The Media Scapegoat

"You hate Trump because of the Media!"

"The MSM makes him look bad, but he's not!"

"Our country being divided like this is because of the FAKE NEWS, not the President!"

This is the biggest lie being told today.

There are several ways to refute this.  But I'm going to pick the most obvious to me.

Our media has always reported on politics.  The Republican side will warp the news to fit their narrative.  The Democratic side does the same.

And yet it wasn't until 2017 that modern day politics created this level of division in the nation.

So.  What happened?  Where did the vitriol come from? 

Why are families and friends suddenly resorting to shouting matches?  We haven't always been so disparaging.

Let's revisit the common scapegoats used by Trump supporters.

1)  Hillary Clinton:  This stopped being about Hillary the night of November 10th.  Blaming her 10 months later is pointless and, frankly, pathetic.

2)  President Obama:  The former POTUS is a comparative, but the trespasses of Trump are not explained away by the legacy of Barack.

3)  The MSM:  The media has always been there.  They have always reported on politics.  Fox News had 24 hour coverage of Obama being awful for 8 years.

Honestly, Trump doesn't need the media to make him look bad.  Look at his Twitter, the most unfiltered source of his opinions and state of mind.

Trump doesn't need help looking bad.

He does that all on his own.

There is hardly an objective news outlet available.  So don't blame mine and render yours blameless.  Because I assure you... Yours isn't more right.  It's just as biased.

We tend to allow the old information we agree with over new information we don't.  But why are we so arrogant as to believe we know all there is to know?  As children, we soaked up new information like a sponge.  Today, we only allow that which already fits with preconceived notions.

It is imperative that we allow ourselves more openness. 

If we refuse to entertain the possibility that we might be wrong in a debate...

We don't do anyone a disservice by our obstinance but ourselves.

The best thing we can do is two pronged.

First, we must admit that sometimes in the debate we all stand the same odds of being wrong.

Second, stop the attacks towards family and friends.  Because when Trump leaves office, whether in 3 years or in handcuffs, you can't take back the things you said to the people who matter to you most.

Repose 8/29/17

She's stubborn and grace
Beautiful intelligence
Beyond compare
Grants serenity
With reliable repose
This is her
And it's the reason I love her.

She laughs with charisma devout
An orchestrated grin
Angelic classical voice
Her tone scripted overture
Divine, mortal goddess
This is her
And it's the reason I love her.

When she looks at me
Eyes like emeralds
Gaze laced with amber specks
She achieves
Knotted free ambient space
This is her
And it's the reason I love her.

If I'm her knight
She's my shield
I lean on her for her strength
A resource that needn't be replaced
She's the maiden and the queen
This is her
And it's the reason I love her.

She speaks to me
Heaven sent
Existing between several worlds
Collapsing, expands
Into mine
This is her
And it's the reason I love her.

Wherever I go
I see her, hand placed
Firmly in mine
I take her, she takes her time
But she's there
This is her
And it's the reason I love her.

Aphrodite meets Athena
With a Persephone twist
Janus decides to split
Celestial but with purpose
Physics and rules cease to serve
It's just her
And it's the reason I love her.

In the end, the list of reasons
Defined as limitless
Unheld, unspoiled, unmatched
Are what we are
And what she is
And it's the reason I love her.

M.C.K.

8/29/17

True Love

I've seen love in many forms.  I've seen puppy love.  Infatuation.  First love.  Love at first sight.  Love between soul mates.  Abusive love.  Unhappy love.  False love.  One sided love.  Unrequited love.

And true love.  The kind that you know could last you a lifetime.  The kind you dream about.  The kind you hope for.  The kind that doesn't abate, diminish, or desist.  It has this imperfect perfection.  Where you know every day you'd wake up smiling, just knowing you have it.  You'd fight for it.  Take a chance on it.  Do anything to keep it.  It inspires the artist.  It's the writer's muse.  It presents itself without shame, it is unprejudiced.  It wants what the best friend wants, what the brother and father wants, what the teacher and student wants, what the lover and partner wants.  It changes perspectives and worlds.  It is rare.  It is painful.  Beautiful.  Elation within consequence.  It inspires hope and robs tomorrow of worry.  It grants courage in ways unfathomable and allows serenity in the most chaotic and terrifying of times.  It doesn't judge.  It doesn't quit.  It doesn't expect or request.  It just is.  It's the most powerful thing on Earth.  You are given it at the birth of your children.  But in another soul... It's so hard to find some don't.  True love is a combination of all the other loves you know with none of their pitfalls, weaknesses, or limitations.  It doesn't stop.  Not for a minute.  Not in the worst times.  It flourishes in presence of the two.  In sunlight or darkness.  In love or tribulation.  It has no faults.  It sees no barriers.  It wants nothing but the best for the beholden.  It can weather the storm.  It can conquer the undefeated.  It can't be anything but everything you've always wanted.  It's much more than close to perfect.  Its much more than almost enough.  It's the reason hearts beat.  Minds grow.  Souls join.  Its... everything.

That is true love.  I know this.  I've always known this.