Cyber Civil War

ON AMERICAN POLITICS/

-- THE CYBER CIVIL WAR

It’s all over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all those newer ones that I’m too old to know about.   The Confederate Flag and the Rainbow Flag are at war.  We’re being ripped apart at the seams, America.  Both sides are so unwavering and tenacious and stupid to notice, or worse care, that we’re being played for fools.  We’re the bringers of our own doom.   There’s that famous concept that psychologists will speak about; the concept of Us and Them.  I’ve spoken about it often, but I feel it’s a nail worth hitting over and over until it’s driven into the wood.   But I am pessimistic enough now to realize that it’s never going to hold.   But still I harp.   The first couple of days after they legalized gay marriage, we ripped each other apart on everyone’s personal digital soapboxes.  It got crazy there for a few days.   After the dust began to settle and fatigue had set in, the realization occurred that you’re never going to change someone’s mind when it comes to ideology.   People are entrenched in their long held beliefs and personal dogmas.  Why do we feel the need to make these melodramatic proclamations on Facebook?   Two things happen; we push those away who disagree with us, and we galvanize those who agree.  “You said it, brother!” vs “You’re going to hell! Sorry but it says so in the Bible.  God’s word!  God's Love Letter to Humanity.  End of story, so, FU!  F stands for Forget!  Because I’m a Christian.  But you get the message.”

We’ve seen it happening gradually, from the nineties when, out of sheer political hubris they shut down the government.   The two political parties in this country have gotten completely out of hand and they’ve turned America into a disgusting joke.    Here’s something of a news flash.   Those politicians don’t really believe the same way you do.  They just know that in order to keep their very cozy jobs, with government insurance btw, they will say what the majority of people in their districts want to hear.   They’re like professional wrestlers, (spoiler alert), they’re just putting on a show.  To them it’s a game!  They really don’t give a damn about you.  I don’t care how good of actors they are.    They’ve all been elected thanks to somebody else’s money.  To get those cozy jobs, they had to promise they’d look out for the interests of the people who put them there first.  The fact is in order to keep us from waking up to the reality of what’s really happening in Washington, they stage this show to keep us divided and to keep us attacking each other instead of them.  They know what buttons to press; what stories to leak into the press; what issues will draw blood.     They knew gay marriage would distract us and stir the dust enough for cover of what they really were up to.  The same can be said about the irrational, relentless attack on the Confederate Flag in all its forms.  The Dukes of Hazzard?  Really?  It’s a well-orchestrated attempt to start a cyber civil war that will distract America from facing her real problems.  The gay marriage debate turned eventually into a debate about state’s rights and the power of the federal government; which is getting into Civil War territory.  You really think it’s a coincidence that the Confederate Flag is all over Facebook, while the two main ideologies of this country; namely Conservatives and Liberals, rip each other apart and polarize this nation?  They’re laughing at us.  And we’re going to take it.  Why?  Because we’ve all got smart phones and enormous TVs and instant gratification.   They’re dumbing us down and sexing us up.   Making us horny and stupid and very controllable, while they steadily take our rights away.  They’ve whittled our attention-spans down to toothpicks.  We can’t go ten seconds without glancing at our phones, or soon our smart-watches.  It’s feels so convenient for them, that I can’t help but wonder if it’s all part of the plan.   And now its time for a commercial about why it’s socially more polite to have a smart-watch over having to pull our phones out of our pockets.   “A glance replaces the clumsy adventure of digging into your pocket or purse.”

And then there’s Donald Trump and that whole circus.   But that’s for another day.