My Political Détente, Its Inherent Flaws, and Batman

Are we calmed down, yet? 

Doesn’t feel like it.

I write a lot of opinionated stuff but I’m always hesitant to write political posts on Facebook.  I think everyone should follow that instinct, but for me it’s more a problem of wavering from my lane. I know a few things about the political divide.  I know some historical aspects and I’ve paid close enough attention to know what’s at the root of most of these arguments.  My goal is always to either entertain with stories or silliness, or express compassion for those with similar mental health problems.  That’s enough for anyone.

Because I’m a living, thinking adult in 2021, I can see politics everywhere.  I can read it, hear it…I can smell it on my hands and taste it in my scrambled eggs.  It’s like we’ve been skunked.  Some of us think it’s the totality of what’s important in this country and I’m here to say that’s just not true.  It’s a factor. A slice of the pie.  It is as dependent on as many things as it affects.  It’s also gotten too much coverage.  It reminds me of a movie that ends abruptly.  It’s all over, leaving you there with a big bowl of unpopped kernels and salt with the thought of ‘Wait, that’s it? Now what?’.

My aim has always been wisdom.  Not smarts. Not goals.  Just to reach the other side of learning known as acceptance.  This, in a nutshell, is wisdom, and wisdom is the best we can hope for to understand the world around us in one lifetime.  As far as our political landscape, here’s what I’ve achieved in 30 years of paying attention:

1)      The country is divided into two major political philosophies.  First, the liberals/the left/Democrats are uncomfortable with unrestrained capitalism. They believe in science, a worldwide view of humanity, equal opportunity, and a bunch of other silly stuff like love, happiness, hard work, faith, respect, and freedom that nearly everyone else in the country believes in.

2)     Conservatives/the right/Republicans don’t like the left.

3)     Essentially, that’s it.

Simplistic, you say?  Maybe.  But I would like to say that in 30 years of paying attention, I still don’t know what the right believes in. I’ve heard what they talk about, I’ve heard their complaints, but I haven’t heard many alternative solutions to problems.  Or any at all. I’ve heard them say they don’t want government in their faces, and they don’t like taxes, and they don’t like public school teachers, and they don’t like etc…  They don’t offer many solutions, except the only one that I can glean that boils down to ‘everyone for themselves’.  This might be my problem.  Everyone for themselves isn’t a political philosophy. It’s nothing.  It’s…and I’m bordering into insults here…the reasoning of a child. 

What the American right is, historically speaking, is a vestige of fearful white supremacy with a strong tradition of selfishness and the subjugation of women.  It’s not unique to our country, and that tradition affects every single one of us.  No one on the left or right is above it. The difference is, who embraces it and who wants to change it? It’s like breaking the cycle of alcoholism or violence in your family. It is perfectly acceptable to criticize something you love, including your country.  Blind faith is for the religious, and that can be a beautiful thing.  But a country has no divine perfection, and the people who hold office within it don’t deserve that type of devotion, either.

Conversely, the problem with a large swath of liberal ideas is that to make them work you need most people on board.  It’s like a vaccine.  You need a large community immunized to crush the effects of the virus. (Hint, hint.)  When half the country isn’t even showing up at the table for a peace talk, liberals are forced to nitpick about the few things they can get done instead. Which gets annoying as hell.  Even to liberals.

All that aside, what do WE do?

What do we do with our brains?  How do we break this cycle?  I’m don’t mean political gridlock. The country was designed to be an ongoing argument.  I’m more concerned with us as a people.  Civility?  Sure.  Manners, decorum, acceptance?  Absolutely.  I think the focus should shift away from politics to culture.  Observe and understand all the facets of American life.  All 50 states, all the gripes and fears.  My daydream is to simply not have any bullshit misconceptions about each other. We have so many tall tales about each other that simply aren’t true.  Do liberals really do that?  Are conservatives that mean?  Are black people’s lives like that all the time?  Do so many women suffer in silence?  (Add 10,000 questions of your own.)

But I can’t control that.  I can’t let the Sisyphean task of moving America into a healthier future weigh me down.  I have to wake up, eat my breakfast, feed the dogs, get to work.  That’s just fine.  In fact, during the last few years, that’s what most of us could do. Maybe you were marching in protest for a while, but when you got home there were still bills to pay and dishes in the sink.

I’m just going to walk the walk as best as I can.  I’ll live my ideals when I can, I’ll vote when it’s time and I’ll be civil along the way.  If life gives me an opportunity to do more or I hear a calling, I hope I have the courage to stand up. I’m just not Batman.  In fact, if Batman were real, he’d spend most nights doing just everyday things.  Most of the time he would be perched on a spire on a building above Gotham waiting for crime to happen.  Twiddling thumbs.  Playing with the batarang. There would be a lot of nights where he’d come home without having kicked the shit out of anyone at all.  He’d get a good night’s sleep.  Maybe wake up refreshed and invest more in Gotham’s infrastructure. 

I guess I just want to talk about Batman more.