Dear liberals,
I am done listening to you. I am done trying to debate you. I am done trying to have a discussion with you in forums of your choice. I am done trying to live alongside you. I am done trying to support your right to speak your mind. And do you understand why? Because you have given no consideration to positions or thoughts beyond your own. For an ideology that proclaims to be kind, humane, compassionate, tolerant, and empathetic, I have seen none of it when our beliefs diverge.
I am writing you this letter because I, and many other people stuck in the middle of the two major political parties, are tired of being called all sorts of hideous, ugly, and terrible names. I am writing this because instead of telling me how my argument is wrong, you instead hurl insults and pejoratives, telling me that I am the problem. Over the last few months, I have been labeled a bigot, racist, homophobe, transphobe, abuser of women, idiot, garbage, trash, moron, fat f***, nazi, cultist, and the list goes on. All from people who proclaim to be loving, caring, and kind.
I use vocabulary and stats in my arguments. I have discussions with people I disagree with regularly. I look up things and do my best to remember them. And yet, when I use large words, I’m accused of trying to sound “smart” and that I think I know more than I know. My intelligence is questioned, denied, or attacked on a regular basis. I have two Associates degrees (History and Humanities), and while that may not be a PHD from an ivy league school, it is an achievement nonetheless.
There is a disconnect in what you want and what you say you want. What I hear you say you want is equality, what you want is special treatment. What you say you want is for people’s humanity to be recognized and respected. What you want is for people who disagree with you to be silenced. What I hear you say you want is for people to be taken care of. What you want is for people to be dependent on you. You talk about privilege as if it is reserved for only your enemies. You talk about oppression as if it is reserved for only your allies. I hear you talk about responsibility, but you refuse to take any for yourselves.
It is precisely this disconnect that turns off many people in the middle. To me and them, being consistent and reliable are virtues. And yet what I see and hear is that the only constant is that if I disagree with you, then I am an enemy. Not wrong, not a differing opinion, an enemy. This undermines the foundation of this country and the very ideas that you claim you want. If you want me to believe that we really are all in this together, then act like it.
Ideas are wonderful and powerful things. They can change the world. Words can stir the hearts and minds of men and women to look deep inside themselves and challenge their own world view. Stories can inspire people to be better. But the ideas that I see from liberals are blame and hypocrisy. Those aren’t winning arguments. They will result in the destruction of the actual ideals that you want, and instead pervert them into some unrecognizable thing.
So going forward, I will not challenge your ideas. I will not debate you. I will not engage in dialogue about politics or where our opinions differ. If your method of argument is to tell me I am the problem, I will simply dismiss you. And it will be your life that’s the poorer for it.
Sincerely,
Me.
Note: Featured image provided by Alan Levine. Check out more through the link.
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