I know I have said I don’t like politics on my front page but when I see things I don’t understand I ask questions. We should all be asking questions at this point because what’s going on in the United States will have repercussions all over the world.
Just so you understand where I’m coming from, I’m a somewhat right of center independent (unenrolled my state calls it). I am fiscally very conservative and that is the thing that slides me to the right of center. Where I live is the bluest of blue states. Even our governor with an R after his name is a democrat by ideology and practice. I do believe in the Constitution 100%. I’ve lived my life believing that the most important rules to live by are love your neighbor as yourself and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Currently there is a major divide in our country. People no longer love their neighbor unless their neighbor shares the same ideology. People have been cancelling (what a cruel word to use) those that don’t agree with them. We have seen it twice on Ravelry when they first removed Trump supporters and again when designers who wouldn’t make a statement they were asked to make were purged. Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites have begun purging conservatives. They removed the POTUS. As I said I don’t use social media except this blog (Myles has a Twitter but requires I type his messages because his spelling and typing skills aren’t up to par) and Ravelry. My experience with social media has been limited intentionally. I don’t need the grief that comes with it.
The biggest problem I see is a lack of caring about others and a lack of accepting that people can have different opinions.
Nearly half the voting population questions what happened in the November presidential election. Let’s be honest there were weird things that happened. Maybe there are innocent explanations. I have never seen an election count stop in the middle of the night. I’ve never seen poll watchers be locked out of the counting room. I’ve never seen poll watchers use binoculars in an attempt to see what’s going on. I thought voting machines didn’t connect to the internet. These things happened this time according to reports online. I’ve seen photos and videos. I have never seen it take so long to count votes. Last I knew there was a down ballot race that still hasn’t been called. Everyone should be concerned if there are questions. We all lose if there is not a smooth transition of power.
Some countries have independent poll watchers come and monitor their elections. Who could be an independent poll watcher for the United States? The US presidential election has worldwide ramifications. Everyone has an interest in who becomes the leader of the free world. The winner of the election sets the tone for policies that effect world safety and aid. These are huge things which takes away objectivity. Do we need aliens from outer space to monitor our elections? I suspect even they would be unable to remain objective.
So I ask, what do we do? How do we bridge this divide? How do we come together as a society when we are required due to Covid to be apart and the 21st century town squares are eliminating half of the conversation? I have studied enough history to see that I don’t like the path we are heading down. The dark forbidding forest I see in front of me doesn’t look like a friendly place. I think it’s time to turn around.
NothingButKnit 
I don’t know where this intolerance of others has come from. I have read it argued that parachute parenting has played a part so that the younger generation take any difference of opinion as a personal attack and want the opinion silenced and a safe place creating for them, and thus a silo or echo chamber exists in which only one side is heard.
I guess the best thing would be a thorough investigation into the US voting system and any improvements carried out. Maybe lobby your representatives?
On a personal level keep yourself informed, invite discussions, practice what you believe, maybe enter politics yourself. After all for bad things to happen it only takes a few good people to stand by.
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I am a bit more cynical about where the intolerance originated. I wonder if it is by design not accident. It’s very difficult to be the lone dissenting voice in a room but if you can divide the room full of people first and then use half to join your cause you can win even the worst argument. You’ve convinced one side to not believe anything the other says.
My representatives are a part of the problem. They’re firmly entrenched in the swamp. I think my best bet is to support new candidates.
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I’m not one for the cancel culture, but I can tell you from experience it comes from both sides, as one who has been “cancelled”. We had a good laugh over that. Anyway, I feel that, unfortunately, a lot of people are lost to reason.
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I can’t imagine why someone would cancel you. You are a kind and generous person. It’s obvious to me that you truly care about others.
People have to learn that having a different political view has little meaning. What matters is caring about others more than yourself.
Alissa you matter to me. Love you:)
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Thank you, Karen. I treasure our friendship. You matter to me, and I love you, too. And I agree, people are more important than politics. I’m glad you’re having these conversations on your blog.
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Someone has to bring sanity to this conversation. The politicians sure aren’t. We as the people being ruled have to do something. This is what I can do. Maybe if everyone puts out love and kindness to even the people they don’t agree with we can move this all in a positive direction. Thanks for reading:)
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I plan to just be the best me I can be and give others the same grace. I can only shine my light in my community. My personal experience is the left attacks those who don’t believe as they. Now I see the right fighting back. There are factions on both sides that take things to the extreme, but neither faction will acknowledge that. Until they stop beating each other over the heads with their “righteousness” we in the middle have little recourse.
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We’ve got to find a way to reconcile this. An eye for an eye just leaves everyone blind.
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I see some very difficult times ahead, I think that our liberty has been stolen, and it was accomplished by both parties. Congress has thrown out the constitution and sold the country to the Federal Reserve, which I believe is evil to the core. Our children have been sold down the river because the Federal Reserve is creating billions of dollars out of thin air, which decreases the value of the dollar. Compared to 1914, when the Fed was created, the dollar (which actually has a specific value in gams of silver assigned by Congress) has now lost 97% of its original value. The Hidden Secrets of Money, available on YouTube, does a good job of explaining the problem. My apologies if I got that date wrong, but 1914 is close.
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You are right. I think money is the root of a lot of evils. I think a number of our representatives on both sides are more concerned with financial gain and they are willing to sell out to the highest bidder no matter who that is and what their motives are. Not good for Liberty, the Constitution or most importantly the people they are supposed to represent.
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Money is not the root of evil. Love of money is.
Karen, I agree with everything you said and then some! When I read so many beautiful blogs on line here, I wonder why we are not considered more a part of the conversation? How did so many voices , to the degree that by virtue of trying to live by the Golden Rule, we find ourselves at risk of being cancelled?
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Razz hit my arm and I sent this prematurely!! Hahaha! How did so many voice, by virtue of trying to just live our lives by the Golden rule find ourselves at risk of being cancelled?
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Yes! The love of money. You are correct.
I think we are not a part of the conversation because we are polite. I know I was always told there are certain topics you don’t discuss and politics is one of them. There is no way in real life I would confront someone I disagreed with over politics. I’d just smile and move on to a lighter subject.
I can’t remember who said this to me but I was told listen when people speak. Don’t formulate your answer until they have finished. They’ll wait while you get your thoughts together if they are interested in what you have to say. Too many people are thinking of their response while others are still talking. It’s impossible to truly listen with intent when one is thinking.
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I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately – I guess we all have. I read a lot of posts on Twitter, some by people I like, some by people I don’t. I am appalled daily by the comments that people leave. I keep thinking, “would you say that to his/her face?” The internet has created a world where people are free to say whatever they want because they never see the effect it has. I never heard that helicopter parents were partly to blame, but that actually makes sense, too. I was told this morning that I “needed to have a discussion abou censorship” with someone who disagreed with me that attempting to silence POTUS was just that. That smacks of “you need to be taught the right way to think!” to me.
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It’s a symptom of our time that people find it so easy to be cruel. We have been separated by design. It used to be that you’d spend time with others but now that they’ve locked us away with the Covid people are even more detached. There is no accountability if you’re not going to get within 6 feet.
I point these things out not because I think I can solve the problems. I point them out because I think there are people who have no idea there is a problem. Censorship is a problem for both sides. Disregarding the Constitution is a problem for both sides. Eventually everyone will lose.
As an aside I’ve lost a few reader/friends this week because of these posts. I’m sad about that but I’d be angry at myself if I did nothing and didn’t at least shine a light on these issues.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.
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I appreciate your posts – you often say what I’m thinking, and you also get me to think about what I’m saying. I have friends on both sides of the fence, and lately it’s been harder and harder to maintain some of those friendships. It’s not MY friends, it’s their friends who are so quick to attack me if I say something they don’t agree with. It makes me sad, it makes me quiet and it makes me angry. DIstancing has separated us, and masking has done more harm than good. We’re having our mouths covered – our words muffled – I can’t hear on a good day and through a mask, I often don’t understand what’s being said. I don’t know what to do either, but we have to keep trying
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The only reason I’ve been brave enough to write these posts is because of things I’ve read on your blog. Thank you for being honest. Too many people put only their best on their blog. I love having the opportunity to meet and get to know people. It enriches my life and I hope in some way I am able to enrich theirs.
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Term limits were put in place for the president in the 1940s. Too bad that that didn’t extend to both the House and Senate. The career politicians have sold our country to the highest bidder. Unfortunately Americans lost.
I truly fear for our country and way of life.
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I agree. The sad thing is why would the people in power be willing to vote to limit their terms. The best we can do is vote them out but with the voting machines connected to the internet how do we trust the election results?
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Absolutely right! The smugness of these people irritates me to no end. They all need to be voted out!!
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Exactly.
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This situation we are in has been quite a few years in the making.
1980 with Ronald Reagan was the first election where the truth really didn’t matter. If you said it often enough, it stuck and became fact. 2002 and the hanging chad votes in Florida with the election decided by the Supreme Court.
That was followed by 2004 and the Swift Boat Ad Campaign.
2008 brought us the first Black president in US history and hmmmm, let me thing, who started the question of his birth certificate being falsified? And didn’t let up for 8 years.
2012 brought us Ted Cruz and the Tea Party! I really thought that was going to be a flash in the pan but unfortunately, I think THAT brought us to where we are now.
In your post and in the responses there is not one mention of Trump and the turmoil he created starting with the primaries. He is/was and will always be – a bully. But hey – all that that came before laid the groundwork, made it ok.
He TOLD us the election WAS GOING TO BE rigged! He TOLD us DON’T VOTE BY MAIL! Then, He TOLD us afterward the election WAS RIGGED! By July 2020 he had already made 20,000 false or misleading claims. What’s a few more.
For the record – I’m also in a bluer that blue state living in a town that is redder than red. Biden won the vote in our town. I’m also independent but consider myself a conservative democrat or liberal republican.
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Trump is a New York City businessman, and that’s basically the definition of a big, brashy, blowhard of a man. I think you’d find that most of his supporters don’t really care about his personality, it’s the things he’s done for the country and the ideas he expressed that we support. He said what a lot of people have thought and been told to sit down and shut up – that America IS (or was) great, that we are exceptional (not according to Obama), that we need to take care of ourselves and then worry about the rest of the world. He told us the election was going to be rigged because anyone thinking about it could see the opportunities for fraud with mail in votes. And yeah, if you listen to MSM, you’ll find all his claims are misleading. But a lot of people look a bit deeper – and we’re not uneducated and deplorable.
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Did I say you were? Why would you include that last sentence? I don’t live in a bubble. I know a lot of people that revere him. That is not my definition of a New York businessman.
Thank you for giving me your post of view. I do appreciate it.
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I guess I’ve been called so many names over the past four years that I feel defensive. I’m from Upstate NY and we tended to always see the City in the worst light – yeah, I’m biased. 🙂 Thank you for listening, it’s the only way we’re ever gonna get past this
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Did you see the hearing in Georgia where the tech guy said his team found a Dominion machine attached to the internet and they were able to hack into it and watch the runoff election? That alone leaves me wondering about the elections we’ve been having for the past 20 years.
I have left Trump out of the conversation specifically because the mere mention of his name makes people’s blood boil. There is no point in having a constructive conversation about where the country is headed if one is going to start off by getting people upset. My concerns are much larger than a president or a party. We are going to lose the Constitution if we don’t prioritize protecting it.
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I can’t agree with leaving Trump out of the conversation. He is the reason for this conversation. But I respect your choice to do so. But I can’t.
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I agree with you about the terrible divisions and intolerance. Everyone has a right to their opinion, even those I don’t agree with. It used to be thought a good thing to have and maintain friendships with who had different perspectives and points of view than our own. I still feel like it’s a good idea, and try hard to at least listen to other people’s perspectives rather than just dismiss them.
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I agree. We must hear all views or we live in an echo chamber and never expand our views. Over the recent years it’s harder but we’ve got to keep talking and remember that kindness and respect go a long way when discussing difficult topics.
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Definitely! And it is sometimes good to consider other points of view. You may not wind up agreeing with them or changing your mind, but maybe you will. At the least it is useful to understand that other people do have valid perspectives on things.
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I’m another purple person – or was, having started as a Republican who regularly split tickets depending on who looked like they’d do the best job. When McConnell said his JOB was to insure Obama was a one term president, that lost me – it’s a lot harder for me to vote for Republicans now, and they have to be much better than their opponents. I get most of my facts from the various fact checking organizations. I don’t use Facebook (don’t like their lack of privacy) or other social media – I don’t have time to fall down that rabbit hole. I’d rather be knitting. And it’s my understanding that there were international observers in GA for the senate races, although I don’t remember the details. And I have to wonder why people have so much trouble accepting the rulings of judges – about 1/3 appointed by Trump – have nearly universally ruled that the election was fair. The only ruling that went his way was to increase the numbers of observers. I have have a few right wing gun toting conspiracy theorist friends; we just don’t discuss politics. We go kayaking.
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One of the reasons people haven’t accepted the rulings is because they’ve watched the hearings where people signed affidavits and testified under oath to the things they saw happen. They’ve also seen the count stop and when it restarted, suddenly Biden was ahead by exactly the number of votes needed to win. Ballots with only one candidate marked, nothing down ballot – who does that? Boxes of ballots pulled out of trucks? There are too many inconsistencies, too many questions, for all of us to just sit back and shut up.
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I keep saying it but the tech and his team finding the Dominion machine on the wifi at the polling place and hacking in to watch the runoff did it for me. Voting machines should not connect to the internet ever. At this point voting should consist of a pen and paper. I’ll wait while they’re counted by hand.
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Totally agree!
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It’s great that you can maintain friendships with people who have different views. We are losing that in this country. People are shutting out those they don’t agree with. It is sad and will cause the chasm to get larger.
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Trump did a lot of decent things during his presidency. I think so many people are put off by sparky exchanges on Twitter and name calling. And that has overshadowed these things. As a school employee, we spend HOURS working on curriculum to counter a bully culture, but all around us the adults can’t seem to be custodians of their tongue. AOC is downright mean online. People seem to think they have to counter her posts with equal or greater snark.
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Well I’m going to blame the main stream media first and foremost for this. I had to give up most news channels (including FOX) because the claims seemed so outlandish to me. Pretty quickly all parts of entertainment deemed “orange man bad” and I will not tolerate bullying of any kind. I started looking at Twitter for independent news sources and from there I started looking at government officials Twitter accounts. Over time I’ve learned that the original source is the only thing that can be trusted. That is why I shared the secretary of states Twitter in that first post. Reading that showed me how many things the news left out. Anything beyond original source is spin intentionally or not.
Next I blame schools (sorry Regina). Kids aren’t taught critical thinking. They are fed a narrative from a young age and continue to follow narrative driven media throughout their teens. They wouldn’t know an original source if it bit them on the…finger.
Third there is a general lack of respect in our society. I hold doors open for people and they are stunned and thank me profusely. To me that is common courtesy. I smile at strangers though the damn mask makes that impossible. If I was in a room with all current living presidents you would guess I voted for all of them. The office deserves the respect and I would treat each person with that respect. They stepped up to do a difficult job and no matter what kind of result half the people would be unhappy. I will tell you I didn’t vote for Carter, I was too young to vote. I greatly admire all he and his wife have done in the years since he left office. They have improved the lives of so many with Habitat for Humanity.
Finally it’s never right to be mean. It doesn’t matter if you disagree. People will judge what you say with more weight if it is delivered in a kind tone.
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Again, whole-heartedly agree. No apologies needed for the comment on schools. I am a secretary. I am so thankful I don’t have school aged children. We have a high-performing school, and the kids are not learning a fraction of what they should. And our young people are ingesting copious amounts of social media. Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg have more influence on them than their parents. What I see at school is chilling at times.
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Agree!
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*snarky
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I so appreciate you broaching this topic. I need to hear more from all of you here. These are the conversations I value and mourn.
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I’m afraid pretty soon these type of conversations will be outlawed. Don’t be surprised if my blog suddenly disappears. I could be cancelled at any moment for even bringing these things up on a platform that is not my own. It’s a sad state we’re in.
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I worry about that too, and as a woman of faith, I am doubly dismissed.
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I’m an Australian and watching from the outside it’s very interesting to me how divided you are over the facts of what happened, not just opinions about what happened. Over here we have an independent body that runs elections and sets electoral boundaries, meaning elections aren’t being run and organised by politicians. Do you think something similar would help with Americans trusting the results of elections?
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Hi Helen. Read my post for today please. I mention Australian. It’s a light piece, not heavy I promise.
Yes. We need something like your system. Our biggest problem is that our media is driving the narrative of our country. They’ve been doing it for years now. Imagine Twitter and other social platforms are banning people in a country where free speech is a right. These people are just sharing videos and talking about current events but what they are showing isn’t edited the way the mainstream media is editing it. That’s why when I began talking about my views I talked about perspective. I can tell a story of something I saw quite differently than someone else if I write it a certain way. What is going on in the United States is a lot bigger than an election. It is an assault on our Constitution. Waking people up to that after years of being told half truths is difficult particularly when we have been intentionally divided as a people, first by beliefs and then by Covid.
Thank you for commenting. It’s really nice to meet you:)
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I’ve sat on my hands until they’ve grown numb so I have to write. Writing this is already restoring feeling to my digits, so thanks for allowing me to have my say. Here goes:
I say we must move forward instead of turning around. Turning is not progress. Why backtrack when we are so close to the finish line? Here’s a link to The Roots singing an old Negro spiritual about not turning around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ6mhRZ8LjM (Sweet Honey in the Rock sings a lovely version too. Many musicians and singers have covered the song.) The song helped a movement keep on keeping on despite the finish line being moved over and over and over. And here we are. The movement helped/helps everyone. The desire for freedom does not discriminate. The movement helped women too! None of us can afford to turn around now.
I read an interesting opinion in my hometown’s newspaper yesterday. It came as a major shock because my hometown is one of the most racist towns in America. My grandfather was almost lynched one night while hunting. Local kalnsmen were out searching for someone to lynch. The found my grandfather. An Anglo cousin saved him. He told the klansmen, “You can’t hang him! That’s Vox!” Grandfather lived to tell the story. Here is the link to a most important opinion from someone deep in the heart of Texas, in the town where James Byrd Jr. was murdered. Perhaps it will help us better understand what freedom of speech means: https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_9251da90-538e-11eb-8627-e7f33313210b.html
Be well.
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Hi, it’s me again. I thought you might find this interesting: https://quillette.com/2021/01/11/social-media-oligopolists-are-the-new-railroad-barons-its-time-for-washington-to-treat-them-accordingly/
BC
“The evil that men do lives after them, the good is often interred with their bones.” William Shakespeare
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Thanks for sharing the article.
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