You know what irks me?
The same people blasting Lt. Col. Vindman for requesting to be called by his rank, from the ranking member are the same ones who get bent out of shape about the president being called Mr. Trump.
On the flip, those who are all SJW come to Vindman's defense are calling our president horrible things, making disrespectful baby balloons, and actively mocking him when it's possible that he had a health crisis.
At this point I have so little respect for our political parties. The way politicians and loyal constituents of those parties are behaving is reprehensible.
Disrespect isn't cool, doesn't matter who is being disrespected.
Othering and dehumanizing people isn't cool, doesn't matter who it is.
Our problems extend way beyond Obama or Trump, McConnell or Pelosi...our entire society is SICK. It may have started with politicians, it may have started with us (the people), it may have started with corporate interests. FFS, it doesn't really matter how it started.
It's up to each and every one of us to demand better. To respect and listen to our fellow humans, our fellow Americans. The complex issues in today's world don't fit into a nice little partisan talking box. Echo chambers produce consensus but consensus isn't always what you want if it's consensus for self destruction.
We've got to move past the fear mongering and hatred.
Liberals... the average Christian Conservative doesn't want to legislate you into going to church, stone members of the LGBTQIA+ community, or go to war over everything.
Conservatives... the average Atheist Liberal doesn't want to outlaw Christianity and prop up Islam, make your kids transition to the opposite gender or be non-binary, or completely sell-out our country.
Yes, there are extreme people on both sides who are pushing for things that are in nobody's interest. You have wedge issues like 2nd Amendment and abortion that are purposefully hyped up and taken out of context to divide people. Meanwhile, Congress is busy throwing stuff into bills that have nothing to do with the bill... agreeing on the gerrymandering of districts that maintain the status quo and overall turning a blind eye to criminal business behavior while legislating away personal freedoms.
Your average politician does not care about you, does not care about your family, and frankly doesn't give a flying flip about our country. Your average national politician has more in common with the ultra wealthy than the average American... and if you work for the government, I can assure you they have nearly nothing in common with you.
I feel like I've been beating this drum a lot lately but it's because I care...I care about people, I care about justice, I care about our country and the ideals I'd like to believe we once stood for. I hope 20 years from now our children and grandchildren look at this period with the same eye that we now look at the era of the Vietnam war; with disgust and embarrassment. Much like we learned the importance of treating veterans with respect from Vietnam, I hope our children learn to bring respect and dignity into politics.
Y'all just be kind to one another.
It's ok to disagree and debate, we should but this unhealthy lambasting and railroading gets us nowhere productive.