It's been a while since I've posted here. By far, the number one reason is because I've been so gosh darn busy on other pursuits. In particular, I've made great strides in my music business, putting in more hours this year than ever before. (You should check out my first album -- just search for "Mel Windham" in your favorite streaming service.) I've learned that the less I wax politically, the more I get done in my own personal life. The progress is much more enjoyable than the feeling of participating in political discussions.
I must also admit a second reason. Now that I'm becoming more visible in the music world, I've found that I need to behave -- in a sense. If I'm going around social media attacking anyone's political beliefs, they can then ban my business -- they can tell their friends, and then it'd be good luck getting my products sold.
But ultimately, I think deep down, I'm just tired of the current toxic political environment. I'm shocked to see reports of people losing their jobs over saying what I believe were reasonable ideas and/or objections. And how often do people say: this CEO supports that political cause, so we're going to ban her business? I've seen some go into bankruptcies over items that were not much more than simple misunderstandings. How did things get this bad?
I mostly left Twitter a few months ago and immediately felt happier in life. Like a big burden lifted. Do I really need this stuff in my life?
Nevertheless -- I do still have strong political views on certain items -- but I'm learning to keep them in check. I value my friendships more than I do being correct in political discussions. I have a good friend at work where we would get into the most intense political discussions, even scaring onlookers -- only to eat lunch with him one hour later, relaxing with non-political topics. I try to keep my friendships going despite our differences. But nevertheless -- I do notice that I've lost quite a big chunk of friends in the past couple of years who just can't associate with people who believe the way I do.
It's like we've all become precious snowflakes.
Then again, politics has served to be a good filter for me to learn who my true friends are. And believe me -- I have a LOT of respect for anyone who disagrees with me on so many items and still keeps me around. (A hint: we all disagree with any other random person on SOME deeply held belief -- if we knew the full truth, would we have any friends left?)
But still -- in today's environment, I no longer feel safe saying ... well ... anything. Even that good friend I mentioned from work -- we no longer talk politics -- we both know the environment is just too toxic.
Those who know me know how well I make friends, and how I get my friends to become friends with each other. I am the ultimate moderate. I always strive to accentuate the items where we agree on things -- and when you think about it -- if you were to pick a random person, you're both likely to agree 90% on just about everything. I've even had one person tell me at work: "we'll never be friends" only to now be friends -- well maybe good acquaintances. Funny thing is: today this friend and I are near 100% in agreement on political items, as we have both matured in our beliefs. We're both moderates now.
The problem: there is just so much HATE. Say the wrong buzz word, and all hell rains down. Then there is nothing you can say to be forgiven. It all reminds me of my favorite nightmare: where I'm in heaven, but we can still make mistakes -- and if we make just one mistake, that's it -- down to hell. And the nightmare was how much everyone hated being in heaven, and we were afraid to do ... just about anything.
And oh, how much I wish we could speak openly and still get along with each other. Because, more than ever before, we desperately need to be able to do so. More than any other time in my lifetime, I've never seen things get this bad. I've never before seen the possible end of our nation and our freedoms. If we could just ... talk ... then we could work things out. We could diffuse this toxic environment, and we could find solutions ... together.
What can we do about this? I'm not sure. Right now I feel I can only stay out of it all, continue enjoying my musical progress, and hope everything diffuses itself and goes back to normal. Perhaps it's already too late? Or perhaps the madness/wisdom cycle will swing back towards wisdom on its own? All I can do is hope for the best?
If I may suggest a filter for you to consider: we may be able to weed out the HATE collectively. If a political figure teaches you to hate any particular group of people, whether by race, nationality, religion, political beliefs, or any other label we can slap on anyone, then do NOT support that candidate. They contribute GREATLY to the problem.
Some readers may laugh and say: "But Mel, that filter doesn't leave very many politicians." Sadly that might be true. However, politicians who don't spread HATE do exist. Unfortunately they are the ones being forced out of office nearly everywhere, but they are exactly the politicians we need: the ones who promote LOVE, cooperation, synergy (7 Habits), and so on. If we can support those politicians, then I think we'd come out ahead.
Then we'd again be able to wax politically while keeping our friends and livelihoods.
