I've been around long enough to watch a lot of presidents come and go, and one thing hasn't changed: everybody's always sure this is the term that finally breaks the country. It hasn't yet. But something about the last decade of politics feels different; we seem to "disagree" more today instead of finding like-minded people. Why can't we be in the same room and talk like civil people?
People throw around the phrase "Trump Derangement Syndrome" a lot these days. I'm not here to litigate whether that's a real thing or a talking point; smart people land on both sides of that one, and it usually says more about who's talking than what's actually true. What I do know is this: political intensity, whatever you want to call it, has a cost. And most of us are paying it without noticing.
So here's my Old, Bold, and Bald advice, no diagnosis required:
1. Social media isn't the place for your unfiltered opinions.
It's not a conversation; it's a platform with an audience you can't see. Nobody's mind changes because of a heated 11pm post. But someone will screenshot it. Someone always does. If you've got something to say, say it to an actual person, over actual coffee or a simple phone call, where tone survives and you can read the room and not hide behind a keyboard.
Just don't put it on social media. I had a friend that kept posting things without fact checking. When I would point out the inaccuracies or the dated material. I would get beat up because I was from Minnesota and "should know better." My response to a couple people that said was that I left over 40 years ago and that it when I quit drinking that kook aid.
I simply responded that I had enough, peace out!
One "friend", who was a neighbor when we lived in Dallas, pinged me on Instagram to call me a racist. That was during Obama's second term. WTH? My daughter is Asian.
My first day in a political science class had the teacher walk in and asked, do we want government to control everything we do or do we choose to rely on ourselves. It was at that moment that I chose my side.
2. FAFO is not a strategy.
"Find out" sounds tough until what you find out is a strained family dinner, a friendship that quietly ends, or a stranger's anger following you around online for a week. I've learned the hard way: being right in an argument nobody remembers next month rarely covers what it costs you now.
I have a friend that we discussed the ACA (aka Obamacare). We had a civil discussion and came back to work the next day. That's the way it should be.
3. Coming together doesn't require agreeing.
It requires remembering the people around you are more than their voting record. Your neighbor who sees it differently is still the guy who shoveled your driveway during the ice storm: although mine never do but that's a story and rang for another time.
I'm old enough to know outrage burns a lot of energy for very little return, and bold enough to say so out loud: save your fights for the people who matter and let the noise be noise.
Opinions matter folks. Keep them to yourself.
Until next time, stay
Old, Bold, and Bald
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