Woke up this morning and realized that the battle lines are very, very clear.

[joetheman]

It's not Dem vs Republican, or even MAGAs against the rest of us. It's

GOOD vs PURE EVIL!

[KS Toronado]

1. GOOD vs PURE EVIL equals Dem vs Republican

[diverdownjt]

2. It has alway's been so.............

[ancianita]

3. Their side thinks exactly the same thing. It's kind of an easy binary, don't you think?

It's what I'm trying to sort out right now.

Maybe be careful, because as bad as they seem, Joe's long-game vision requires that we not see them that way. Just sayin'.

[pazzyanne]

5. Well said, ancianita!

Had a discussion with my rw sister (one of the very few over the past 5 years) just yesterday. I really listened closely to what she was saying and this came through loud and clear:
"Their side thinks exactly the same thing." I left that conversation more informed and definitely sadder. She was raised in the same home I was, but once out of high school she married a very conservative redneck, and, wow! Her brain apparently stopped developing.

[ancianita]

7. The thing about family is

just as we can't pigeon hole humans into staying forever as they are right now, we certainly can't assume our own family members can't at least understand our side, and we theirs. That's the calling of families, right? So we support family we don't agree with. But we still keep showing up and we don't see them as evil and ourselves as good, so that we don't become enemies. I think that's how Joe looks at American political opposition.

I've been saying to people "there's one in every family." I have one, too. My college educated daughter, over age 50. I'm making inroads because all the new information she's getting reinforces what I've been saying rather than what she's believed. We can do this when the science is on our side, right? One family at a time?

[pazzyanne]

9. Exactly what you said.

The relationship between me and my sister exists because I won't let it fade away, and yes, I support family members that I don't agree with. I just refuse to enter into political discussions with them, and keep our conversations focused on their children and grandchildren. Family is important. I hope in the future my sister and other family members follow the inroads you have in your family.

[ancianita]

15. ...

Well, if there's gonna be one in every family, there's also gotta be one in every family who shows up. Believe me, the last two years of talking to her have had me tearing my hair out in private. So you're making inroads by doing what you're doing, imo.

[robbob]

10. I liked that meme that appeared here the other day...

Something about “those evil Libs, trying to get free health care, a decent living wage, etc. etc.”. I’d love to hear about confronting a RW relative with the actual things the “left” believes in and asking what do YOU Repugs stand for? Just TFG’s endless promise of a “beautiful” health care plan that NEVER materialized is evidence enough for me that the Rethugs have NOTHING to offer real working class Americans. How can they be so blind?

[uponit7771]

6. Joe won't have a long game vision unless we label DC GQP & treat them like traiters the

... traders they are.

We are fighting a GQP insurgency against democracy

[ancianita]

8. We are conserving and defending democracy. But when we get to fighting,

we validate their false equivalency and their flawed sense of morality.
That's why Nancy and Joe have made the moves they've made -- they don't get addicted to conflict-driven positions which don't maintain a reasoned public discourse.

I think I see what you did there, so I'll put this out there -- if they thought the traders were the traitors, we'd have some common ground with them, right?

[COL Mustard]

25. I Used To Think That Political Opponents Weren't Actual Enemies

But damn, they sure seem like it now.

I hate that part of our society. Can't we find common ground somewhere, no matter how small?

[ancianita]

26. You can still think that.

They seem like it because our political opponents have chosen to see us that way. But.

We are not what we are called. We are only what we answer to.

The latest political opponent death toll offers a start at finding common ground as Americans fighting for our lives, and not the wealth of our leaders' donors.

Extend that to climate, and we might give up this bs grifting politics and work together to save our lands, not just our lives. They know that the two are so intertwined -- they've got Republican geoengineers, too -- so that right there is more common ground to get to work from. imo, of course.

[Texaswitchy]

4. Smart vs stupid.

The evil is thing also.

[joetheman]

28. #2

[Percy]

11. It does seem that way.

Whatever the breakdown in the followers -- whether gullible or stupid or evil -- they are being guided and led by people who are completely aware of what they're doing. And yes, I do believe those individuals are evil.

[Warpy]

12. I hope you get over that, because that way lies madness

Nothing in life is pure and developing a lightswitch mentality that doesn't recognize shades of grey is what leads people to commit unspeakable acts in the name of what they think of as pure good.

It's what those Proud Boys are so damned proud of. They don't have much else.

[leftstreet]

13. +1

To think such a short time ago the pandemic pandemonium message was "we're all in this together"

[YoshidaYui]

14. "Nazis...I hate these guys."

[Ponietz]

19. That's the crux

Facism is based on lies. This is a political battle between truth vs. falsehood, moral vs. immoral, humanity and empathy vs. greed and ego. I know of no other way to define evil.

There simply are NO good Nazis. Their methods are socially and legally unacceptable and inflict death and misery on “other” citizens. The overwhelming stench of their collective guilt wafts across the earth. Open scorn and public shaming work wonders in containing this fetid ideology. It was always in bad faith and those that subscribe and adhere know that.

Neville Chamberlain showed us what sitting down and working with these pathological carbuncles can accomplish. Don’t legitimize them.

[YoshidaYui]

22. Well said

I have always considered myself a student of history, but I never understood how JAPAN Fell in with the Nazis. If white supremacists thought that Japan was a great ally how do they distinguish the fact the Japanese were not white? Surely at some point they would’ve turned on them right?

I do know that Japan was desperate for oil which is why they got into the war in the 1st place because they thought they would be cut off. Imagine if Japan had been on our side in the first place?

I am pretty happy my family moved to Hawaii prior to World War II. Otherwise I might not be here

[colorado_ufo]

16. I don't see them as evil as much as

cavemen in suits. I don't care what their Ivy League education is, or how many millions are in their bank accounts, or how adoring their supporters are. They have simply abandoned all levels of care for their fellow beings in exchange for base levels of greed, hedonism, power, and lust. Their only concern is themselves and what they want at the moment. They may play the long game politically, but ethically they live just for today and the moment, with no care for the survival of humanity - even their own children and grandchildren.

Brooks Brothers can't make a suit to disguise this.

We need to change our culture to stop producing so many of these people.

[Celerity]

29. cavemen in suits

[colorado_ufo]

30. Fantastic!

[kentuck]

17. Superstition and lack of education.

We need to teach more civics and logic. Young people need to learn how to think with a rational and logical mind. How not to be conned?

[Evolve Dammit]

18. I've lost two family members who ignored Covid and vaccinations. Two other friends to Fox.

[world wide wally]

20. I think they reach a point when their brain just quits working.

The opposite of being "progressive"

[Chainfire]

21. The right is proof positive that hate is as powerful an emotion as love.

The right thrives on hate; it shows in the way that they present themselves. When is the last time you saw a conservative figurehead that was not angry?

[llashram]

23. ahh yep

[Upthevibe]

24. Yes....

I feel the same way.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

27. Its

Sociopaths who are not mentally ill it's who they are,and they choose to be evil and don't give a shit who they hurt to get what they want.

Vs the rest of us with empathy,compassion and the ability to love..