Thursday, August 30, 2012

Foul Behavior All Around


I think if you did a double blind test of those of us who don't own TVs and therefore will not watch either presidential convention, with those who do, our blood pressure would measure far lower and calmer than those who have decided to tune in.

On Facebook I feel I am picking my way through a minefield of toxicity from both my Democratic and Republican friends. Reactions are ugly, toxic, hateful from both liberals and conservatives. I find myself searching for cat videos, pics of friends' kids - anything to avoid the political poison floating around.

Before the last election I was all over the toxicity, venting my spleen right and left. I'm older now, and too I live TV free - I highly recommend it for good health and well being in general, and never more than right now specifically.

What I was wondering this morning is if a huge national disaster would pull us together. Oh wait, there's the hurricane, but people used it as an excuse to be ugly and hateful. What about the drought? Yeah. That, too, is being bandied back and forth as the other party's fault.

If I had money, I would leave the U.S. until after the election. Though ... the Eurozone isn't in much better shape, is it?

I love human beings, but even so, right now in the midst of all the hatred, I'm recoiling from my own species, both those I agree with and those I disagree with.

Is this awfulness necessary? You tell me.

Shalom.

8 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Shalom! Peace! Salaam aleikum!
Yes, yes, how very horrid it is. You are quite right not to want to watch the TV. But you do need to vote.
All the venom spewed left and right! Not wishing to assign blame except to blowhards like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News which does it's best to incite anger, I do feel it horribly polarizing just to have 2 parties.
So it's them v. us.....with almost no room for nuance.
Yes, if it wasn't for the grandchildren we would leave if the Republicans get in. (We did leave the country for Bush 2 --for a somewhat corrupt monarchy no less!! oh dear!)
As someone who delights in modified socialism --decent health care/childcare for all as basic rights, I am aghast that some Americans don't want or expect this in a semi civilized country.

So very very sad. America could do better than this. (And I'm American now and ashamed.)
Sign me
Miserable Indeed.

Reya Mellicker said...

I will be so happy to vote. The District is almost all Democratic - 80-90% usually, but I still enjoy it.

You know I am aligned with you, Elizabeth!

Salaam.

Washington Cube said...

I did not watch and received some emails this morning from friends--venting. I am sick of the negative campaigning on television. I was reading a book on Lincoln this past week...someone who really knew how to communicate...yet was constantly under attack...yet never seemed to stoop to the level of his attackers. Wise man.

Reya Mellicker said...

He was.

Steve Reed said...

I watch Rachel Maddow with Dave, but that's about all the politics I can handle lately. I agree, I try to steer clear on Facebook. It just invites arguing and no one is going to change anyone else's mind. I wonder why we're all so intractable, and so polarized?

Pauline said...

Move over and make room for me, please, in the boat leaving all this vitriol and nastiness behind. I find FB a minefield, too and for a couple of days I made comments on friends' postings. No more. I could feel my blood begin to boil and that's never a good sign.

As Steve points out, few of us are going to change our minds at this point. There have been studies done about why humans are so intractable (almost always it's because of an intricate set of historical, religious, cultural, political, and economic issues)and the consensus seems to rest in the fact that humans suffer from an innate fear that there isn't enough of anything to go around, we won't get our "fair share" and we can't allow ourselves to be proven "wrong' about anything without denoting weakness. Amazing that we have made it this far or kept ourselves alive this long!

Reya Mellicker said...

So it's instinctual, part of the survival instinct. Wow.

Thank you, Pauline. Thanks.

Cheryl Cato said...

Can barely wait for election day to come & go. Like you I just want it to finish. No TV politics, very little on the "net", just don't want to go through the torture. I know how I'm voting & that's all that matters... maybe it'll count.
Some good comments here. Maybe if we weren't such a large nation we would not be so polarized. Seems like the Civil War mentality is rising again. I don't see how a country can exist without government and yet half of the people want much less government intervention.