Opposite sides?

I stopped by the room to fill my mug with some fresh caffeine. The ever present TV set to a 24 hour news channel was telling the tale of some Republican ranting about some Democrat being corrupt and needing to be removed from office. (By the way; is there a public room anywhere in the industrialized world that does not sport a TV? Even public bathrooms have them now. And 24 hour news? I know that life goes on 24 hours a day, but how much of that is actually "news"?)

"The only thing stranger than a Democrat complaining about corruption," I said to the man standing at the other coffee machine, "is a Republican complaining about corruption."

He immediately took offense, suggesting that Democrats are more corrupt than Republicans on any day of the week.

And I had to laugh. Somehow we had taken opposite sides while saying the exact same thing. So indoctrinated are we in the left v right, conservative v liberal, capitalist v socialist, ad nauseum, that even when we agree with each other we fight over just how agreeable we are being.

Depending on something completely arbitrary, the time of the day or the positions of the stars, something, one will take the position that the Democrats are dumping 15 tons of shit on us while the Republicans are dumping just 13 tons. Another will insist that the Republicans are the ones dumping 15 tons and the Democrats just 13. And somehow, while arguing over who is right, both forget that they are wading though tons and tons of shit.

I openly admit that I exited the reservation stage left. I see little hope in the claim that true freedom results from religious fundamentalism being forced on all. The idea that personal responsibility means working dutifully to provide international corporations with a consumer market and a fat profit strikes me as a sad delusion that can only lead to ruin. And the claims that a human invented "free market" will dispense divine justice and lead to a fair and progressing society without continuous oversight, adjustment and regulation, are clearly the ravings of the insane.

But what of those who exit stage right? The person who who insists that freedom is jeopardised by an overbearing and intrusive government will find me nodding in agreement. One who claims that personal responsibility is not fostered by a society that attempts to provide cradle to grave safety and prosperity regardless of individual effort will get little argument from me. As for the capitalist crying that communism is anything but fair and has the added benefit of failing where ever it is tried, well, guess what? Not only does she have a point but she is probably not very happy with the kind of "capitalism" currently inflicted on America.

Left or right, we cherish and even demand freedom and personal liberty. Liberal or conservative, we will insist that no society can thrive that demeans personal responsibility. Capitalist or communist, we desire a system that allows universal access to success; that rewards work and innovation and courage; that does not abandon the weak or the ill or the old; and does not celebrate greed as the most noble aspect of human character. And we will probably agree that, what ever label is hung on our current economic system, it does none of those things. Liberty, personal responsibility, fairness and compassion? How much disagreement can there be on these things between thinking human beings?

Those in power are staying in power by making sure we don't realize that fact. As long as they keep us angry with each other we will forget that we should be angry with them. They are working together to leech the liberty out of America while getting us to believe it is those damned liberals or religious conservative who are at fault. To "win" and "save our society" we are told to trust and obey those in power and be responsible to them, not to our families, friends and to ourselves. They have set up the most skewed society in modern history, where the political and business elite grow obese at a table set by the labor of those going without, while telling us that those not at the table, (which is most of us by the way) are the inferior ones.

The chattering class is in on the same scam, not so much to stay in power but to keep the easy money flowing from their sponsors. Be they right wing or left, they generate money by generating heat, not light. In fact the current structure is perfect for them - all they need do to stay fat is keep stirring up the shit! Accuracy doesn't matter, nor facts or truth or context. Far from being shameful and derided, hate speech and shear lunacy are celebrated for the ability to hold an audience.

The very idea that there are "opposite sides" is an invention of those grabbing power. Each person has a unique history and a lone view of the world. An idea that forms the very core of your being, (a religion for example) may not interest me at all. That makes us different. That does not make us opposites. In all probability tied up deep in your religion are notions of personal responsibility and justice that are parallel to mine. My need for liberty and insistence on compassion will be echos of your own hopes. We only come into conflict if I try to force you to abandon your god or you try to force me to kneel at an alter.  Even then our conflict is over a single issue. All we need to to resolve the conflict is to leave the other person be.

This is not to suggest we will all be sitting around the fire singing in blessed harmony. Just because we are not opposites does not mean we are not different. Nor does it mean we will actually like each other. There are people very different from me who I like (even love) very, very, much. There are people very much like me that I don't care for at all. And there are some things that are "deal killers." The white supremacist may be a good father, a loving husband, a talented sailor or pilot or motorcycle rider. Doesn't matter. We are not going to be sharing a beer. Even then (and as much as it might pain me to admit it) we are not opposites in anything but our view of justice as it applies to race. I may really want to see him get his ass kicked into next week, but until he raises his hand to inflict his illness on another, he is safe from me.

And I think that is where those in power are playing us for fools. Every nuance of the propaganda machine reinforces the idea that if I don't agree with someone on every single level, then I can't trust them and don't like them. If I can't trust them and don't like them then we are opposites. If we are opposites we must be enemies and kicking some ass is my inalienable right. To kick ass we need leaders. Those in power just love to call themselves leaders. We buy into the story and keep electing them to kick some opposite ass.

I don't know if there is a way out of this morass of "opposites." But calling it for the horseshit it is can't be a bad start.