howdy. long time, no see, partner?

i’m the first to admit (per usual) that i have been doing a less-than-stellar job keeping up with this little blog (per usual). and i sincerely apologize, i really do. i love writing on this blog because it’s a means for me to air out my thoughts and feelings in cathartic way, rather than setting things on fire or something.

i’m not a huge “new years resolution” girl. if i want to improve on or change something, why wait until the new year? why not just…start? rant aside, i decided to become a sheep this year and set a resolution of my own:

one blog post a week.

i know, i know. it’s a tall-order for my rather chaotic, anxious, tangled-yarn-ball of a brain, but i think some neurological law-and-order is due. and so, you’ll be dealing with a hefty, well-worded pile of word-vomit every week from now on.

you’re welcome.

i’ll spare you the updates, i just want to get into the meat of what i want to talk about today:

division.

i’m gonna paint a little picture to get started.

today, i witnessed a conversation between two people. person a is friends with person b. person b is a kind person and has never done anything harmful to others and doesn’t even engage in politics with others, including person a. person a and person b have a great relationship: they’re friends who have much in common outside of politics, like shopping and eating! politics has never impacted how they treat or see each other. things are good.

anyway, person a and person c have the same political beliefs. they talk mostly about politics because, like i said, they believe in many of the same things. person c is a bit angrier when it comes to politics, and thinks that person a should stop being friends with person b because they voted differently. person c thinks that because person b did not share the same vote, person b is against them.

person c explains that there are sides. and, by person b voting differently, person a should not be friends with them anymore.

and i thought that was really messed up.

let’s be clear about one thing. about 95% of americans are in the center of the political spectrum. whether they lie more on the right or left of the center line, we really just want what’s best for our country, ourselves, and each other. sure, there are some outliers who are ignorant and hateful and extreme. but for the most part, they don’t represent the majority.

so, why is there such a divisive nature whenever it comes to politics? why can’t person a and person b be friends? why do they have to be against each other?

this is something i know i’ll take a lot of heat for, but here goes.

i am not a trump supporter, nor am i a republican. but, i am friends with people who are trump supporters. who are republican. and i don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

since when does it matter in day-to-day conversation who you vote for? where you’re at politically? the last time i checked, as long as you have a good heart and aren’t racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, a climate-denier, etc (because these issues are human rights and shouldn’t be politicized, but i digress)…it doesn’t matter which box you checked when you registered to vote. i’ve met horrible people that believe in the exact same things as me politically, and i’ve met fantastic people who disagree with me politically. because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.

person c was right when they said there are sides, but they are extremely wrong about that those sides are. it’s not democrat or republican, right or left, it is hatred or peace.

nowadays, we are consumed by politics. politicians are our new celebrities. we know them all by name, their backstories, we follow them on instagram and twitter and have posters of them in our homes (me and my RBG candle are guilty of this). political leaders don’t represent us just as much as the kardashians don’t represent the normal, everyday human being. who you are politically has become a personality trait. we obsess over it, flaunt it. we want everyone to know and dare people to challenge it, just so we can tell them how wrong we think they are.

since when did treating others with disrespect become a normality? including your family and friends? since when did your political affiliation get in the way of your heart and who you are?

i thought the point was to care about people based on who they are on the inside?

i had a friend that disagreed with me on the matter of abortion in high school and, while we completely disagreed, we remained best friends. so what if she didn’t think the same way i did? it didn’t change the fact that she treated me, and everyone around her, with kindness. it didn’t change the fact that she helped me through the darkest times in my life. it didn’t change who she was as a person. and it didn’t change the way she thought of me.

like i said, most of us are in the middle of this battle. we’re being pulled and pitted by elitists who, hate to break it to you, don’t care about any of us. democrat or republican, all of these higher-ups suck. and if you think they genuinely care, you’re kidding yourself (aside from a few key people who do actually care, but they’re a small minority).

so where does that leave us? the middle? what are we supposed to do with that?

don’t buy into it. any of it.

don’t buy into the rhetoric that the left and right are supposed to hate each other. don’t buy into the fight. if you don’t agree with someone politically, but they’re still a good person, that’s no reason to hate them or create a divide. at the end of the day, we’re all the same flesh and blood. it’s time we start acting like it.

all-in-all, i think that this whole division thing has created more harm than good. it’s driving a force between our families, friends, and livelihoods. life is way, way, way too short for this shit. think someone is a racist? don’t be their friend. think someone has bad political views, but is overall a pretty great person? be their friend. it’s that f*cking simple.

hear that, person c?

anyhow, that’s my rant for the day. and again, i understand that i may be subject to criticism for what i think, but at the end of the day why do you care? i’m a girl with a blog with less than 100 viewers a month, okay? i’m really just publishing journal entires at this point.

and with that, i think it’s my cue to go.

i’ll see you next week, i guess?

julianna