We’ve all lost our minds
A friend of mine sent me a photo the other day that left me speechless. It was the TV channel guide at a local gym and it clearly showed that CNN, MSNBC and FOX were all blacked out with a marker. That meant that nobody at the gym was allowed to put on cable news on the big televisions mounted on the wall for everyone to see. They told me when they asked if they could see the remote to try to put on one of the news channels the person told them, “No. The remote stays behind the counter with the staff.”
Why were they doing this you ask? Because apparently just the sight of the President, Nancy Pelosi, Brett Kavanaugh, Don Lemon, Rachel Maddow or Tucker Carlson might send the adults in the room into a spasm of some sort. We really have lost our minds haven’t we?
I know the man living in the White House wasn’t supposed to win this thing two years ago. I was there that night in New York City at the hotel where his loser’s party was supposed to happen. I stood in the tiny ballroom chatting with secret service agents and trust me when I tell you they are never chatty. But that night they were because it wasn’t like they had to totally be on their toes. The votes would be counted and the guy from the reality TV show where they fire people was going to waltz in with his family, thank his supporters for his improbable journey and go back to playing golf. Then he won.
Since that night I have been so disappointed in how people have behaved and treated each other. We have families who aren’t talking to one another because one person liked Hillary and the other Trump. We have people blocking their friends on Facebook because they’re rather drink Drano before looking at another political post. What happened to us?
We used to shake off these elections when our guy or gal lost. Now everything is so personal. I saw a quote from a country singer recently where he made a great point. He said, “Look I know great people who voted for Clinton and I know great people who voted for Trump. I’m friends with both of them and more importantly I don’t blame them for the actions of someone they did or didn’t vote for.”
Why can’t we follow that advice? Who you voted for is not a definition of who you are. It’s just an election and we’ll have lots more I promise. Stop freezing people out of your life because they disagree with your politics. Here I’ll tell you a hard truth that might make this easier to swallow. None of them, republican or democrat, care that much about you. They care about themselves. Period.
They say for a member of congress to be reelected they have to raise $10,000 per week. If you were that person, constantly worrying about how you were going to pull together that kind of cash every single day; how much would you worry about old Sam and Sally in small town America? Not very much I suspect.
We used to be nicer to each other. We used to roll our eyes at each other if the other person supported a candidate or position we found stupid. Now we have people screaming at each other in restaurants. How is this acceptable? And why isn’t our media calling out these bullies for this kind of behavior?
I like to read things that were said or written by people smarter than me from a time long ago. Thomas Jefferson once observed, “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as a cause for withdrawing from a friend.” I can only imagine what Tom would think of us today. I’ve seen people actually post on social media pages that, “If you disagree with my politics then unfriend my page right now.” Really? So if we can’t agree on Obamacare we just flush 20 years of friendship? Good to know.
The midterms are coming and things will finally calm down for at least a few weeks. We’ll focus on eating turkey and decorating Christmas trees and then the page will turn to January and it will start up right again. All those people hoping to send the man in the White House back to the golf course permanently will declare their 2020 campaigns and the madness will ensue.
Just do yourself a favor. Don’t lose friends and family over a vote for someone you’ll probably never meet and who wouldn’t remember your name three seconds after you met them anyway. It’s not worth it. Love your friends, for God’s sake love your family and put your brain back in your head.
Oh, and if this whole gym remote control thing has you down I can solve that for you too. Tonight I want you to watch a half hour of Chris Cuomo and then a half hour of Hannity. You’ll quickly realize they have a lot in common; they’re both cuckoo.
John Gray is a news anchor on WXXA-Fox TV 23 and ABC’S WTEN News Channel 10. His column is published every Wednesday. Email him at johngray@fox23news.com.