Have you seen Dave Chappelle on David Letterman's "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction"? Dave Chappelle is one of the most socially aware people in America. I recommend watching anything of his you can get your hands on. He could be the greatest comedian to ever live.
At one point Letterman asks if he wanted to be a leader. Chappelle emphatically said no. He said MLK died penniless. And so did Malcolm X. He is simply not interested in that.
Someone has to step up. Someone has to lead. And it can't just be power hungry politicians that only are in it for their own self-interest.
I believe I have earned the right to be the moral leader of Akron. I'm willing to be that person. So I'm taking the role. I'm your new benevolent dictator of morality. Welcome.
And as your newly self-declared moral authority, my first declaration of moral wisdom to pass on is: STOP BEING A DICK.
I see absolutely no difference between traditional extreme liberals and traditional extreme conservatives. You are two sides of the same coin You both literally say the same bullshit to each other when you win an election. You both are bad losers and even worse winners.
I told my small but committed audience of Sunday Morning with Sage that I put civil war at 30%.
It's obviously a wild guess. But as I compare previous wars that were caused by one powerful spark, I see a lot of people on both sides trying their damnedest to be that spark.
I made a Compilation of videos from Washington DC march for Donald Trump this week. It just reiterated to me how angry people are at each other.
And then of course we have the added inflammatory gas of social media.
You barely have to say anything to set people off into a bloodthirsty uproar.
My friend and Akron Ohio councilwoman, Tara Samples, got reamed on Twitter yesterday for daring to say the unimaginable:
"Not ONE veteran should be homeless in America."
People were pissed that she doesn't care about ALL homeless people. (an absurd conclusion) Apparently the liberal identity politics of today says that it's inappropriate to suggest one group not be homeless while others are homeless.
But it's just a symptom of a larger social theme of anger sprayed in any direction.
I'm fighting my own battle of bitter hatred on Facebook today. I took issue with this photo:
I wrote:
"You "progressives" are all like "black lives matter" and then you belittle and berate Trump supporters in incredibly ignorant hateful ways. You think you're better than them. But you're not. You are just as unthougtful and hurtful as you claim them to be."
Granted, I did it to cause a reaction. And people didn't disappoint.
They endlessly are insisting that all Trump supporters are hateful racists. Of course that's factually just not true. But it's the party line for extremist liberals.
There is only one fact about Trump supporters: they're conservatives. That's why they voted for Trump. The Republican party convinced them that Democrats are socialists. They don't want to be socialists. So they voted for the Republican. That's it. Nothing more.
Are there racists in that mix? Of course. Are there people that hate black people and brown people in that mix. Of course. But it's not most of them. By far.
(Do you actually think there are no racist liberals? Just look at the Twitter picture above and tell me that isn't ignorant, racist bigotry towards those men liberals have never met. Not to mention the absolutely hateful comments below it.)
Nearly 60% of people think race relations are bad. That means that there is a portion of Trump supporters that agree that race relations are bad AND Trump has made them worse.
What Americans (most Americans) have a VERY difficult time understanding is that, believe it or not, people don't always think like they do.
If you give the slightest damn about understanding your fellow Americans I highly recommend you look at these exit polls from this election: National Results 2020 President Exit Polls.
It's not racism that makes people gravitate to the Republican. It's education, religion, urban vs rural. It's many many things.
If I lived in the country I probably would be a Christian and I probably would have voted for Trump. And I ALSO would probably still care for people and be a humanitarian. (Just like if I lived in the middle east I'd probably be Muslim. Surrounding culture matters. A lot.)
I work constantly with country living, gun loving, Trump supporting Christians who drive into Akron every week to care for homeless people... black and white. (If I have any difficulty about their beliefs it's how difficult they struggle with sex work and drug use. But I'm telling you: THEY ARE NOT RACIST.)
On top of this, we know for a fact that "whites continued to favor the Republican candidate in 2020—as they have in every presidential election since 1968—it is notable that this margin was reduced from 20% to 17% nationally. It doesn't mean they are racist. It means that Republicans have convinced white people to vote for them. National politics is about math, plain and simple. It actually has a lot less to do with any tried and true values at all... Other than winning.
You think Trump supporters are racist for one reason: you've been told to believe that they are.
"Trump did better among Black and Hispanic voters this year than he did in 2016; ironically, the one demographic in which he lost ground was white men."
I know this is going to shock my politically engaged liberal friends, but it's true: some people don't believe he's racist. And others don't have any earthly idea what all us political insiders are taking about.
I highly recommend you read this article:
"The Real Divide in America Is Between Political Junkies and Everyone Else"
The summary of the article puts it very clearly: "Most Americans view politics as two camps bickering endlessly and fruitlessly over unimportant issues."
If you really care as much about politics as you say you do then you would do well to understand the actual people in America and not just your psycho friends.
"A Wall Street Journal report on pro-Trump Latinos in South Texas offers a glimpse at their reasons. Some credit Trump with a good economy. Others see him as someone who speaks up for religion. Still others worry that Biden may hurt the oil industry, where many locals work. Some feel that the Democrats are anti-law enforcement — or even blame them for the past summer's riots linked to anti-racism protests."
Yes. I agree that Trump has made race relations worse. Yes. I think he's a total dick. And yes. I voted for Biden.
But that doesn't mean I now hate Trump supporters. And liberals are pissing me off so much with this bullshit, so much so, I may stop supporting their lame corporate Democrats they force me to vote for altogether. There is a possibility I may stop participating in national politics at all. You all are pretty freaking ridiculous. Particularly considering YOU FUCKING WON!
You fringe radicals on both sides do more damage to your cause than your political enemy ever could.
If I vote for the Democrat I'm a communist who doesn't want to work for anything.
If I vote for the Republican I am a racist that hates healthcare and black people.
You are both some of the worst political strategists I could possibly ever imagine. You have no idea how to expand your tent. You both just want smaller and smaller tents filled with your own shit that you love to smell all day long.
And I wouldn't actually care how myopically ignorant you both are except for one reason. I think you both could actually REALLY fuck things up for the rest of us.
I truly think there is a legitimate possibility of you two starting a civil war ALL because you both refuse to talk to each other.
I refuse to participate in your civil war.
I refuse to take part in your fraternity of hate against fellow Americans that don't think like you.
I refuse to sit quietly as you berate half the country simply because you've never had one meaningful conversation with your "enemy."
Both of you are ignorant bigots that are too caught up in your own bullshit to see how it's YOU that's doing the most damage to the country.
WAKE UP! THE ENEMY IS THE MACHINE. Not your American brothers and sisters.
Paid For By The People for Sage Lewis