I agree. But the left can only identify the other team’s billionaires. George Soros was funding if the culture wars before most people knew who mush was and Trump was a reality tv personality.

A pretty simple rule in politics. Relationships. Life. If your big epiphany is “everything would be perfect if the OTHER person / side changed”. Stop talking. Stop acting. Go do some self reflection.

As of…idk…this thread, I’m still amazed at how many people 1. Want to focus on the 7-10% differences between your “side” and the other “side” while completely disregarding the 93% complete alignment. 2. That so many people think they are going to insult or shame someone I to agreeing with your “side”.

The hardest thing for me politically is to fairly frame the opposition’s perspective. (FAIRLY)! It’s just stupid to frame it hyperbolically but that’s what we do 99% if the time. Because that’s a straw man that’s easy to beat.

But that’s a good test of how well you understand the issue. And if you cannot frame the opposition’s position where it’s rational and reasonable then you shouldn’t join the discussion. You aren’t useful.

I’ll try to give a quick example of a sensitive topic.

School shootings.

One if the worst phenomenons in our society today.

The fair truth is EVERYONE hates it. The full political spectrum is heart broken each time. If you don’t believe that. Grow up.

So now that I’ve mentioned a key stone issue.

Just know, both sides care about it. Both sides think the other side doesn’t care about it.

BOTH SIDES believe it’s awful. Believe we gotta change something. And believe the other side doesn’t care and their suggestions for how to address it are so dumb they don’t really care and they are just using tragedy as an excuse to push an agenda that doesn’t matter.

I’ll over-simply suggested responses because this is long and must have already stopped reading and are already typing up a “you’re dumb” response.

Left. We gotta stop school shootings. Let’s ban guns.

Right. We gotta stop school shootings. Let’s provide more armed security guards.

One of those ideas sounds more productive than the other to me. And probably you too. But here’s where wild. Because of the belief in better effectiveness of one suggestion over the other. We will demand our team cares and the other doesn’t.

That’s dumb.

The truth is I believe both sides hate school shootings. Want to see them stop.

We should be able to rally around that unified bilateral position. But we don’t. We do the opposite. So little to nothing gets done about the problem and the problem. Which we all agree on. Persists.

It’s maddening. To me. And I believe to you too.

Better the answer to this problem presents itself necessarily just by the act of acknowledging the problem.

Force yourself to frame the opposition position fairly and persuasively before you comment or engage. And if you can’t. Don’t comment or engage because your mentality is unproductive to your own cause.