Do People Really Suck This Bad?

I’ve never cared about politics. It’s all bullshit really. Nobody is going to save us. Nobody is going to swoop in and make your life better. That’s up to you. I’ve always concentrated my effort on the things I can control. Taking care of the things in my world. My friends, family, co-workers, etc. It’s a far better and more productive use of my time. But this past election cycle has been unavoidable. It seeps and oozes into your life no matter where you are or what you’re doing. It’s been the ultimate shit show. If it wasn’t so depressingly sad and pathetic, it might actually be entertaining to watch.

Because of what I do, I see everything. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name it. And because of that, I’ve had to endure months of people’s political BS. It’s become like a car wreck. You practically can’t turn away. When did we become a society of people that can’t respectfully disagree with one another? For months all I’ve seen are people attack one another on who they support and/or what they believe. Not to mention 2 candidates that can’t seem to spend a single minute talking about their qualifications or what they would actually do in office. They’ve spent the majority of their time attacking and disrespecting each other. I get it. That’s politics. But sure seems like it’s reached an all time high.

Name calling, profanity, anger, un-friending, you name it. It starts to really hit home when you start to see it in a network of people that you thought you actually knew. Friends, family, acquaintances. People you thought you knew or kind of knew, all of a sudden losing their shit, or acting like their opinion is the ONLY opinion. And if you don’t agree, well than you’re a racist, homophobe, criminal, etc. Guilt by candidate association.

I’ve tried to stay out of it, and for the most part I have. Sometimes I feel like my wifey and I are the only normal people left in the world. The only people that can see that both candidates are seriously flawed. But also that both of them could probably change some things for the good. We’re not blinded by everything we read, see and hear. We don’t feel so strongly about a candidate that we completely dismiss other’s opinions and certainly not to the point where we judge others based on their’s. Where are all those people? Can we all go live on an island together and get away from the crazies? I feel like I’m living in an episode of The Walking Dead, but instead of zombies it’s Clinton or Trump zealots.

Lots of people say as you get older you start to like people less. There’s certainly some truth to that. I think it’s more about you having less patience and tolerance for things that are upsetting or shitty in your life. Makes sense. Hell, I’m all about maximizing the remaining time I have on this marble and spending it doing the things I want with the people I actually give a shit about…and I find that number shrinking.

Do people really suck this bad? I hope not. But this election cycle has certainly brought out the worst in a lot of people. I feel like this has opened up a can worms that is not going away anytime soon. Let’s be honest, there’s a very high likelihood that whoever wins this thing is going to be a 1 term president. I know there is better out there to choose from, but they probably don’t have the money, power and influence to be more than a blip on the radar.

Such is life. Maybe I’ll start a Kickstarter for Normal People Island. Anyone in?