You Chose It, You Live It
I think it’s safe to assume that if I choose to be anxious and angry that a massive asshole is our president, I must want to be anxious and angry. If I choose to be bored and uninspired by the work I do, I must want to be bored and uninspired. If I choose to blame some Other for my sorry place in life, I must want to find someone to blame rather than better my place. I chose these things and these states of mind.
Validation by Exaggerating Harm is Straight Out of the Propagandist Playbook
Take Donald Trump for example. His language choices are intentionally hyperbolic. He routinely elevates perceived enemies into traitors to the State and rants on and on about witch hunts and lynchings. The Left takes the bait and wastes time arguing the semantics of his grievances (“Witch Hunts are against women!”) and the Right buys into the faux seriousness of them and responds in outrage.
It doesn’t help that the Left elevates his discourse as assault and his rhetoric as violence. These concepts are simply ridiculous and even the dumbest of his supporters can see that.
Insight from the Desert on the Coming Presidential Election
Working in a casino just off the Strip means I run into a lot of odd types. It also means I’m pretty much prohibited from responding with my own views on politics when guests decide its time they discuss their own.
![I Believe… [Gambling is Basically Buying Hope]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1560614056023-1K6O5CDBR9C3PIR911R0/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [Gambling is Basically Buying Hope]
...that nothing is more desolate than an empty casino; nothing is more exciting than a full one. A whole room full of people buying bits of hope is a gas.
![I Believe… [Pride Should Be Justified]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1560030906186-J5TE4FB0LSXZ47PPZH0T/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [Pride Should Be Justified]
…that one should demonstrate pride in something accomplished rather than mere existence. Thus, Gay Pride (because of the accomplishments over generations of stigma) and not Straight Pride (because what the fuck did we have to overcome except the lazy task of consistent acceptance?). I mean, I’m straight but I can’t say it’s necessarily anything to be proud of.
Anxiety is the thing that’s ripped our country apart. It has divided us, caused us to fear and hate those who think and live differently than us, and even caused us to hate those who only slightly disagree with us. It has led to panic and overreaction. And I worry that American Anxiety is only going to exacerbate the social and political divide in this country to the point that there is no coming back.