The problem with everything going on isn't the election. It has nothing to do with the candidates that are running. It has nothing to do with football players and how they respect or disrespect the flag. It has everything to do with radicalism. People being radical about supporting Trump, people being radical about supporting Clinton. People being radical about protests and rioting. People being radical about religion. People being radical about claims to or attaining power. People being radical about being right.
Last time I checked, not everyone is racist. Not everyone is homophobic. Not everyone is sexist. Not everyone deliberately discriminates. Not everyone is out to offend.
Being right does not make you better, being right does not mean that you get to infringe upon another's right to choose. And if we are honest, a lot of being right in our personal right is up to opinion more often than fact. I've seen it time and time again in the short amount of time I've lived, and I'm sure that it has been seen much more by those who have lived longer, and those who have gone before me.
A small example from my life is being LDS. I believe in my faith, I believe in the feelings, experiences and the moments that have shaped and made me how I am. But unfortunately, I can't just give those to other people. It is part of the fact for me personally, but to others it is part of my opinion. But me having a legitimate, civil discussion about faith, religion and possibilities within that scope, does not make my personal schema the same for everyone else. The only hope for those discussions is that both parties gain information, understanding, and respect for the other, which does not mean that they will walk away in complete agreement with one another.
But this is not always the case. Being radical about being right reaps no good fruit, and it especially doesn’t when your being right is not fact; signally when it infringes on basic human rights. A prime example is Hitler. He thought he was right. He thought he was liberating his people, that he was going to bring the world to a higher standing and “purify” the human species. But we know he was wrong. We feel it, and it speaks to us on many levels. His radical move for power to achieve his personal goals left the world with heartache, and grief. It took fathers and brothers from their families. It took millions of people’s lives, through discrimination, war, and murder. Being radical does not make you right.
Attaining power seems to be the greatest form of corruption that we face these days. We see it in politicians more often than not, at the local, state and national level. We see politicians that take advantage of those who do not know they are being targeted. We see them being bought to work agendas for certain corporations and peoples, even though it’s illegal, it is still done. We see people that have been in politics for literally their entire careers, that continue to work their own agendas, rather than the ones of the states and peoples they represent. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate every politician, and I don’t think that every politician has a duplicitous agenda. But we have blatant examples of some who use their power and influence to sweep crimes they’ve committed, or been related to, under the rug. It’s their quest for power, influence, and to serve themselves, that is completely without integrity, and it’s this radical quest, radical attitude, and radical selfishness that destroys people, and destroys nations.
An example for this one is the Soviet Union. Stalin and his belief and pursuit in his Marxist views ultimately left the land that he “loved” in ruins. It left the people with very little in the ways of claiming things as their own, and ultimately a nation that could have thrived, in shambles. Sure they had technological advancements. Sure they have weapons of mass destruction as well, but the fact remains that all of this was attained through fear, suppression and Stalin’s lust for power. That is not a way to live, and is not by any degree acceptable for the anyone. His radical views destroyed himself and his country.
Religious radicalism is one of the most dangerous evils that we face today. We saw in the terrorist attacks on 9/11. We’ve seen it in bombings across the nation and across the ocean. We saw it in the Taliban and we see it today in ISIS. People being corrupted by the lust and thirst for power, to embrace shadows and infected shells of true religions, that preach to embrace people, and to let them live as they would have themselves live, and not by forcing anyone to do so. Allowing them to choose. It now poses the greatest threat that the world has ever seen, by embracing this radicalistic view.
Now this is most definitely a touchy subject, and It does deserve merit, but not in the way that it is being sought after. Protesting is not meant to be rioting. Protesting should not be destroying property, destroying lives and reversing the paradigm. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest men to have ever lived led by example of love and compassion. He aspired for us to be united, not to find new ways of dividing ourselves, and refusing to listen. I honestly believe that if he were still alive today, he would be ashamed of how our country’s people have found ways to create greater inequality than we have seen in years. Now I said that this movement has merit, which it does, but it’s not about policemen shooting black people, and it’s not about white people shooting black people. It’s about people shooting people.
The greatest error in the radical protesting that we have seen, like Austin or Ferguson, is that people are ignoring the facts. And this isn’t my opinion either. DEMOGRAPHICS. Let me say it again, DEMOGRAPHICS. There are approximately 7.5 billion people on this planet, and growing! There are over 300 million people in the US alone, and still growing! Now we hear about people being shot more and more, and we think that it’s crazy, and that something has to be done, which it does. But the answer is not by targeting cops, or people of a certain color. The answer is listening to the demographics. The more people there are, the more people that will get shot, it’s a sad truth, but that’s what it is, truth. And in communities that have a higher population of people with darker skin, more people with darker skin are likely to be victims of crime, and the reverse is true too. In communities that have a lower standard of living, and that have more corruption and underground systems in place, such as gangs, are going to see the corresponding corruption, violence and crime that comes with it. The problem is not the individual crime in the community, but the unity of the community as a whole, or lack thereof. Radical rioting and protesting only ignores the facts that are placed before them, and only draws attention to and increases the problem, rather than solving it.
Now for another touchy subject. Political views. Now I am a supporter for Trump. I think that while he may not have the best ways of displaying his bases, I do agree with legal immigration, with finishing our War on Terror, rather than perpetuating it. With accounting for the Federal government’s influence and spending, rather than hiding it. With not dissolving foreign ties, but ensuring that at the very least, America is benefitting from them. With making America a country that is self-sufficient. I believe that all these things are possible, however, they are just my beliefs. But when I see people going behind Trump trying to argue rather than debate about how he is a great man, and twisting facts to support their position to the point of them being radical, it scares me. I see people making Trump out to be some kind of god, but he’s not. I see people making him out to be some kind of savior, but he is not. I see people worshipping him in ways that make me nauseous. But the fact of the matter remains that he is a man, that’s all. Putting your support behind him does not make it okay to make him into something greater than he is. He is just a man.
Now Hillary. To be frank, I don’t like her. I think that some values that she has represented in the past are great, and that there has been some influence for good in her lifetime, but she is not young. She has had many years to make good and bad in the world. And I simply cannot see any good that she has done that has stuck. I also see how the media paints her to be a saint, but she has mishandled classified documents, she has accepted donations from foreign entities for her campaign, and she has shown blatant disregard towards those that fight for and defend our country. I think that some of the ideas she has are valid though. While I don’t think that city-sized sanctuaries are a good idea, I do think that becoming a citizen is a little preposterous. If a natural born US citizen in High School can’t pass the same test it takes to become a citizen, then something is wrong. Either it shouldn’t be a natural right to become a full-fledged citizen just by being born here, or the test needs some revisions. Should there be background checks and looking into the history behind immigrants, I believe so, but to come to America, and embrace the dream that anyone can come from anywhere, and work and build a life here, that should be available. But I see people backing, being radical in their support, behind Hillary with unsubstantiated fact, and see them painting her as some paint Trump, as a goddess or savior, but it’s not that way. She is human, and someone that has a history that should not be ignored as it has. I do not believe that she would be a great president. Plain and simple.
Now to end with something simple. Do I disagree with standing for the flag? Yes. I believe that it stands for those who have laid their lives down for us. Those who fight for us every day, and everyone that has ever fought for and worked to preserve our liberties. But it's these very liberties that allow people to say they want to make a point, that they want attention drawn to a cause. Are there better ways of doing it? I believe so. Do I agree to the cause to which the attention is supposed to be drawn to? No. But that's my right to choose, it's everyone's right to choose. That right should be respected. Radical views about anything do not yield good fruits.
Not everyone is racist. Not everyone is homophobic. Not everyone is sexist. Not everyone deliberately discriminates. Not everyone is out to offend. Not everyone is corrupt. Not everyone is a criminal. Not everyone is working against you or me.
Let’s work to understand and see the facts. Let’s work to be pensive and patient, and slow to anger. Let’s work to discuss and debate with civility rather than proclaiming our opinions as fact, and working to destroy one another. Let’s throw divisiveness out the window, and bring unity by the hand in through the door. If we see a problem, let’s work together to bring it to attention, but also to bring about its solution. But at the very least, let’s work to have compassion towards each other, and to show that while we may disagree about things or positions, we can still show love to one another. Radicalism is the problem. Compassion is the solution.
