Week 9: Politics as Usual
I know. It’s Saturday morning and I’m just writing the review from the past week’s matchups. We’ve already had a game in week 10 (by far the best TNF game we’ve had this season), and I’m just opening up the laptop to start typing away. I apologize, but allow me some grace. I usually write the reviews on Tuesday night, but we had the presidential election, and I was glued in til about 2:00am. I spent all of Wednesday walking my wife and every other black woman in my family off the emotional edge. Whether you voted for one side or the other, we must admit that this election may have dire implications on our wives, sisters, and daughters. And then, last night, I sat down to write this review but got caught up in the Baltimore vs. Cincy game. So I’m here now; all work calls have concluded, and I can dedicate the next hour to writing this review.
But what to write about? It seems as though politics has taken over the conversation in our Reddit threads, family discussions over dinner, and even our beloved group chats. Husbands are arguing with their wives. Folks are unfriending each other on Facebook and IG. Our own dudes are exiting group chats based off “political beliefs.” I’m realizing that we’ve gotten to a place where politics has morphed into ideals. People’s political affiliations have nothing to do with policy anymore; on both sides. Across the country, polls have cited that the economy is the major gripe, but social ideals are obviously at the forefront of every discussion. And we’ve gotten to a place where our political candidates and political affiliations are simply caricatures of these ideals: most see Kamala and the Democrats as a progressive symbol towards DEI, outrageous trans-rights, LGBTQ-everything, and desire for radical globalization. The left views Trump and the right as a symbol of racism, sexism, legacy-patriarchal norms, and a movement toward fascism and dictatorship. No one (citizens like you and me) talks about the cost of living, economic development, government spending, criminal justice reform, labor and employment, retirement plans, healthcare, or infrastructure. And those that simply regurgitate headlines they hear on TV and social media often have no substantiative argument to make based on data. Social ideals started to replace policy conversations during the first Obama campaign slowly and increased steadily during his tenure. But there were reasonable politicians on both sides of the aisle back then. Who remembers John McCain shutting that stupid woman down in Arizona when she referred to Obama as an Arab? “He’s a decent family man and citizen who I just happened to have disagreements with on the fundamental issues.” What a time…
We are long gone from those times when political affiliation was about fundamental issues. And it’s seeped its way into this polarizing Us vs. Them mentality. And with the advent and parasitic algorithms of social media, people now only get fed more and more of what they believe, shutting out any idea of an opinion different from their own. I urge my niccas to read, watch, and listen to ideas that starkly contrast what you feel and believe in all aspects of life: politically, religiously, financially, and socially. I’m telling you, it’ll broaden your horizons and get you from a place of knowing the answers to becoming a lifelong learner.
In that learning process, it’s also beneficial to listen to every political leader from both sides of the aisle to hear what they have to say. So that’s what I did. Last night, I flew into Washington DC to sit down and chat with our new president and current and former political leaders to hear their vision for the nation moving forward. Interestingly enough, they only wanted to discuss our fantasy football league and specifically, you owners. Let’s take a look at some of their favorites.
Well, there you have it. Twelve interviews with the political elite. I only had but so much time to edit the interviews into bitesize chunks for you to digest. But what was said off-camera was most profound. Each person implored us to draw closer as a unit. We each have different ideals and beliefs politically, socially, even spiritually. But as black men, we should be open to hearing out those differences in opinion, particularly because of how close we are as friends.
In this life, I personally don’t have a friend group closer than the 11 other guys in this league. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s JNIC over GOP, DNC, LGBT, DEI, FBI, or any other acronym you can think of. I love you guys…
And I hope you all lose this week.
