Sunday evening, Congress voted in favor of the Health Care Reform Act. Over the course of the next few days that followed, all social media outlets were full of public opinions on the topic. Friends, family, former co-workers and classmates all had something to say about it. And as you can imagine, there were a lot of disagreements. Blogs, forums and comments on online news articles are a perfect place for over-the-top flame wars, but Twitter and Facebook bring a more personal venue where there is more at stake to arguing with someone who knows exactly who you are.
The thing about most online discussion forums is that there is a fair share of anonymity. A famous Penny Arcade webcomic sums it up perfectly: Anonymity + Audience = Total F-wad. A more polite name for this phenomenon is the Online Disinhibition Effect. It really boils down to “You don’t know me, so I will do and say things that I wouldn’t normally do in person when I am behind a keyboard.” And this runs rampant on any online discussion forum, news articles that allow user comments, and blogs. (Do not feed the trolls!)
Other social media platforms do not make such a good place for these types of discussions. There is still a disconnect that comes from being behind that keyboard, not facing a person that might be on the receiving end of a nasty comment. It’s the same disconnect mentioned in the Online Disinhibition Effect, but in this case it is a friend, colleague or family member that will experience the “other side” of you. And while that may be a truer version of the real you, it’s not the one that you would normally show during polite conversation at a family or high school reunion. Or, at least that’s the case for a lot of people with any sort of social skills necessary for the “everyman/woman” to survive in the United States of America.
You’re missing the point
I watched my friends and family argue on Facebook, and I have to say that I fully believe that this is an example of the general public being manipulated. We’re fighting each other instead of fighting Them. We are being pitted against each other over trivial issues while larger crimes are being committed. They rely on basic elements of human nature, especially fear, to get what they want. Who are “They?” So that I don’t sound like a conspiracy theorist, let me tell you about Us before I tell you about Them, mon ami.
People love to fight. Americans especially love to fight. Capitalism taps in to our competitive nature and exploits it for all that it is worth. We want to be on the side of righteousness. We want our team to triumph. We want to win. And we definitely want to watch someone else lose.
We want to be on the right side so that we can validate our sense of self-worth when we win, and have a blamestorm when we lose.
After all it is so much easier to be told what to think. And that’s where polarization comes in. The media would have you believe that there are two sides to every argument. And that they are the same two sides. No facets, no dimensions. Take it or leave it. All or nothing. Republican or Democrat. Conservative or Liberal. Gay or Straight. White or non-white. Christians or the folks that are going to burn in Hell.
Deep down inside we all know that it isn’t that easy. Easy. There’s a word that really is important to this discussion. We want it to be easy. Tell us what to think. Does it look like I have enough time to research all of these issues? I’ll just pick a side and listen to the radio or television for the loudest opinions I can find that seem close to what I’m supposed to think about this topic.
How many people even ask themselves why they believe in something anymore? I mean really ask yourself why your core values are what they are. Is it because that’s what you were taught by your parents? Where did they get it from and why? And honestly, it’s time to think for yourself. Your parents can be wrong. It happens to the best of us.
Red Herring, Anyone?
So, getting back to the elusive “They.” They own the politicians, and the media. They know that the loudest nutjobs get the most attention. They know that the Tea Party may have started out with good, solid arguments, but They let it become yet another incarnation of the KKK. They know that if They polarize the population, people will be forced to choose sides. And They know that if they can get any amount of people on either side of an issue, They will stoke up enough of an argument about something small while they go commit something BIG. Like the greatest theft the United States, maybe even the world, has ever known.
While you have all been fighting over things like Health Care Reform or Gay Marriage, They‘ve been lining their pockets. Oh sure, those are important issues and they need to be sorted out. But there’s a recession and two wars happening right now. Prioritize! How much does Gay Marriage effect you if you’re not gay? Is it as important to you (if you’re not gay) as say, corpses of our troops pouring back in from Afghanistan or the family that lost their jobs and homes this year?
Let’s make matters even worse. They even recruit the poor and working classes to help defend them, all without actually ever doing a damned thing for them in return. They use fear, the most powerful and base emotion that we have still hard-coded in our DNA. They also use anger, which comes from fear. All They have to do is mention lazy welfare people and how much your taxes are going to be rising to get everyone’s blood boiling. But slow down the next time you hear that. Sure, there are lazy people out there. Are they your sole motivation? As far as I know, no one on either side of any issue that goes to work every day likes a lazy person mooching off of the system. Remember that next time you start using it as a platform. None of us like it, so you’re really preaching to the choir. Stating the obvious is not a platform.
You’re Not Paying Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain
They are the big corporations. They are the elite rich, the richest of the rich. Look at any Teabagger protest and tell me if you see any rich people there. I’m guessing no. No, They have somehow convinced the average working class American to fight against tax increases that mostly affect the rich. Genius. And They somehow managed to even work it in so that corporations have the same or even more rights than tax paying citizens. Brilliant!
It’s time to wake up. Stop letting a political party or a news network pit you against your fellow Americans.
US = your neighbors, your friends, your family, your co-workers.
THEM = the real crooks + Republicans AND Democrats that let their strings be pulled by the folks with the deep pockets.
Lets go back to Health Care for a moment. This Socialist threat being tossed around is ridiculous. When someone says that I want you to ask them what they know about socialism. Watch them stutter through something they heard on Fox News. Here’s another one I heard the other day. Health Care Reform is going to make us weak. Every country that has a public health care option has a weak military and gets pushed around by the rest of the world. So, if we have any sort of health care for our people, our military will shrink and we won’t be able to go police the world. Let me rephrase that. We won’t be able to send our working-class young people that couldn’t afford college out to some country that we don’t belong in to die. Sign me up. I’d rather put them to work here, we have plenty to do and it won’t usually get you killed.
Labels are for clothing
A friend of mine put it best:
“…our government is probably incapable of managing a Taco Bell, so I would rather they not be f’ing around with my health care.”
And I agree. And this is not a partisan statement. It’s a fact. But there are things I wanted to see happen with Health Care Reform, particularly the practices of the insurance companies. This is also not a partisan statement. Two statements above. Both non-partisan. The easy way out is to call her statement conservative and mine liberal. But we’re not so easily labeled. I’m not a liberal. I don’t know and don’t care if she’s a conservative. I know her as Natalie. She’s got opinions. When I think of Natalie, I don’t think in terms of labels. Get it?
To paraphrase Thom Jefferson, our government should fear us, not the other way around. While They have you fighting against each other over crap that really isn’t all that important, They get legislation passed that allows the real villains to walk away with your cash. And that happens on both sides of the aisle, my friends. Don’t get it twisted. They‘ve got you blaming each other, and defending Them. It should be the other way around.
Love thy neighbor. Hold thy politicians and corporations accountable. Ditch the labels. You’re not a democrat or a republican. You’re a taxpayer.
You have the power to FIRE THEM.
Think for yourself, and you’ll always be on the winning team.
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