WHAT I HATE: I hate it that the Internet, talk radio, and cable news have turned the majority of Americans into political armchair quarterbacks. America was a nicer place before politics became a polarizing, spectator sport. Now… anyone who made it past 5th grade thinks they’re a political expert and they all have expert opinions based on propaganda, hate and spin, fueled by a need to root for a team and form themselves into groups and cheer for and promote their side and bash and insult the other team.
CLUELESS AMERICANS – “GET A CLUE!”
Not All Liberal Democrats:
- Are tree hugging, environmental fanatics
- Are against guns or personal firearms
- Are OK with same-sex marriage
- Want prayer taken from schools
- Are pacifists who hate the military
- Want “In God We Trust” removed from money
- Want free public healthcare for everyone
- Think marijuana should be legal
- … and so much more
AND Not All Conservative Republicans
- Think private ownership of assault weapons is OK
- Love to go to war any chance we get
- Are racists
- Are uneducated
- Are against same-sex marriage
- Insist on prayer in public schools
- Are against immigration amnesty programs
- Think the IRS should be done away with
- Are against a woman’s right to choose
- Hate anybody who is different from themselves
- … and so much more.
Growing up, we got our news from newspapers and Walter Cronkite, who delivered the headlines and commentary with very little added opinion or spin. We trusted Cronkite back then. And although Americans have always labeled themselves “Republican” or “Democrat”, back then there wasn’t an ingrained hatred for one group by the other. Two friends, working side-by-side, could be members of different political parties and neither of the friends would know it or talk about it all that much. People were nicer then. The passage or death of any particular piece of legislation wasn’t treated like it meant life or death for the nation.
MSNBC, FOX NEWS, & others… they compete for your viewership. They want you to be on “their side”. And trust me… there is no such thing as “fair and balanced” when it comes to a free press that is funded by sponsors, pitching products to a certain demographic who is expected to be watching THAT particular cable news channel at THAT particular time. If any of you want to know where the true Illuminati is… you may want to take a look at your news sources.
Do you get it now? Even though we may have different philosophies about things, we have way more in common and fewer differences than we think. We’re all decent people. We all love America. We all want it to be a place to raise our children safely and happily.
Since my kids were 12 years old I’ve always told them… “learn the difference between news and commentary”, “remember kids, all news stations twist the news a little bit so that you will have an emotional response to the story”, and “don’t forget… news agencies always tell only one side of the story”, etc. I’m glad to say, all of my kids understand that principle very well and, as adults, possess amazing critical thinking skills and have learned that to be skeptical is actually to be wise.
Yes, I’m a Democrat. Yes, I’m more liberal than conservative. But I have to remember that MSNBC’s coverage is slanted. I trust that the news is real, but the commentary, opinions and focus is totally slanted. This is not a new concept. We should seriously beware of any news agency or information dissemination group that promotes only one side of any topic. Those of you who watch Fox News… you’re in the same boat, and you need to open your eyes to this.
In this upcoming 2016 presidential election season, I am going to do my best to not treat “the other side” like the enemy. After all.. We’re all decent people. We all want the same things… and I’m confident that we all love America.