Oppressive Division

Isn't it strange how both supposedly opposing sides of the political establishment in the United States seem to always be in nearly perfect agreement when it comes to seizing some right away from the people? I see a distressing attitude all the time from those who have bought into the approved narratives of one side or the other. "That party is the oppressor but my party stands for freedom" is the type of statement that I hear from my friends on the traditional left and right. The problem is that all the opposing rhetoric is a show put on to keep us fighting among ourselves while the worst violations against us go unnoticed. It is almost a cliche to point to the principle of "divide and conquer" but that is because it is such a commonly used tactic. There are a lot of forces working to keep the common people from uniting but the conflicts that they create are not between "us and them" they are between "us and us" and while we weaken ourselves in the struggle, the authorities and the elites run away with all the wealth and the power.

We will always have disagreements but this needn't make us enemies. If one puts five people in a room it is likely that some of them will find something to argue about. Getting people to agree is like herding cats but this does not mean that we cannot cooperate or stand together when we face something that threatens us all. We have seen that this holds true in the past. In dire times, one can observe a great deal of unity among the common people. Not surprisingly, for those who seek to threaten our rights, protections, property, and wealth this is a problem. If most of the regular people come together, we can pose a threat to the authorities and the powerful who thrive on our exploitation. That being the case, it is not shocking to see that there is an strong effort on the part of the establishment authorities to keep us divided.

Both sides have their "slurs" for and stereotypes about the other. It is fun to joke about people you think are silly sometimes but the level that it has come to is reminiscent of how soldiers are often trained to dehumanize an enemy during a war. This, of course, should worry us. I don't mean that is a "snowflakey" sort of way either. It is causing large portions of this country's population as to view equally large portions of the country's population as an other and this is dangerous. It is easy to dismiss, mistrust, or even hate an other. Over time, it begins to feel natural to do so. If this goes on long enough, people begin to forget that they have commonality with the other and the idea of standing with the other, even against a common threat, becomes unthinkable. I believe, this is what we have come to, sadly, and I fear that it will be our downfall if we cannot find a way to work together against the forces that seek to exploit us all.

One needn't look very hard to see that, despite all the rhetoric, both sides of the political establishment in this country have basically the same agenda and they both seek to oppress the population. In public, they will make a lot of noise about issues that people are emotionally attached to. This creates disputes among the population but both sides continue to pursue the same policies behind the scenes. Republicans love to talking about lowering taxes and protecting guns but one must not forget that the Reagan raised taxes and singed sweeping gun control into law. Obama presented himself as though he was going to bring about change but he increased drone strikes, and involved us more deeply in Middle Eastern conflicts, and further solidified programs that spy on the law abiding citizens of this nation. Just about every president, and congress has been moving things in the same direction. That is, they protect the establishment above all else, and will trample on the rights of the people, regardless of their political affiliation, in the process.

I hate to be a "prophet of doom" but I think things will only get worse if we can't find a way to work together. I don't know what the answer is. I don't know if all our differences can be reconciled. However, it is clear that we all face the same threat from the system of authority and, I believe, it will take all of our efforts to stand against that system. This may not solve the problem but I think it is important to try to come to understand one another. We may not agree but if we understand why the other feels the way that he or she does, we can learn to communicate more effectively. Perhaps, through that dialogue, we can agree to stand as one when the establishment moves against us as it has repeatedly done in the past. I can't say if doing that will work but something has to give or we will all suffer the consequences in the end.

Peace.

All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website unsplash.com.