It's deeply irresponsible and alarming how quickly people with more money, power, and influence than you and I will ever have have whipped up narratives to bait us into hating one another.
To say that we're "at war" with each other.
Take a sec and think about the endgame here. Who benefits from keeping us angry and distracted?
I certainly don't benefit from hating my neighbor down the street who votes differently from me. And you don't benefit from hating a trans-loving, blue-haired progressive like me.
In fact, we probably have more things in common than some people in power would have you believe.
We're both trying our best to pay the bills, to afford healthcare, to keep our families safe. We're both scared of losing our homes, our livelihoods, our health. We're both angry that the "American Dream" isn't what we were sold.
Unfortunately, it's easier to be angry at a person than a problem. A person is a tangible target; a problem is a tangled, messy, enigmatic concept.
So then, it's easier to be angry at a person/group. And what happens when you hate me and I hate you?
Our sense of community crumbles. Relationships fracture. Our collective strength is diminished, brick by brick.
And ultimately, when my finger is pointed at you, and yours at me, we're not pointing our fingers at the people who have the power, money, and influence to make meaningful changes. Funny how that works, huh?