We live in a country that glorifies disagreement. Everywhere we turn, there is a fight to be had, and a winner and loser to be made. These fights are catalyzed by our ultra-polarized political climate. In his farewell address, George Washington warned us all of the "continual mischiefs of the spirit of party," and advised against parties becoming too dominant. He said, "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."
Despite our first president's warning, we have separated into a bipolar political climate that relies on the propagation of false facts and backstabbing at every opportunity. We trained ourselves to see strangers, neighbors, and family members as enemies.
Is it really so hard to simply agree to disagree, and then move on?
Without the facts, it is impossible. Facts are the foundation of our nation. More than that, they are the protectors of the freedom of thought and democracy. There is no hope of peace in our country if we do not value facts above fiction.
False facts frame friends as enemies.
Vote Smart calls out for every thinking American to rise up and fight back. If we sit idly by and do nothing, then we will watch as our loved ones become our adversaries. We all have a duty and a right to the truth, and to happiness. Happiness cannot be achieved if we allow the media to turn us against each other.
This is what we all must understand:
The enemy isn't Democrats. The enemy isn't Republicans. The enemy is bullsh**t.
Fight back.
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