It is always the same question. So what are you? Left or right?
Umm, for the people. Is that an acceptable answer?
And every time I get asked that I kind of pause because it is never as simple as people want it to be in conversation.
Because I do care and a lot actually. Politics is not something I can just separate myself from. It affects everything. Where we live, how we live, what is possible, what is not. It is not something I can ignore even if I wanted to.
But I also think the way people are engaging with it right now feels off in a way I cannot fully ignore anymore.
It does not even feel like it is just about left or right when people talk about it in real life. It feels like once you pick a side you are supposed to stay there no matter what. Even when things are not matching what was promised. Even when something clearly is not helping people the way it was supposed to. Even when people are committing crimes.
And I get why people do that. Nobody wants to feel like they backed something that is not working. Nobody wants to sit with that uncomfortable feeling of maybe this is not doing what we thought it would do. So instead of questioning it, people defend it harder.
I have noticed that a lot.
And at the same time, what is actually happening in people’s lives does not really change based on the arguments online. People are still dealing with the same things. Rent is still rent. Food is still expensive. Healthcare is still stressful. Life is still life no matter who is in office.
But online and even in conversation, it feels like we spend so much time defending sides that we stop really talking about whether anything is actually improving for people or if those in office should still be in office.
And that is the part that throws me off. Every. Single. Time.
It feels like we are arguing with each other more than we are actually looking at what is happening and I do not think most people even realize when that shift happens.
It becomes less about what is right or wrong and more about what side you are on. And once it gets there, even questioning something starts to feel like you are doing something wrong.
Like you are not allowed to just say “this is not working the way it should” without it turning into a whole thing about loyalty.
And I don’t really move like that.
Because I can care about something and still be honest about it not working. Those two things are not opposites to me.
What I struggle with is how quickly accountability gets replaced with identity. Like people are more focused on defending their side than actually asking whether the outcome is for the betterment of all Americans.
And I think that is where I get stuck sometimes in conversations.
Not because I do not know what I care about, but because I care enough to not want to ignore patterns just because it is uncomfortable to say them out loud.
And I think what keeps sitting in my mind is that a lot of people are not even arguing about the actual issue anymore. They are arguing about who they are supposed to be aligned with while the issue itself is still there.
And I just keep coming back to that.
Like okay, but who is this actually helping right now and who is still carrying all of it regardless of what side they picked?
We are. So, I guess my answer is acceptable: I am for the people.
