Thread by @caroljsroth

Ok, here we go.
*Tweetstorm ahead*

To preface my tweetstorm, for those of you who are new or don’t know me as well, a few points of clarification:

-This is not about any person or persons; it is just my general but frequent observations

-This is not meant to cause shame, it is meant to cause self-awareness and self-reflection. I am a problem-solver by nature, but you cannot solve problems without calling them out, and sometimes you just can’t sugar coat it.

My political standing: I consider myself an “individualist”. I support individual rights & limited govt. This means, I pick from both sides. I support the right to marry whomever you want from the left’s menu & not having the govt be a nanny from the right’s menu, for example.

I follow people from both sides & like people on both sides, & despite occasional foolishness on here, try to act in good faith. I have also been in media for nearly a decade on stations & programs that lean to both sides, so I feel like I have a decent sense of each side.

So, I say this with kindness and in the spirit of helping, but many of you- my friends, acquaintances and otherwise- on the left are acting in what may start with good intentions but is ultimately in bad faith and I don’t think you realize it.

There is hypocrisy & challenges on both sides, but whereas those on the right think those on the left have bad ideas, those of you on the left think (or at least act as if you think) the people on the right are bad people. We are never going to find solutions with this mindset.

I have seen this with gun advocacy. While you don’t have to be for the 2nd amendment, instead of understanding or even listening to arguments, you call anyone who supports the Constitution and the rights it protects killers with blood on their hands.

I have seen this with immigration. Instead of understanding the challenges of a broken system, you conflate illegal immigration with actual immigration and say those who don’t support open borders are heartless, racist and/or xenophobic.

I have seen this with women. You support all women—that is, until there are women who don’t think exactly like you do.

I have seen this with race- truly, you are the ones usually focused on race vs. merits of individuals.

I have seen this with taxes. Instead of listening to why people believe government is a poor steward of capital and that people believe there are other solutions to helping others, you make tax “cuts”- literally keeping more of your own money- a referendum on being a good person.

You call the right the party of rich old men when it suits you. When it doesn’t, they are a bunch of uneducated rednecks.

You call out the hate speech of fringe groups not even accepted on the right, while your actual leaders hang out with the likes of Farrakhan, unchallenged.

And on, and on, and on. You’ve completely lost the plot.

Even the media itself covers the same stories differently, depending on if the subject is on the right or the left. I have pointed out many examples of the past year.

I understand that most-if not all of you- don’t like the guy in the White House (disclosure: I didn’t vote for him, either). But, let’s be real. He may today have an R next to his name, but he’s not really a Republican (in fact, he was a lifelong Democrat until recently)...

...- but truthfully, he’s an anomaly & his election has to do with a whole bunch of separate factors that I can explain to you if need be. But this stuff didn’t start with him...

...You did the same thing to Mitt Romney and his supporters, who is basically the most vanilla, benign person in politics. You may remember it differently, but I was in the middle of it, and it was ugly.

I'm not saying that the right doesn’t give it back or have their problems. They do-but my observation is that they are finally speaking up after having the same kinds of rhetoric slammed down their throats-being called bad people instead of people w/ ideas that you don’t agree w

If we are going to move forward as a nation, it is critical for you to recognize this and to have a willingness to hear other people. You do not have to agree with their ideas. You do not have to like the people....

...But you must realize that by and large- with some exceptions, obviously- people are coming from a good place with good intentions and see the world differently.

That’s the only way we will remain the United States of America. And frankly, those of us in the middle, which I believe to be a large part of the country, are sick of this bickering and generally exhausted.

It doesn’t matter who is living in the White House- what moves us forward or backwards is up to us as individuals, together.

Again, this is not meant to offend but inform and I hope you will give me the courtesy of believing it comes from a good and worthwhile place. I am always happy to engage in constructive discussion if you engage the same way.

Thanks for reading.