I love the reassuring tranquility of the motorway. Especially now. Everyone travelling in the same direction, at the same speed, on the same road. The din of debates and arguments existing in another dimension far away.
Weighing up both sides of an argument can be energy depleting work, especially when things have descended to the stage where both camps are insisting the other is just plain wrong. It's important not to retribalise as a result of blindly taking sides. Have no qualms about agreeing with an idea the enemy has as it doesn't mean you accept them as a whole. Likewise, feel no guilt critiquing your friends arguments if you feel they're wrong.
This should be a really useful time in history when ideologically opposed camps across the world try to synthesise a way forward out of ideas which are like oil and water.
One thing that's become more apparent is how much we appreciate it when Power wears a human face we can relate to, instead of a face that actually reflects the deeds it carries out. A little bit like a harmless box of Chicken Nuggets that masks the suffering of the chickens that hide inside the shell of crispy breadcrumbs. We are a nation of people whose practicing mantra is seemingly "out of sight, out of mind".
In a similar way, I feel like a truer sense of what injustices Power tends to commit is now being forced upon us in the form of Trump, who I think is a bit like a mirror, and it's important that we don't shy away from his gaze and ask for a replacement who doesn't offend our sensibilities.
Obama was the calming and soothing face of Power and so the question becomes, why would we want Power to have a human and relatable face to begin with?
This moment ought to be grasped more fully. Rarely do we get such an opportunity where Power naively parades its hypocrisy and transparency on a daily basis without a care in the world. So thankful this is all being recorded on the internet.
Being nice to each other is not the way forward, it's something people should be doing regardless of the situation. Seeing things from the other side or putting yourself in someone else's shoes or knowing a person's story is also not the answer. The answer, for me at least, is to get the blunt sword of critical thinking out and get it sharpened, ready to go toe-to-toe, and slay if necessary, arguments and assertions that are currently parading themselves as truths.
