The Great Divide that is Breaking America From the Inside: The Collective vs. The Individual
We find ourselves in a world where what is popular is often more influential than what is right or even true.
The push towards collectivism is undermining what it means to be an individual. Collectives seek to be the "same" - while labeling anyone different as "other". It creates a mob mentality fueled by group identities. You are either part of the group (and tow the same ideological lines as those in the group) or you are seen as a potential threat to the group's interests. There is also a tangible push to restrict individual rights in the name of protecting society...another push towards collectivism.
In the U.S. party loyalty is now treated as something almost holy with people acting sanctimoniously on either side. Virtue signaling is on full display - with people clamoring for approval and clout on social media. These people act as if our entire identity is defined by who you support politically and is if your moral character depends on it. Yes, we tend to support whatever party aligns most closely with our own values. However, political affiliation cannot paint the whole picture of an individual and we need to stop acting as if it can.
The other problem is that the values espoused by both sides are little more than a farce most of the time. They can both say all the triggering words to make it sound as if they are the good guys while the other party is bad. Underneath the curtain, both sides hold plenty of corrupt politicians in their ranks who are serving special interests rather than the interests of the people or upholding the values they claim to support. Empty promises - we've all seen them, and yet there are those who still believe implicitly in the words of politicians without examining their actions.
The fixation on the two-party divide is disingenuous and ambiguous - it obscures the existence of our individuality and fails to represent those who don't align with either party. I agree and disagree simultaneously with different ideas from both parties. I am not loyal to a party or any single ideology - I am devoted to advancing what I believe the best ideas are no matter where those ideas come from. I want to support ideas that produce real solutions and better outcomes. I don't label myself as a republican or a democrat; millions of other citizens don't either. To pretend that we can be merely divided as either right or left-leaning is inaccurate. We don't all fit into those two molds and I am tired of politicians and the media pretending that we do. There are centrists, libertarians, anarchists, those who are simply apolitical, and more.
It is true that there are many in our country who embody those political labels as if they are of the utmost importance - but they are not representative of the whole. There are also millions who feel completely disenfranchised by the current two-party system who are entirely lacking representation and so tired of the feud between left and right.
Our politics have become nearly religious in terms of zealotry. People have become so convinced by whatever side they support that there is no trust for anything but the group they are part of. There is no bridge to the middle - where compromise can be made. Either side is so entrenched that it is either their way or nothing at all.
Absolutism is the problem. Absolutism is the acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters. There are few absolutes in life other than the fact that change is constant and death is inevitable.
Nearly every political issue can be seen as a spectrum between opposing views. We want to believe life is simply good versus evil. In truth, there is great diversity in opinion and a vast gray area in terms of individual beliefs. Absolutism cannot properly address this complexity or diversity without tipping too far one way or the other towards the extreme. Compromise and seeking more of the middle ground at least stands a chance of bringing some sort of balance we can all live with.
There was a time not so long ago that our culture was not determined or defined by politics. Yes, politics played a role in our daily lives, but it did not dominant them. Identity politics changed that. From the time that we began ushering in the old ideas of cultural marxism with new and trendy words to make it sound more palatable the great divide began here in America.
Our country once celebrated its diversity as the melting pot while still standing united as a nation. We understood our most common needs were similar no matter what our differences were - and we agreed that government should serve those needs without defining us. That has quickly shifted to an "us versus them" mentality with groups fighting for their own interests rather than trying to find a balance with others. Politically we have been divided by class, gender, race, religion, sexuality, and the list goes on.
There are so many who have lost all sense of their own individuality as they sought approval from these identity groups. These groups became like warring factions with competing interests...just as intended by those who seek to destroy us from within. As trust in our fellow citizens declined the belief in the authority, politicians, and corporate giants increased as people looked to them to solve our problems.
Politics has morphed into a tool to advance special interests at the expense of individuals. They increase taxes while simultaneously diminishing individual rights to advance the agendas of those who lobby them. The subsidies and entitlements we pay out annually are astronomical - as is our deficit. But no one in Washington seems willing to reduce unnecessary spending - no matter how great the burden on the working class.
To add insult to injury, politics has also moved beyond serving our common needs as a society to determining how we are supposed to function in our daily lives. A government that seeks to influence how we speak, how we think, how we judge one another, how we conduct our business, how we raise our children, how we share information; where, when, and how we can go out publically, and what we choose to do with our own health is in total opposition from where we began as a nation - seeking independence.
Censorship and cancel culture are out of control. The dominant class of politicians, corporate interests, and technocracy seek to impose their worldview on the population. It seeks to diminish the individual in the name of the collective and is often promoted through ideals labeled as progress that truly serve to empower this elite class even more.
The problem here is that they control the collective by pulling the strings on what is mainstream. I know people who are literally afraid to express themselves openly from the fear of ridicule and the potential consequences thanks to cancel culture. Some of these views are not even controversial - they just aren't mainstream enough. People are terrified to rock the boat and so they just go with the flow - letting their own voices become smaller and smaller, while the mainstream screams louder and louder. The pull of the collective is strong and nearly overwhelming on social media - where engineered algorithms determine our worldviews more than anything else.
They have such a large monopoly on the flow of information that it undermines our democracy. Media coverage serves to protect special interest groups and individuals with the power, connections, and resources to afford it. At the same time, they also have the power to silence those who have dissenting views who might influence the opinions of others - leaving them with nearly complete control of all meaningful narratives.
Mainstream media no longer simply reports facts - they are using language intentionally to frame how we think and feel about things. There is so much media bias it is hard to discern simple facts as they are swallowed up among the linguistic acrobatics used to establish their desired narratives. Tensions between political parties are at a fever pitch - and the media is stoking the flames to keep their ratings up.
I urge you to evaluate your biases and consider strongly that you may have been influenced without even being aware. Take time to talk to your neighbors, friends, and co-workers and seek to understand the other side of issues. Consider more often what matters to you personally regardless of what's popular or whether or not those ideas are supported by a particular group you find yourself in. Take a few steps back and truly think for yourself. Consider things more critically and rationally - don't let emotions rule you. Remember that we are all individuals and that we are all so much more than the labels they try to make us wear.
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. " - Ralph Waldo Emerson
If we hope to retain liberty for humanity - we must remember that all human rights are inherently individual rights. When we undermine the rights of the individual we diminish free will and risk degrading our own sovereignty. Without individual free will - liberty cannot exist. Suppressing speech is equivalent to repressing free thought. If our minds are not free - how can we be?
As ideologues, big tech, and political parties seek to restrict individual expression in the name of progress - I hope we will take a pause and reflect on what society would be like if individualism dies. Would you prefer life ordered and controlled - living as a cog in the establishment machine? Or would you prefer to live as you wish? To be free to pursue what is meaningful to you rather than what is deemed necessary as determined by the demands of the collective? Art, music, and so much of the beauty in our human experience is made possible by individual expression.
If you want to live as you wish - can you accept that in order to be free yourself you must also allow others to live as they wish? Can you accept that liberty requires that you should not seek to impose your own views or compel the actions of others to suit your own desires? Because that is the environment necessary for liberty to continue to exist. Will you speak up as an individual or will you bend to the will of the collective to fit in with the mainstream? The choices yours to make - but the consequences will eventually impact us all.