Content originally published at iBankCoin.com
So I was walking around Maine today, without a phone, totally unplugged from the world. Since I'm a personable person, quite affable at times, I conversed with lots of strangers, many people who might disagree with my 'world view.' Although I have strong opinions, I'm mature enough to know my ideas are meaningless time fodder, the result of theories concocted through emotional and cognitive experiences. Too many Americans actually think their ideas matter. They're told this lie by the media and their politicians all the time, in an effort to trick people into thinking we live in a participatory democracy. Everyone is trying to ram their ideologies down the necks of others, which of course results in backlash.
The vast majority of people just want to larp around, drink something strong, and procreate. I can't think of the last time when I thought discussing politics was a good idea for casual conversation. I did it more when I was younger, filled with vigor -- stuck in the amber of idealism. I've always felt dreadful after engaging in political debate -- even with people who totally agreed with me. It's a time sink down the hole of extreme negativity and only serves to make people angry.
Why?
Because government can never please everyone, which is why I believe the less government, the better.
The connectivity of our phones and social media, amplified by the media, has turned total imbeciles into activists. These people are sick and have nothing better to do than foment strife. The 'white supremacists' who marched in Virginia yesterday were idiots. They weren't idiots because they had low IQs or because they wanted to express their opinions, but because they actually took the time out of their day to bring attention to themselves for a negative reason. What did they think was going to result from this?
A great man once told me, 'if it doesn't generate revenue, I'm not interested.' He'd actually say that to total strangers at a bar, ordinary men asking for the time or if he had watched some sports game on the tube, which caused him to get punched hard in the face more times than I can remember. But it's a good way to live, if you think about it.
I'd like to tie this up in a pretty bow and simply say 'we're all so different and America can never truly come together because of idealogical differences.' But that'd be false. The core issue here isn't politics, or racism, or identity politics, but the fact that ordinary citizens are getting wound up by social engineers, who are seeking to divide people, bringing out the ugliest in people. We're all ugly, in one way or another -- some uglier than others. When Americans work together and leave out politics, we produce beautiful, life changing, things. But it seems every god damned news report I read these days is talking about an angry white man, a violent black man, or an evil Russian. Naturally, if you keep fucking with people's emotions and pride, bad things will happen.
I won't say the news needs to accentuate the positive things in life -- because they have a business to run. What I am saying, however, is that the combination of having everyone with a phone and social media account wanting to be a celebrity, coupled with an atmosphere of purposeful divisiveness, is a toxic, if not deadly, combination. At some point, I hope all people will realize that it isn't Joe from down the block that is the problem -- but Jim in DC messing up America's legacy.