I don’t know how other countries feel about the vaccine. I don’t know what the acceptance rate has been or what the refusal rate has been. I do know that in true fashion the United States of America has to put up a huge hissy fit. Oh no, just continue to play into the stereotype. It’s okay to continue to show your true colors and refuse to accept science. No, it’s really fine.
I once saw online a question that was posed as to why people that live in the USA act the way that we do. I think more specifically it related towards alignment of political parties. I saw it posted after President Biden was elected into office earlier in 2021. I saw that and really did some self-reflection.
Why do individuals align so heavily along the political parties? I don’t know 100% when it started but I do recall it being a big deal my whole life. It mostly pops up at election time and then settles back down for a few years. If another major event in the USA happens then typically the political lines are drawn again. But I remember them being big deals as a kid and even up until now.
We are taught that you are one or the other. We are taught that one is right and one is wrong. What I view as the main reason we draw these lines is the simple fact that people don’t want to be wrong. So if you are right and others are wrong, then you have the moral high ground on everything.
You heard me. Everything.
This is the mindset of the USA. You as an individual are always right and if no one else agrees with you then they are wrong.
I don’t ever hide the fact that I align myself with the Democratic side of the political lines. I used to work in areas that were heavily conservative Christian and knew that I was going to be one of the few that saw things they way I do. I also still know now I am one of the few that see things the way I do. And that is fine. Until I feel that someone/something is a threat.
I admit I am as biased as anyone else on this planet. I jump to conclusions and I say things out of anger without thinking first. I play into that whole worldview of ‘Well if the Republicans would just…’ You can fill in the blanks.
But is that really right? Is any of it really right? Is anything really and truly being fixed? I honestly don’t know. At times I feel that the system is so broken and people are too scared to step outside the lines that we just continue to follow the same rut due to fear. I honestly don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know that anyone does. There are so many pieces that need to be examined and fixed. There are so many people cast to the side in order to address the ‘bigger picture’. So many pockets are being lined with money and the small things don’t appear to matter to those in power.
At some point in time the Republican party became aligned with the Christian theology. And I am assuming at that same point the Democratic party was deemed non Christian? I don’t know. I am just parroting to you what I have learned and heard. This belief is the mindset that most have in the USA. If you aren’t Republican then you aren’t Christian.
OH! Also, that the USA was created by God for those that were BORN into the USA. Those that were not are apparently scum? Unless if you are wealthy or famous. Then it is okay. Typically I guess the line would be drawn at ‘being a legal immigrant’. Whatever. The lines get real wavy depending on who you talk to.
So why do we do what we do here in the USA?
We do what we do because that is what we were taught to do from the womb. We were taught to follow the political lines and step in line. If you step out of line then that is it. You are done. Some families will disown their own if they step outside of the political lines.
Now I am assuming if you have somehow followed this weird tangent to here you wonder how I went from vaccines to political parties.
I’m telling you guys. They are so intertwined.
The far right is yelling that the vaccines are not safe and that they were produced too fast. The far left is yelling that everyone needs them. And free health care. That one seems to stick with any topic from the far left.
Why should saving hundreds of thousands of lives be an argument? Why do we have to draw this line? Why do I fall in line with one side and others I know fall in line with the other?
I jumped at the first chance I got to get my vaccine back in December of 2020. I proudly declared to the internet world “SCREW YOU, COVID-19!” as I took a picture of my vaccine record. I assumed everyone else would be on board.
Nope. Not even close.
Most people I know have jumped on board. Some have been hesitant but still got it to do their part to help lead towards herd immunity/the next step. But I know some that have and continue to resist the vaccine.
So should our political lines determine everything?
Well.
They already do. These imaginary red and blue lines have determined everything from the highest office in the land to the simplest home and to each individual.
I want it to be clear I am not playing a high and mighty blue card here. I am simply trying to express what I have seen and have experienced in my simple little Midwestern life.
I also want to be clear that I also fall right into line with ‘my’ party. I fall right into the same trap as everyone else. I am just as guilty as everyone else.
So why do people in the USA behave the way they do?
Simply because that is what we have been taught to do.