Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A war require two combatants. Don't fight = no war.
In this country, we make policy not by brute force but through elections. IF you don't like current policies, the appropriate response is at the ballot box at your next opportunity, not through interim violence born of petulant frustration that your preferred policies failed to attract enough voters the last time around.
This.
I don’t think the Republican leadership, wants a war. I do think they want to provoke an excuse to justify an authoritarian crackdown. DO NOT GIVE THEM ONE.
The average Republican voter certainly isn’t looking for war, they basically just want to live their own life in peace. They most likely are sincere in wanting what’s best for individual Americans and the country as a whole, but disagree with Democrats on what that may be. They want to get along with their fellow Americans, but if their media bubble shows them that Democrats are a rabid mob, they may think that a government crackdown is needed for everyone’s safety.
We need to protest PEACEFULLY, but at this point, we need to go further and make a point of trying to lower tension. The first priority is to try to keep everyone safe and hopefully avoid future tragedies. While as Americans, protesting is a fundamental right which we should be able to exercise safely, when tensions are high and people have to make split-second decisions, the stress may compromise their judgement. Moreover, if someone has an agenda (whether personally or officially), they may try to manipulate events and will likely seize any excuse to justify their actions. When my grandfather was teaching me to drive, he told me that if another driver was being stupid, I should yield even if I was right and they were wrong. I’ll never forget him saying, “You may be right, but you’ll be dead right.”.
The worst thing for America is to allow this to devolve into war, which is a loss for everyone. If we are going to defeat tyranny, it will be through winning over the majority of Republican voters. We are in a campaign for hearts and minds. Show them that we are fellow patriots who seek peace and justice, much like themselves. Both politically and personally, we need to connect more with them and find common ground. Reach out collaboratively, not confrontationally, to neighbors and show them (and yourselves) how truly alike we actually are. Build personal bonds in the community beyond politics. Politically, listen to what they say without condemning them as stupid and/or evil. Have the humility to consider that most complex issues have a lot of grey, and that since no human is omniscient, there is a likelihood that on some point of disagreement, they may even have something we can learn from. We can show them that Democrats aren’t the Boogeyman, but we need to accept that they aren’t either. When Republicans join us and start pestering their representatives and voting them out of office, this national nightmare will finally end.
I remain convinced that a lot of this originates with foreign actors seeking to harm our country and the more we fight amongst ourselves, the more we’re fighting on their behalf.