I have always struggled with politics in this country. In recent years, things have only gotten worse. This is why I occasionally need to let off some steam. That is the primary purpose of this post.
This country is becoming increasingly divided. The media has generally acknowledged that both sides have played a role in polarization, but they disproportionately call out the antics of the Republican party. They have essentially let the Democrats off the hook for their actions. Despite this concerning tendency, many liberals have attacked the media for bothsidedism. They insist that the media is irresponsible for acknowledging that the Democrats are also divisive.
Some influential sources go even further. I’m sick of reading over-the-top opinion pieces from the mainstream media attacking the mainstream media for not doing enough to convince their readers about how great Joe Biden is. They blame bothsidedism for why some bad news is mixed in with the fluff pieces
Polarization is clearly one area in which the two parties overlap. Biden promised to represent all Americans regardless of political affiliation, although this was clearly just campaigning. He ran a divisive campaign that frequently villainized the Republican party. He has also engaged in a number of liberal misinformation campaigns. Misinformation is another topic that the media had conveniently portrayed in a lopsided manner. There are a lot of liberals out there who are even worse than Biden. We need to stop giving the Democrats a free pass when they are doing the same things as the Republicans.
If an issue is predominantly coming from one side of the political spectrum, then bothsidedism is legitimately wrong. In most cases, we are talking about legitimate problems with both parties. I will point out one issue where one of the two major parties should be singled out, authoritarianism. Because so many people have been confused by this issue, let me share the first definition I encountered when searching for this term:
favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.Be honest. Which party does that sound like? To me, this is the foundation of the modern-day Democratic party. According to the American media, it’s the exact opposite.
The media has sounded the alarm on the Republican party for embracing authoritarianism. In particular, they have pounced on attempts to overturn Biden’s election. This taps into another concern of mine. The truth about the Republicans is sufficient to make that political party look bad. Even so, we still feel obligated to lie.
What we saw from the Republicans was wrong. They tried to overturn an election. They tried to cheat. This is not the same as trying to completely overthrow the government as some media sources have claimed. It also does not meet the definition of authoritarianism. It’s anti-democratic, but that’s not the same thing.
A lot of liberals have absorbed the media’s deception. This is the primary reason that the less authoritarian of the two parties is being ripped apart for its authoritarian views. It’s also how we ended up with people associating opposition to government mandates with authoritarianism.
There are other related terms as well. For example, I have seen someone post online about the tyranny of not following the rule of law. These kinds of misusing words would be comical if people didn’t actually believe them.
By contrast, why don’t we look at what the Democrats are up to? I have already written about some of the things that Democrats have tried to restrict. If you haven’t seen them, here is a list of what Democrats have tried to control in recent years:
- What we are allowed to think
- What we are allowed to say
- What we are allowed to believe
- What we are allowed to know
- Who we are allowed to associate with
- What we are allowed to eat
- What we are allowed to drink
- What, where, when, why, and how we are allowed to learn
- Who we are allowed to vote for
Among my many criticisms of the Democratic party has been their lack of diversity. I will take this one step further and say that they are all pushing for a Totalitarian government. They all want the same thing. The only noteworthy dispute is how to get there. The so-called moderates want to make the transition so subtle that we don’t realize what’s happening. The so-called progressives want to push hard to make sure that it happens. Extremism has become embedded in the modern Democratic party.
Some might not like my reference to Totalitarianism. If taken literally, I don’t think there’s any question that the Democrats qualify. They have repeatedly shown a desire to have total control over our lives. Most definitions, however, focus on authoritarianism combined with the elimination of opposition. The Democrats have not yet pushed for an outright ban of the Republican party.
This goes back to the Republicans' attempt to overturn Biden’s election. It’s the Republicans, not the Democrats, who tried to invalidate election results. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. This is yet another area in which the two parties overlap. In this case, bothsidedism is completely justified. The Democrats tried to overturn the elections of the last two Republican presidents.
In the case of George Bush, Florida was tight enough that they looked for a way to shift things just enough to overtake Bush. Then there was Trump. Democrats tried to get Republican electors to withhold their votes for Trump by encouraging them to vote for an alternative candidate. Their hope was to deprive Trump of a majority, which would give the House of Representatives the responsibility to select our president. Recently, I read an article that pushed the idea that the Republicans could try to steal the next election by trying to withhold enough electoral votes to send the election to the House. This was one of many articles criticizing the Republicans for their anti-democratic values. There was no mention that the Democrats embraced the same strategy.
The Democrats and Republicans both cheat. They both look for anything possible to tip the balance of power in their favor. They don’t care about fairness. Despite the narrative, neither party cares about democracy. While the acts of January 6 might be the most obvious example of anti-democratic actions, the Democrats have crossed numerous lines themselves.
I should also mention that there is legitimate collusion between these two parties. They have both looked for ways to suppress the rise of third parties. They may hate each other, but they would much rather fight each other than to allow better candidates to compete with them.
Among my concerns has been the nearly total control that the Democrats have over our schools and media. In the case of the schools, a predominantly liberal profession is openly boasting about molding the minds of 90% of future voters. In the case of the media, we are more likely to know what the Democrats want us to know. They can easily hide the drawbacks of the Democrats. They can also omit anything positive about the Republicans. Controlling the schools and media is a very common tactic among oppressive governments. The Democrats have completely embraced this tactic.
Another big issue right now is that the Democrats are simultaneously pushing for a popular vote while looking for ways to manipulate the popular vote. They have generally gotten away with this because these have been treated as separate issues. I have yet to see anyone else acknowledge the problems of combining these tactics.
In some cases, liberals take this further. I have seen Democrats online insist that we ban the Republican party. Some of these have even been in response to articles critical of the Republicans for being too anti-democratic. If the Republicans were banned, that would definitely qualify as a totalitarian government. An argument could be made that these statements are coming from fringe Democrats, but I couldn’t imagine either party rejecting the opportunity to guarantee their own power. There is no doubt in my mind that the Democrats would love it if they could get away with banning the opposition.
Again, I’m not a fan of the Republicans. My issue is that the modern-day Democrats have become downright terrifying. In many ways, this is actually fueling what we are seeing from the Republicans. I was going to explain some observations of how people are responding in this post, but this is already lengthy. For now, let me just say that we shouldn't ignore the role the Democrats are playing in the actions of those resisting out of fear.
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