquerable by the elite... those people who believe themselves to be better than you and me.

    Straight up, I'm an American who happens to be a transwoman. Yes, I have issues, as do most people living today. I was hit by a car when I was 3; molested (raped) when I was 5; forced to suppress my gender at 7; lost my emotional support (Mom) at 11. Of course I have issues! But, none of those issues are professionally classified as mental illness. They are only classified by lay-persons who want you to believe they know more than they do. Those elitists exist on both sides. Sadly, most people believe in the elitists on their side. Most Republicans, for example, believed in the late Charlie Kirk as much as most Democrats believe in Hillary Clinton. I wouldn't give you a dollar for either of them. Hell, I wouldn't give you a dollar for both of them at the same time! Still, I wouldn't give a thousand times that to see either of them dead.

    You see, I was raised on the notion that you should love all, and hate none. I believe that most Americans, Christian or not, have forgotten how to love ENOUGH. Alexis Toqueville (1805-1859) once expounded that "America is great, because America is good." America the country is no longer great, because America the people is no longer good.