Hello... they're not listening. They're. Not. GODDAMN. Listening. And you're going in circles.

Are ya ready?
Got your voter card all spiffed up and ready to use?

The (Shiny! Glittery! All-new and different!) voter carousel is already whipping around madly. Gonna be pickin' up speed until November. Yahoo.

Gotta say centrifugal force seems to be the only thing holding our prospective 'representatives' on their horses.

None of them (horses or representatives) seem to be very well put together or tightly bolted. I'm sure I could come up with some remarks about nuts and screwing and how it's happening to us all, but most people have already made up their minds that the whole problem is the other guy.

If you're a Democrat, the problem is the Republicans. And if you're a Republican, the Democrats are to blame. None of them are willing to take any responsibility for the mess we're in. The ONLY WAY to fix EVERYTHING, all at once? VOTE for the right party!!

And if you don't believe that, if you somehow believe that we are OWED BETTER, then according to a lot of people out there, you're the one with the problem!

That's right. If you believe you're entitled to adequate representation and that the people we elect should be answerable to us, you're just not thinking correctly.

That's part of the reason we're in such a goddamn mess they say... our unrealistic and completely ridiculous expectations.
Accountability?
Getting what we thought we were voting for?
How does that work?

Sit down and shut up. You're hopeless.
YOU ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS!!

Actually, when's the last time you could vote *for* anything?
I'm not asking as a partisan voter, either.

Just a fellow human on the merry-go-round.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So the (rahrah!!) voters are on their go-rounds of choice, some riding the blue ponies, some on the red.

Most of them don't seem to notice that there really isn't an actual destination, their horses are moving, so they just think they're going somewhere.All they know is that their blue horse is ahead of those (ignorant, cousin-humping, clinging-to-their-bibles-and-guns redneck deplorables) damn red ones.
Or that their red horse is a much better and stronger horse than the blue horses being ridden by those save-the-planet idiots who shout that bullshit message from their fleets of private jets and go home to one of their 10 mansions, enjoy their free healthcare and laugh all the way to the bank liberals.

And instead of realizing that the carousel is simply going in circles instead of going toward any sort of destination, everyone on the rides spends most of their time hating the people who are riding the "wrong" horses. Pointing at them. Calling them names. Paying no attention to the scruffy animals controlling the ride.

Another ridiculous thing.
Some of the riders are carrying flags. One, two, five... they can carry quite a few.
These are special flags, used to show extraordinary things about certain riders. You'll see them on blue horses and on red ones. You'll be able to recognize how special those people are by their demeanor... noses in the air and a nauseatingly pompous attitude.

Both major parties excel at virtue signaling, an easy way to show your perceived moral superiority without having to actually do anything other than point at (or ignore) lesser beings and sniff derisively. Neither party has cornered the market on being superior, though.

Excerpt from the Wiki I linked above:
'In an article from The Guardian, David Shariatmadari argues that the typicality of virtue signaling to show off one's own values makes it no different than the acts that it was supposed to abhor. That is, virtue signaling is designed to call out individuals on their lack of action, but the very act of doing so is an act of virtue signaling in itself. He addresses the recognition of one's virtue signaling as "smug" and points out that it comes from individuals with a false sense of power or superiority.'

Raise your hand if you know at least one person who's constantly doing this.
It's like a preemptive strike... puff yourself up and say how much you're for _______ before someone accuses you of not being on the right side.

I'm getting tired of seeing it, especially from people who may not be as virtuous as they pretend to be.

I'm okay with a large variety of ways of looking at things.
I'm okay with people who disagree with me, too.
Just don't pretend you're without 'sin', you fucking hypocrite.

And let's have a dialog about it, not pretend the issue doesn't exist.
We don't have to agree. We just need to be open to discussion.

I actually tried that last week.
(Week before... oh wait... January 4. Time flies.)

I posted an article and suggested we save our venom and vitriol for the people who have done this to us rather than our friends and neighbors. I should have just posted the article without commentary, since some of my "friends" didn't actually click on the link before taking a swing at me.

Not only was I called a liberal AND a republican via messenger (not by the same person, however)  I  attempted to discuss and was shouted down in short order, I got a smarmy and condescending 'agree to disagree because I love and respect you' from Brenda (WTAF???You didn't even read the link, you disagree that we should treat friends and family as such and save our anger for those who deserve it? M'kay...) none of the people involved have reached out in any way to talk about it.

And that whole agree to disagree thing is the same dishonest crap as "Well, I love you but I don't approve of your lifestyle/hate the sin but not the sinner."

Sanctimonious drivel.

If you've surmised that it really rubbed me the wrong way, you're correct.

At least one of those individuals gets paid to listen, too.
To evaluate both sides and try to help people come to an agreement.
How's that for irony?
She didn't even click on the goddamn link before patronizing me.

Just another casualty, run over by the horses.
No room for discussion, ever.

I posted the link in the first place because I'm just so tired of people hating each other instead of talking.

I tried to discuss.

Being dismissed without a moment's consideration for my feelings or thoughts isn't my favorite thing and it stopped me from making any more effort.
I won't try again.

Another kind of player in the game are the passive/aggressive Shirleys, named after an actual girl I went to school with.  Shirley was afraid to just state her feelings because she was afraid someone might not like her, so she'd say, "Hey, what do you think about ____?"

Then she'd listen carefully to all the nuances and all the gossip.

Shirley never did state her own opinion. Instead she'd visibly align herself with the people who could stand up and bluster without fear. The side she thought would win, usually the one with the majority of popular kids.

She wouldn't be mean to anyone, not in a straightforward way.
Disingenuous, our Shirley.

This whole thing feels like 7th grade.
People may not actively be bullying, but  that brand of virtue signalling (agree to disagree... look at me everybody, I'm taking the high road!!!) is a form of bullying.

There are many reasons to stay away from Brendas and Shirleys and the people they hang out with.

Regretfully, unless something changes, I'll be doing that.
I felt like I deserved more respect, but I guess not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So.
People.
The horses you're riding aren't heading for a destination.
Please.
Look around.
In your lifetime, have any of the horses gone somewhere?

Or let me rephrase that, have any of them gone to a place that would be helpful or do something good for you or yours? Somewhere productive or constructive?

Why do you think it's going to be different this time?

And why are you angry with your friends and neighbors when they're not the ones who did this to you?

Tell me.
Please.