Is This Presidency Really Killing Relationships?

President Trump is solely responsible for the hatred, anarchy, and divisiveness in this country. He is the reason friendships are being exposed as lies and relationships are being mourned. 

How do I know this? 

Because this is what is being spouted from celebrities, media outlets, and social media. It is what people are sharing on their feeds and, from the looks of it, actually believing.

The latest evidence of this appeared on my feed today, as someone I respect and know to be a strong woman, an amazing mother, and just an all-around good person, someone I have often wished I could be more like, shared on her feed, with others agreeing. 

The article is by John Pavlovitz, whom I’d never heard of before but one click revealed to be a revered writer, widely accepted as a person of influence- largely by those with a liberal leaning or far left pride. 

Titled “This Presidency is Killing Relationships- and We’re All Grieving,” the article opens by lamenting the loss of friendships everywhere. At first it appears to be a piece that accurately represents what many Americans are feeling across all party lines; the dismay accompanying watching people we know, love, and respect being seized with anger and projecting that anger at anyone who disagrees with them. It talks about people rejecting science. Up to that point I was with him. But he lost me immediately after that.

Here is what Pavlovitz is preaching: 

First he talks about complete disconnect between people’s “past good and  present ugliness” and the “explosion of racism on social media.” These are inflammatory words that do a great job of invoking a heightened level of emotion in the Reader while being extremely misleading at the same time.

There has not been an ”explosion” of racism.

Racism has simply been hijacked to promote political agendas.  The word is being slung at anyone who does not plaster Black Lives Matter all over their social media or apologize  for “white privilege” or “white fragility.”

Woe be it to the one who points out the gaping difference between the proudly Marxist organization and the actual just cause. And God help the person who points out that most Law Enforcement Officers are good people performing a critical service. In fact, this entire country was united after the George Floyd murder, and that unity was instantly and intentionally shattered by the Black Lives Matter Marxist organization, which trampled all over the true message and the just cause for the sake of it own agenda.

Pavlovitz continues and I quote:

“ I can microscopically parcel out every conceivable contributing factor: white supremacy, the pro-life lie, Fox News propaganda, toxic masculinity, Evangelical indoctrination, intellectual laziness, manipulated nationalism, unchecked capitalism, hatred for Hillary, political fatigue, disenfranchisement, fear of replacement, and celebrity worship:…”  

Wow. Did you catch all that? Did you see how brilliantly he set it all up, too?

First he appealed to people’s pain- because it is true that there is a cosmic shift in inner circles and professional relationships everywhere. And it is sad to realize relationships we believed to be built on mutual respect are in fact based on superficial threads. So he’s got Readers hooked and their emotions invested. Then he levels up with the outrage over racism, creating next level emotions. That’s right where he wants his readers.

Now the Reader is more receptive to whatever he says next, and that’s when he fills those open hearts with the one-sided bullshit that is precisely what he is pretending to be better than. 

Pavlovitz had an opportunity to connect everyone through this piece, to build on common ground. Instead he manipulated emotions to advance the cause of divisiveness – sound familiar? 

The more accurate, “microscopic parceling out of every conceivable contributing factor” to this phenomenon sweeping our country would be: 

–White supremacy, Antifa & all the hate-based groups being given free rein to spread their poison and commit violent crimes under the protection of elected officials

–The pro-choice refusal to recognize a human life is not a choice at all and the segment of pro-lifers who condemn women when compassion is the solution

–ALL news propaganda- including HIS article

–The rejection of science and the rise of new genders as a blanket  “cure” for confused hearts and minds instead of proper support and a case-by-case in depth approach to the root causes of that distress

–The attack on faith

–Weaponized patriotism

–The call for socialism and condemnation of capitalism 

–Hypocrisy and abuse of power 

–The hijacking of just causes for openly Marxist agendas

–The “Deny and counter accuse” tactic being used as an effective strategy to achieve anarchy

I’ll grant him the last few on that list: “political fatigue, disenfranchisement, and celebrity worship:… ” are accurate. But I suspect we have different interpretations of those.

This article is like a day packed with sunshine but which is still -20 degrees. It is deceptively inviting and dangerously deceiving. It is enough to lure unsuspecting people out into that sunshine and convince them it is warm.

In fact, this article itself, and sharing it, actually promotes the very things it professes to be weary of while pretending to be unbiased and a champion for good.

But I can’t begrudge the man. He clearly has an agenda and knows how to achieve it. I can’t fault him for that I suppose because I actually respect his right to disagree with me. Come to think of it I almost walked right out into that freezing cold sunny day too.

I have been mourning the illusions of friendships and even family that I’d been holding on to. I have been shocked to have people I know, love, and respect offer to “educate me” on the right way to think rather than invite an open conversation in which they were interested in my beliefs as well. I have noticed walls of silence where comments and interactions once appeared on my feeds- but not on my part.

This is from people who have rejected me not because I have called them disparaging names or attacked them as a person, but because I questioned their stances and sought to dig deeper into their rationale for holding those views. I wanted to understand why they feel and believe what they do so that I can better understand them, and learn things I may not have known.

On occasion my invitation is accepted and I am able to have that conversation. I do always learn something from those. But for the most part the invitation is declined just like every invitation for my 16th birthday party was, and I wait alone in a room. It turns out that these “friends” I have are not actually interested in me as a person, or learning something new themselves.

One person, though, did graciously offer to grandfather me in to his friend list even though I intend to vote for President Trump. He would make an exception for me. That was very kind of him, I thought.

Mr. Pavlovitz, Bravo to you. You have succeeded in convincing your Followers that they are blameless for what is happening in this country. You have deftly shifted that burden to my shoulder, and to millions of others like mine. You have shifted it to our President.

You are a genius, really, because these are good people with good hearts. They would never intentionally hurt anyone else. You have further assured people that the lawlessness and violence being inflicted upon innocent lives is simply an unavoidable effect of an evil president and all the misguided Americans who are too small-minded to understand that personal accountability has no place in this new world you and the radical Left are determined to build. Capitalism and hard work are bad. God is bad and patriotism is among the biggest sins there is, outside of defending an infant in his mother’s womb.

The upside of being a straight-up Loser for most of my youth, having been so desperate and felt so alone by the time I was 12 years old that I prayed for the courage to kill myself, and having endured the loss of my husband in Iraq on top of one further layer of pain after another, is that I am not afraid to lose “friends” again. I don’t want to lose them but I will not be silenced in order to preserve a fake relationship. I’ve been there and done that, too, and won’t go back.

You cannot manipulate hatred in a heart that refuses to nurture it.

You cannot control anger that is held in stronger hands than yours and you cannot abuse power over a person who refuses to believe she is powerless. And you will not destroy a country that my family and others like it have given so much for. 

Mr. Pavlovitz has done an excellent job demonstrating that We, the People, can no longer rely on hope as a strategy. We must not assume this country will right itself. If you want to be a part of bringing balance and true equality back to our beautiful country, come to the Great American Syndicate. You will find other proudly patriotic Americans from all walks of life there, in a community built on mutual respect and common grounds instead of fear and hate.