I didn't write this - But thought it worth the share
The people you've been convinced to hate are not your enemy.
Me:
Well read, kind, helps my neighbors.
Never been in trouble with the law.
Disabled but working FT with 20 years of experience in my field.
Raised two really great kids.
My partner:
Patient. Kind. Great at teaching others.
Never been in trouble with the law.
Engineer with 10+ years of experience.
Good person who goes out of his way to help others.
A friend I've known for years:
Worked at the same place for 15+ years. Overworked and underpaid.
Never been in trouble with the law.
Kind. Empathetic.
A great mom raising a great kid.
A high school friend:
Christian. Actually practices what she preaches.
Also, you guessed it, never been in trouble with the law.
Kind and caring and passionate.
A stay-at-home mom.
My dad:
Lifelong conservative.
Christian. Practices what he preaches.
50 years as a civil servant.
Worked past retirement age to pay for his stage 4 cancer treatment.
Never voted for Trump.
These are not radicals or terrorists or communists or criminals. These are not people trying to destroy America.
They're my family. My friends. People I've known for decades. People who work. Raise children. Pay taxes. Take care of their families. Help their neighbors. Go to church. Teach. Build things. Show up.
And yet the political movement you support has spent years telling people like them that we are the enemy.
And this is where I think people get confused when they say, "Why does everything have to be political?"
Because it isn't just political to the people being affected by it.
When you vote against policies that would help my high school friend's autistic child get the education and support they need, that isn't an abstract political disagreement to her.
When you vote against healthcare policies that could have allowed my dad to retire and focus on surviving stage 4 cancer, that isn't an abstract political disagreement to him.
When you vote against protections and benefits that could help someone who became sick after years of being overworked, that isn't an abstract political disagreement to her.
These are people's actual lives.
Healthcare is political.
Education is political.
Social Security is political.
Medicare is political.
Disability is political.
Clean water is political.
Food safety is political.
Whether someone can afford to survive an illness is political.
Whether a child gets the support they need in school is political.
Whether my dad gets to spend his final years taking care of himself instead of working to pay for cancer treatment is political.
LIFE is political because government decisions reach into people's lives whether we want them to or not.
And that's why people connect your politics to your character.
Not because we think every person who votes differently is secretly evil, or because we believe you personally wake up every morning plotting ways to make our lives worse.
It's because your vote has consequences BEYOND YOU.
You can tell me you're a good person, that you love your family, that you're a "good Christian," that you believe in helping people.
I don't have to argue with you about any of that.
But if you repeatedly vote for policies that make life harder for people like the people I love, you've proven you're a liar. I notice that.
And when you then turn around and call those same people criminals, extremists, communists, terrorists, groomers, or whatever the insult of the week happens to be, I'm going to notice that, too.
Because these aren't faceless political enemies.
They're people.
They're MY people.
And you don't get to vote for policies that hurt them, call them the enemy, and then act confused when they conclude that you don't give a shit about them.
You may not hate them, but you are still voting for things that harm them, and eventually, intent stops mattering as much as impact.
I SO wish people would shut up for FIVE seconds and sit with that.
You don't have to hate someone to hurt them, nor do you have to personally know someone to vote against their interests.
And YOU don't get to decide that politics isn't personal when the policies you support are affecting someone's health, their children, their home, their ability to retire, or their ability to survive.
These are the people you're voting against.
I wish you knew them. I wish you knew how ordinary they are. I wish you could see that the people you've been told to fear are often just people trying to live their lives, take care of their families, and make it to tomorrow.
Because maybe then you'd understand why we keep telling you: you ARE your politics and your vote tells us what you're willing to do to people you don't know.
Me:
Well read, kind, helps my neighbors.
Never been in trouble with the law.
Disabled but working FT with 20 years of experience in my field.
Raised two really great kids.
My partner:
Patient. Kind. Great at teaching others.
Never been in trouble with the law.
Engineer with 10+ years of experience.
Good person who goes out of his way to help others.
A friend I've known for years:
Worked at the same place for 15+ years. Overworked and underpaid.
Never been in trouble with the law.
Kind. Empathetic.
A great mom raising a great kid.
A high school friend:
Christian. Actually practices what she preaches.
Also, you guessed it, never been in trouble with the law.
Kind and caring and passionate.
A stay-at-home mom.
My dad:
Lifelong conservative.
Christian. Practices what he preaches.
50 years as a civil servant.
Worked past retirement age to pay for his stage 4 cancer treatment.
Never voted for Trump.
These are not radicals or terrorists or communists or criminals. These are not people trying to destroy America.
They're my family. My friends. People I've known for decades. People who work. Raise children. Pay taxes. Take care of their families. Help their neighbors. Go to church. Teach. Build things. Show up.
And yet the political movement you support has spent years telling people like them that we are the enemy.
And this is where I think people get confused when they say, "Why does everything have to be political?"
Because it isn't just political to the people being affected by it.
When you vote against policies that would help my high school friend's autistic child get the education and support they need, that isn't an abstract political disagreement to her.
When you vote against healthcare policies that could have allowed my dad to retire and focus on surviving stage 4 cancer, that isn't an abstract political disagreement to him.
When you vote against protections and benefits that could help someone who became sick after years of being overworked, that isn't an abstract political disagreement to her.
These are people's actual lives.
Healthcare is political.
Education is political.
Social Security is political.
Medicare is political.
Disability is political.
Clean water is political.
Food safety is political.
Whether someone can afford to survive an illness is political.
Whether a child gets the support they need in school is political.
Whether my dad gets to spend his final years taking care of himself instead of working to pay for cancer treatment is political.
LIFE is political because government decisions reach into people's lives whether we want them to or not.
And that's why people connect your politics to your character.
Not because we think every person who votes differently is secretly evil, or because we believe you personally wake up every morning plotting ways to make our lives worse.
It's because your vote has consequences BEYOND YOU.
You can tell me you're a good person, that you love your family, that you're a "good Christian," that you believe in helping people.
I don't have to argue with you about any of that.
But if you repeatedly vote for policies that make life harder for people like the people I love, you've proven you're a liar. I notice that.
And when you then turn around and call those same people criminals, extremists, communists, terrorists, groomers, or whatever the insult of the week happens to be, I'm going to notice that, too.
Because these aren't faceless political enemies.
They're people.
They're MY people.
And you don't get to vote for policies that hurt them, call them the enemy, and then act confused when they conclude that you don't give a shit about them.
You may not hate them, but you are still voting for things that harm them, and eventually, intent stops mattering as much as impact.
I SO wish people would shut up for FIVE seconds and sit with that.
You don't have to hate someone to hurt them, nor do you have to personally know someone to vote against their interests.
And YOU don't get to decide that politics isn't personal when the policies you support are affecting someone's health, their children, their home, their ability to retire, or their ability to survive.
These are the people you're voting against.
I wish you knew them. I wish you knew how ordinary they are. I wish you could see that the people you've been told to fear are often just people trying to live their lives, take care of their families, and make it to tomorrow.
Because maybe then you'd understand why we keep telling you: you ARE your politics and your vote tells us what you're willing to do to people you don't know.
