Have politics always been this way?
do they have to be?
Public figure, let's say her name's Jane Smith, makes a statement about an issue.
An opinion.
Proposes a norm that society should follow.
You know, what politicians exist for.
To help society converse
and decide
and lay down the rules that we collectively agree on.
John McPatriot sees the statement.
"Oh no... this seems like a new perspective that may gain traction with people and have an effect on our political world.
(Translation - these words ring true to me and are subversive)
Quick! Let's discredit this person!
A traffic ticket!
An affair!
She used drugs one time!
She had a nervous breakdown!
She killed someone in a car wreck!!!!! EUREKA I'VE FOUND IT, YES!!!!!!"
If the words on the page are good.
And the ideas hold water.
I don't care who wrote it and neither should you.
It could be Charles Manson.
It could be Donald Trump.
Fight the words.
The identity of the declarant is meaningless.
And fighting them is illusory.
And you're being an idiot.
"It has always been this way."
That doesn't mean we can't make a thing better.
Even an inch closer to utopia is better than stagnation or regression.
Society must keep pushing boulders up mountains. In perpetuity.
And it will fall.
A lot.
And sometimes.
Make it to the top.