On Friday, Bill Maher spoke of unity in America — against a very funny backdrop of the romance of Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani (see the video for more).
And I believe he was right.
During the most recent broadcast of HBO’s Real Time — and purportedly sitting on the edge of a President Joe Biden — Bill did something you might find surprising.
As noted by The Daily Wire, the host didn’t denounce Trump voters. He didn’t call people deplorables.
Rather, he called for a uniting of all sides.
Stunningly, the host recognized the value of, well, you.
And diversity of thought:
“‘You complete me’ doesn’t mean because we’re exactly alike. It means because we are different. I don’t want to live in a country without the red states. I like traveling there.”
He also managed a joke:
“When people talk to you in Oklahoma, they’re not scanning the room to see if there’s someone more important. Because, frankly, when I’m there, there never is.”
And humor’s something he appreciates in conservatives:
“[T]hey laugh like nobody’s watching. They don’t have a non-dairy, gluten-free, hypoallergenic stick up their a–.”
Not only that, he understands why right-wingers may see the Left as those who dog the deplored.
For example, he understands the pro-life viewpoint:
“Look, I’m pro-choice, but I also get it that a fetus is irrefutably becoming a human life. So, can I see why some people think you are actually the one who’s deplorable? Yes, I can.”
Major kudos to Bill:
“So, let’s all stop doing that. Let’s all stop seeing each other as deplorable. Wednesday, Biden said, ‘We have to stop treating our opponents as enemies.’”
Good advice:
“We don’t all see the world the same way. Get over it. During the campaign, there was a lot of talk about who can unite us. No president can unite us. We have to unite ourselves.”
He’s correct.
As I’ve written many times, politics is divisive. It’s the argument that never ends.
Politics is the state of separation emanating from differing ideas.
And there will never come a time when we all agree.
Nor should there.
The media have appeared to take pleasure in calling Obama a great healer and Donald Trump the reverse. But those who’ve made that distinction have evidently defined “uniter” as anyone who agrees with them.
That’s all absurd, and no elected leader will close the divide.
However, we have become more polarized: The Left has drifted so far westward, Democrats of the 80’s bear closer resemblance to the current Right than that of contemporary Kamala.
And the only thing that can mend such a gap is a cultural closure. Americans — irrespective of politicians — must come together.
But do they want to? Putting ideology aside, do those who’ve cast off friends and family according to party lines have the ability to find the righteous priority of people over politics?
It’s what we need.
Another recommended refinement: Everyone learning the definitions of…
Capitalism – an economic system based on a free-market economy in which one may own his or her own business
Socialism – a system in which all products and means of production are owned by government, AKA the forcible end to one’s ability to own a business
Personally, I believe we’re not as different as it seems — I suspect many of the people condemning the first and praising the second don’t know the meaning of either.
But maybe I’m wrong, and we’re more apart than I think.
Either way, Bill Maher is right: Joe Biden is no savior.
In the end, if the country is to be once again united, we must save ourselves.
As for Blake and Gwen, Bill offered the following:
“They see the world differently and they love each other. What a concept.”
Yes — what.
And if that doesn’t do it for ya, there was also this:
“Now more than ever, we need an example of cross-cultural love to send a message to our broken nation that love can lift us up where we belong, like a majestic eagle soaring above the fray and sh—ing all over the haters below.”
Fly, eagle. Fly.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
September 11th: Remembering Not Only Tragedy, but Something Greater
Social Worker Hit With 134 Felony Fraud-Related Counts for Trying to Vote on Behalf of the Disabled
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