On the EDge: Your vote is more powerful than guns and bombs

October 29, 2018 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — I could go deep here, chapter and verse, with reasons why the president bears a large dose of responsibility for the recent terrorist attacks against Democratic Party leaders and CNN.

I could present a cogent argument, cite instances and provide audio and video evidence to support the case.

But, in the end, it would be shouted down as fake news, written by a libtard Dummycrat on the George Soros payroll.

I could counter the “whataboutism” claims that Sen. Bernie Sanders incited a loon with a gun to attack members of the Republican congressional delegation who were preparing to play against Democratic Party counterparts in a charity baseball game a year ago, pointing out that Sanders never once suggested violence against his opponents or used abhorrent language in describing them, even though the shooter had worked in his presidential campaign at a lowly volunteer level.

But, it would be shrugged off as a rant from a socialist snowflake and more fake news.

The thing is, these were both insane acts perpetrated simply because of political differences that have truly gotten out of control.

Neither act is acceptable.

Neither act is defensible.

Neither act is condoned by sane, reasonable people, of which we have rapidly declining numbers.

This nation was born of blood, from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War and the modern-day Civil Rights movement. It has seen ugly, difficult times and, as we are seeing now, one of its most challenging.

It is time for all of that to stop and it begins with the way we deal with each other.

We won’t solve all of this with guns and bombs and violence, which are the natural result of the vicious attacks we have perpetrated upon each other the past few years.

A lot of people are ticked right now, I get that.

You may not like the president. A lot of people don’t.

You may not like Congress. A lot of people don’t.

You may not like CNN or Fox News or the media in general. A lot of people don’t.

But, it’s time we channel that anger.

Let’s face it, the playground taunts, boorish behavior, clannish isolationism we have adopted as the new normal is simply not working.

We don’t look each other in the eye any more.

We don’t listen any more.

We don’t think for ourselves any more.

We have reverted to herd mentality and, unfortunately, the herds are drifting aimlessly, led by false prophets, wicked shamans, knaves.

Whether it is social media, mainstream media or the alternative media, we are rudderless because of the explosion of a technology that is swallowing us up. And, the reason it is swallowing us up is rooted in the gilded lucre on the table.

The Russians may have hacked us badly in 2016, undermining our faith and trust, but so has corporate America, which has been mining clickbait gold on the strength of manufactured outrage.

You see, a number of those websites promoting the virtue of one political organization over another are owned by the same outfit.

American News LLC, based in Miami, owns and operates the sites “Liberal Society,” “Conservative 101,” “Democratic Review,” “God Today” and “American News.”

The side effect, of course, is the same as that of the grocery tabloids: The headlines have to be sexier, the stories more outrageous, the message almost always one-sided.

Why continue the quest for fair play and the search for truth when it is easier to grunt in monosyllabic babble?

This is, if you examine carefully, the path taken in the dumbing down of America, which has reached new depths, so much so that we cannot speak civilly.

This is how we got to the embarrassing station where we are more apt to dismiss an opposing view than listen or discuss its merits or shortcomings.

Those disgusted with this turn of events often throw their hands in the air in despair and walk away from it all. Those who figure their vote is meaningless, however, are a major part of the problem. They simply do not realize there are enough of them to make a real difference in our governance.

Far too many, though, buy into the current mentality, whether through right-wing mongering or left-wing scold, and their mumbo-jumbo clichés escalate until it agitates the nuts with guns and bombs who then try to rewrite the script.

There is, of course, a much more effective tool at our disposal – the ballot we punch next Tuesday.

But, for the system to work, we have to step outside of ourselves and think in macro terms.

What is best for our community?

What is best for our state?

What is best for our nation?

It may not always coincide with our own personal needs, you know, and the direction you may wish to move us all into may not reflect the voting habits handed down by mommy and daddy. That’s OK. This is no longer mommy and daddy’s world.

Do your own homework. Study the candidates. Study the issues.

This is your vote.

Use it wisely.

Don’t get caught up in all that other stuff. Realize that the system really can work if we trust it and kick all that other nonsense to the curb.

We’re all in this together, you know, and that means having a healthy level of respect for our neighbors.

It means being patient and hearing each other out instead of shouting each other down.

I must admit, I am not enamored with most of what I see on the Washington County ballot.

I don’t like good ol’ boys and I don’t like change simply for the sake of change, which is what I fear we see most of this time around.

But this all matters.

And it is the civil thing to do to

No bad days!

Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: edkociela.mx@gmail.com

Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela