Today, Michael Cohen testified in front of congress. But as the title says, the burning of his pants depended very much on which team you belonged to. If you belong to the democrats, Mr. Cohen was self-actualizing. If you belong to the republicans, Mr. Cohen is still in the physiological stage of Maslow’s pyramid.
It was almost comical how the two teams played the game. The truth, the betterment of the country or the rule of law are no longer a consideration or afterthought. The only consideration is winning. Nothing else matters. Only winning.
And winning, Americans, are not. One can only hope these games, and lies eventually die, but today, while watching the testimony of Mr. Cohen (someone the President once considered a dear friend), the sad realization dawned on me that our view of whether the games have stopped or continue is simply dependent on the team to which you belong.
If Trump loses in 2020 and you are democrat, then the games will have finally stopped. But if you are republican, then the games will have began again after you enjoyed 4 years of their absence. That is the new normal. That is the current state of our politics.
There isn’t any middle ground, only your team and mine. The hypocrisy does not even properly encapsulate the games. Hypocrisy is an understatement. Malice is the the only definition that comes close. Take the following arguments for example: Blackface and Terrorism
Blackface: When Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam, was discovered to have worn blackface in College there was some noise made by democrats but very little in pressure so as to push the governor out. Yes, the dynamics of that state’s government are something to behold, but as of this writing Mr. Northam remains in office. On the other hand, when Megyn Kelly simply wondered (though rather naively) why blackface was frowned upon she was fired. Here we have an inconsequential public figure. Someone who has very little in terms of direct influence over any American citizens and that person was punished.
Now, if you are in either team, you will quickly argue that each “blackface” situation was different. Different enough to fit your team’s argument. However, for the sake of argument I ask you to take both situations as equal. And as equal, whom should be punished? The person who has direct power and influence over other America citizens, or a talking head?
Terrorism: When the person is of color, any color, they are terrorists. When the person is Caucasian, they are mentally unstable.
Which brings us back to today’s testimony. Today we either saw a repenting patriot or a liar. The very same person will be painted diametrically different depending on your team. If you are team democrat, a person that lied to you in 2017 is suddenly trustworthy. If you are a republican, once a person lies they can never be trusted, even while you simultaneously support a pathological liar as President (whether you like Trump or not, you cannot argue he’s a liar. You may argue he has “good” reasons to lie, but lying a liar makes you).
So what is the solution? What is the answer? The answer is to make an effort to eliminate these self-imposed team labels on ourselves. Stop belonging to a team. Be a person. A thinking person is neither this nor that. A thinking person is a person that thinks. A person that for certain situations may feel conservative and liberal for others. A person that can be conservative about teen sexual activity, while at the very same time may be liberal when it comes to sexual orientation. A person that may have a strong religious faith, while at the same time realize that our shallow understanding of time and life may leave a lot to be desired and that as such, said faith may be more of a reaction.
