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This is an opinion column
If we don’t win this election, America as we know it will be over. We are participating in an election where the heart and soul of our nation is at stake.If that happens, I don’t know if America will be able to recover. [INSERT CANDIDATE] Not selected. As a traumatized survivor of many historic American elections, I can assure you that predictions of the nation’s demise are premature.
The hot tub at my local gym is a fountain of political wisdom. Nothing gets people talking like human soup slowly simmered in a high-quality pot. Inevitably, the conversation turns to politics, and politics is dark.
“Don’t you think we are generations closer to civil war?” posed an older man who would have fought in an interstate war. “No,” I answered quickly. Other users of the bathtub were surprised. How was I able to function as a student of politics at the same time without having such general knowledge? Immediately, fears arose that America was beyond the point of no return.
“Who do you want to shoot first?” I asked.
silence. The water was also still. I think it was caused by the question, but it could also have been the timer. Thankfully, a gentleman showed up and pressed the button, and the bubbles and conversation started again. “What do you mean?” he asked.
In major wars, people kill each other over some kind of disagreement. Civil war is no exception. We have to know who we want to shoot and why.
Clearly, the people who gathered in the hot tub were not the combative type. They had no intention of shooting anyone. However, they were concerned that other people who were very angry about politics could open fire unexpectedly. I, too, pay attention to my neighbors who commit casual murders, and I asked them why our fellow Americans resort to violence.
“America is awake!” one man exclaimed. “We’re taxing and spending like crazy,” says another. “Washington doesn’t care about us.”
I conceded all those points, but still wanted to know who should get shot in response to those concerns. After much discussion and several additions and deletions to the soup pot, we decided that rather than killing current politicians and the voters who support them, it would be much better to vote them out of office.
As expected, there are liberals at every hot tub trying to explain how former President Donald Trump is a dog-whistle threat to democracy. One new soaker pointed to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and asked how we could simply ignore such an act.
I don’t. That day was a disaster for America. Those who commit crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I answered his question, but he still didn’t answer mine.
“Who do you want to shoot?” I asked again. After all, he didn’t shoot souls. He was angry, but he believed we needed more gun control, not less. He explained the need to keep guns out of the hands of madmen.
He was a good guy, but he would never survive the ongoing civil war.
I could have sworn that Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives were all in this together, but no one was trying to shoot anyone, so I can only assume that the heat got to me. They weren’t trying to upset anyone in the slightest.
All of them continued to be concerned that those who are not in the bathhouse will definitely go to war.
Sensible Americans are not going to get angry at social media, cable news, and opportunistic politicians and shoot each other. I would rather go to the polls and cast my vote than take up arms against my fellow Americans. Most Americans feel the same way.
Yes, there are psychopaths who commit horrific acts of violence, but that is very different in nature from war.
The temperature of American political debate is as hot as a gym’s Jacuzzi. Manufactured anger gives us a sense that the end is near. More specifically, political narratives scare us. When we feel fear, we abandon reason and blindly support politicians who protect us from all sorts of bad things, including our murderous shadow neighbors.
Fear is our real enemy and we cannot shoot it. But we can recognize the voices, outlets, and content that infuriate us.
And we can ignore them.
The genius of America is a society that agrees to resolve conflicts without bloodshed.
The storming of the Capitol was terrible, but we need to think about them in a different light. The sitting US president lost the election in 2020 and has been lying ever since. If polls are to be believed, Trump has convinced two-thirds of Republicans that he is the rightful winner. But he resigned, and we are not starting a war. Republicans either don’t really believe in President Trump or are adamant about civil resolution of political conflicts.
I’m not saying we’re in a good position as a nation. We’re exhausted, frustrated, and tweaking our technology. As rough as it is, most of us understand the existential gravity of looking a human being in the face and taking their life for whatever reason. There are countless examples of men and women in the military and law enforcement who have been traumatized by the loss of their lives, even when the cause is specific and legitimate.
America doesn’t have to end yet. Decline is a choice, not an inevitability. Remember what real relationships feel like, not through a screen. Go outside, take a bath, and have a conversation. Just like the jacuzzi at the gym, your bubbling anger will go away if you just stop pushing the buttons.
Smith is a recovering political lawyer with four boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and a very patient wife. He is a partner in a media company, a business strategy expert, and a regular on talk radio.Express your anger or agreement csmith@al.com or @DCameronSmith X or @David Cameron Smith in thread.
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