Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.

Alexander Hamilton

Most of us are principled to some extent. That is, we have things we believe in and will fight for, if necessary…

And that’s a good thing.

However, fanaticism can be defined (or, at least I would define) as ideological rigidity in the face of clear facts to the contrary.

However, these days “the facts” are in dispute…

What facts, you ask?

Well, all of them!

I remember back during the 2016 political campaign, I was more than happy to engage in heated debates (on social media, of course), defending my ideology as the “factual” one that had to prevail over all others…

In fact, it got so bad that it started messing with my peace of mind…

So, I decided to step away from the fray.

Oh for sure I’m still a consumer of politically related social network content. I just tend to stay on the sidelines as an observer, rather than a participatory combatant. It’s a whole lot less stressful that way…

I still tend to think my way of thinking is the right one. But am I SURE about it?

Well, no…I’m not at all…

So, I don’t feel the urge any more to impose or implore my way of thinking in an attempt to help others see the light.

And what exactly is “the light?”

That, my friends, is the question we should all be asking ourselves.

From an optimistic viewpoint, the light is that all-encompassing truth that we should universally embrace…

As if there could even be such a thing!

Wouldn’t you agree?

Conservatives are freedom lovers. And so are liberals.

In fact modern conservatism is a political viewpoint derived from classical liberalism, which promoted liberty from government oppression…

When you boil it down to that, liberals aren’t very different…

Conservatives would just put more emphasis on “economic freedom”, whereas liberals might tend more towards “social freedom” with economic equality.

Let’s just focus a bit on that word, freedom.

If freedom is the unifying concept that we can all agree on, then why are we at each others throats these days?

Simple answer is that we simply can’t agree on what makes one legitimately free…

Now that’s a legitimate thing to disagree about!

But can’t we do so in a way that doesn’t detract from the very thing that we all agree on – our FREEDOM?

Can’t we also agree that all people should enjoy a similar degree of freedom…that some should not, in general, be “freer” than others?

Granted, there are ways in which we can lose our right to be free, usually by illegitimately denying it to others in some illegal or violent way.

Haven’t we already evolved to the point of collective agreement about universal freedom, after witnessing the horrors that have been suffered, historically, as a result of disagreement on this now (pretty much) settled issue?

So, let’s not go there again!

Couldn’t that be a point of alignment that cuts through the petty crap we are at each other’s throats about?

In other words, couldn’t freedom as the unifying concept be the point of connection that calms the waters?

And yet we’ve lost sight of this simple point of alignment. We’ve done so by making the less important points of misalignment drastically more important. We’ve elevated ideological rigidity, along with the tribalism that bolsters it, over the simple and straight forward truth that we all just want to be fucking free!

Admittedly, I don’t generally agree with anyone who supports Donald Trump. However, I can still support their right to be free to do so. And due to that support I can seek to try to understand their motivation for doing so…

I can seek first to understand before demanding that my disagreement be understood…

I can listen and agree to disagree, without the need to insult or defame…

Folks, I believe we are going through an evolutionary phase in which we’re either going to learn to embrace the freedom we all want, albeit in varying ways, and promote that connection over division, or else we’re going to suffer dire consequences…

In fact, the consequences flowing from our divisiveness are already beginning to rear their ugly heads, aren’t they?

As I sit here writing this on August 16, 2020, I have no idea what’s going to transpire…

with respect to COVID-19…

or the November 3rd election…

or the myriad of other potential calamities we face as a national and global society…

But I know this, that we are all connected as humans and desire the same basic thing…

FREEDOM!

I believe we can all learn how to fill in those blanks without killing ourselves over the content!

I’ll close with this morsel, or, er, food for thought…

Government imposed equality is NOT freedom…

But neither is market imposed inequality…

Perhaps there’s a happy medium?

Fodder for a future post…stay tuned…