“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

– Matthew 7:1-2

The state of the Union, it is bleak my friends. We seem to be, in my lifetime at least, the most divided we have ever been. Of course I am too young to have lived through the civil rights era. I only reference it because I have to imagine that it was an inherently very divided time. And I don’t mean to imply that our division now lies solely in regards to race. What is remarkable is how far divided we have become between the left and the right. Now I know that’s often been the case, but the difference I believe today is almost exclusively the fault of the mainstream media. We are simply more connected that ever. We are constantly being bombarded with an agenda in nearly everything we do. Sports, entertainment, by corporations, where we shop and of course the “news”. The press would have you believe that this country is failing economically, that this country and its representatives are violating human rights, that we have to feel inherently guilty for our so called privilege, that we are killers by association for supporting basic constitutional and human rights, that our president is a racist and a Nazi, that our fundamental right to be innocent until proven guilty is dependent on who the victim is. Did I miss anything? I don’t doubt I have. I’ll add to the list as I go. Let me tell you, fake news is a real thing. And I won’t even try to imply that it solely is a weapon of the left. The difference however is huge. The difference is that the mainstream media (read: the left) is simply much more powerful and far-reaching than anything the right has to counter it. Frankly the very obvious fact that the left counts Hollywood as one of its strongest and influential mouthpieces is daunting by itself. Because what it comes down to is repetition and exposure. And by who better than larger than life movie stars and music performers. I have often joked that as a first-class test crammer in college, I wouldn’t have remembered anything if it was for the fact that they kept teaching me the same things over and over again. Keep hearing the message and you will start to believe it. That’s the fundamental harm when it comes to fake news. The headlines and the by-lines are all the message they need. The claims can be unsubstantiated, prejudicial and pure opinion and it matters not. Read that headlines over and over and you might start to think it’s true. This Kavanaugh debacle has been a text book example. The amount of information that has been reported and then modified after the fact as greater scrutiny has followed is staggering. I’m not going to summarize this point, many articles have already been written. Though you may have to look for them, don’t bother looking in the mainstream media.

So how did we get to this incredibly polarized point in time? Well Trump of course. Everything is his fault after all. I’m serious. Not serious that everything is his fault, but rather that he is the beacon of evil that the left has rallied so strongly against. And I don’t mean that Trump is actually a beacon of evil, that of course is fake news. He is not. He may be crass, undiplomatic, of poor moral character and should undoubtedly stay off Twitter, but he has followed through (or attempted to) with many of the things that those people who voted for him hoped he would. You know, like nearly 50% of the population. Will all of Trumps policies go down in history as successful? Undoubtedly not. Will some of his policies go down in history as disastrous? I highly doubt it. And in case you want to know where I’m coming from, I believe that he has this country’s best interest in mind when it comes to our economy, our nation’s security, and our place on the world stage. Now those things are of course open for debate, and some may be surprised that I believe that about a man that I don’t like, didn’t vote for, and someone I would honesty have a hard time saying I have any respect for. Regardless, I am a far happier person with him as president that either his immediate predecessor or Hillary Clinton.

Am I happier though? It’s been a stressful couple of years. The mainstream media has become a literal monster with an agenda that does not remotely suit me. It does not suit my Faith, it does not suit my sense of morality, it does not suit my spirit. I have found myself no longer enjoying professional athletics, finding myself with ever increasing disdain for those performers who’s music or cinema I might enjoy, and fretting over supporting the corporations that I often find myself doing business with. I can’t help but occasionally ask myself, is there something wrong with me? I wonder how other people in other parts of the country feel? I grew up and have lived in a very diverse area. It’s all I know and frankly find myself less comfortable in an all white neighborhood than a racially mixed one. I also work in one of the most politically charged cities in the world. So I occasionally wonder how someone from a less diverse part of the country may feel about this seemingly divisive time. Of course the one thing that isn’t diverse where I exist is the politics. And maybe that’s the core of my own personal challenge. I live and work primarily among the left and unbeknownst to them I am the devil in sheep’s clothing. Or so they have been led to believe and I have been told by headline after headline. I am a racist, a homophobe, a bigot, a sexist, I am privileged, I am a murderer and a Nazi. I have friends, family, loved ones, colleagues and clients who are far left of me politically. People I respect and care about. They are not perfect any more than I presume I am perfect. We are all human, and as such fundamentally imperfect.  So who am I really? I am middle class, I am a straight white male, I am a man of Christian faith, I am fiscally conservative, I am a republican, I am a constitutionalist, I am a libertarian, I am a gun owner, a patriot, and I am a father and a husband. What’s wrong with me? I don’t think anything. What’s wrong with the world? Lots. But not everything they say that is. I try not to judge and asked that I do not be judged in turn.