Addressing Concerns
There’s not much agreement on facts these days. It all depends on where you get your information, apparently. That’s not how it’s supposed to be, but it’s where we have landed.
I think *these* are all facts, however. Many of our nation’s cities burned this past summer, and vandalism and assaults occurred even in Iowa, as people who did not like something in society wanted their voices to be heard. And the U.S. Capitol was overtaken not even a week ago, with vandalism and disruption, as people who did not like something in society wanted their voices to be heard.
Very quickly at this point, however, comes the argument that one side’s concerns were valid and the others were not…but as I said, let’s stick to objective facts…and that is that at its base, people with very different viewpoints caused damage and harm because they felt society had failed them.
Yet for the elected class in D.C., it’s business as usual…keeping score about which of them should be censured, figuring what makes the best political sense for them personally, and so on. All the while there’s a global pandemic continuing, and all the concern expressed about “doing something to help Americans” takes a back seat to settling scores. I’d suggest that’s a fact, too.
But the most important fact going forward is that regardless of your political views, regardless of anything I’ve talked about so far, there is a huge body of people on the left side of the political spectrum that feels angry and left out. And there is a huge body of people on the right side of the political spectrum that feels angry and left out. And there is not a single figure in America that can speak credibly to both at the same time.
A change at the White House won’t change that. Partisan score-settling won’t change that. Meanwhile, those in the middle simply tune out in increasing numbers, sick of the whole thing and not a bit afraid. And that is a final fact.
