Those gathered at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference made clear they are not ready to move on from the former presidenthttps://t.co/ubK1tk0Pzn

— CBS 21 News (@CBS21NEWS) February 27, 2021

I believe in healthy discourse, one where both parties in an argument can reach a consensus and then sit down and have a beer later regardless of their differences.

But those times are long gone after having T**** as our president.

Looking back now, I truly miss the days when we were only separated by small disagreements in party beliefs. But our parties now seem to be separated by what’s morally right and what’s morally wrong. Our problems and differences seem much larger and more magnified than ever.

And both parties feel so strongly they are in the right, that they refuse to agree with one another. Thus creating a circle of disconnect between people who are supposed to be united.

Our former president may not have a platform anymore, and we may not know or care about what he’s doing, but we’ve been exposed to a dark side of the American people we all knew existed but was just lying dormant. And those hateful parts of our American people came out of hiding within the last four years. 

We’ve learned there are a lot of people who don’t care about your health, your wealth, or what happens to you and your family. We’ve learned that a lot of people still don’t think you’re valuable or important to this world if your skin isn’t a certain color. We’ve learned that opinion is more credible than science and fact are. We’ve realized there is so much work to do and that we are not as united as we thought.

Some people are willing to do what it takes to protect their neighbors, while others are not.

T**** is gone from office, but his cult following remains, showing us how big and loud their hatred really is. It’s disappointing and frustrating and tiring.

Even with Biden in office, making some big changes from the get-go, we still have a group of people crying out fraud for him winning the election. Not only that, we have congresspeople backing this false narrative creating further division. 

This is dangerous not only for our democracy, but it is fracturing the Republican party.

It’s terrifying, knowing we’ve elected certain members into office who willingly follow the negative narrative voiced by our last president. Republicans followed his words so religiously that they tried to convince their voters and supporters that T**** was wronged and deserves justice.

If Democrats had done this, they would be harshly criticized or told to sit down. And we all know that. 

It is tempting to keep arguing with people you disagree with each time they make posts spitting hatred. It’s likely many of them have deleted you by now. But it doesn’t stop you from seeing them debating over articles popping up on your feed. 

It’s easy to give your energy over because you just want them to understand or see how misled they are. You just can’t understand why it’s so hard for them to love others who are different than them. You can’t understand why it’s so hard to love and care about all people in general. 

I’m not claiming to be the correct one here. Nor am I claiming to have all the answers. I also don’t claim to know everything.

But Democrats have the White House, Senate, and House for the first time since 2009. 

So much positive change can happen in the next four years. And despite it all, Republicans and T**** supporters alike are trying to convince everyone that everything is wrong and we’re headed down the dangerous path. They’re using fear to influence, which is an even more dangerous path to go down. 

If we are in a position of positive change, why are we still wasting time arguing with people who simply won’t change their minds? 

How many people’s minds have you changed in the past year or four years? Logic, reason, science, fact, love, and compassion—none of them have influenced one person in my circle to stop following T****. 

I’m done trying to influence reason.

I’m not arguing with people who are angry, hateful, and condescending anymore, and here’s why.

I’m tired of arguing. Frankly, I don’t have to anymore. Neither do you.

Biden is president. T**** is not. Plain and simple. We don’t have to tweet about him anymore. We don’t have to comment on posts about him. We don’t have to report on him. We don’t have to give him a stage anymore.

Any time we ever give energy or attention over to our former president and his party, they thrive in their hatred, fear, and conspiracy. We enable them to be more and more hateful.

Our former president fed off of whatever attention he could get, no matter how critical or constructive. We gave him attention and he loved every second of it. 

He thirsted for approval and found an entire group of people who matched his hatred and felt justified. Now they had a leader in office who “understood” them. They are not letting go of that.

They love upsetting us and making us angry. They love doing things and saying things that are cruel. They love living in their conspiracies and their violence. They mirror the same behavior our former president exhibited. And they love when we react to them for things they say or do.

It gives them a stage. Stop giving them a stage.

The more we fight with people unwilling to have a positive discourse and unwilling to be open-minded or loving, the more we give our energy and our attention to something that is getting us nowhere.

The good news about having a new president who gives a damn about everyone (even those who don’t agree with him) we don’t have to argue with those who refuse to see another perspective. We can focus on the good that is about to take place. We can focus on working toward positive change. We can be a part of that positive change.

We don’t have to cancel out the other party because they don’t agree. What we can do is engage in conversations with those who want to listen and those who will do so cordially. We don’t have to fight with those who just want to fight for the sake of fighting. 

It’s just not worth our energy. Over the last four years, we have wasted far too much energy fighting for people to be compassionate, loving, and united. 

Save your sanity. 

Don’t argue with people you already know won’t see your side. 

Don’t try and voice your point, no matter how morally sound it is. Most of them won’t listen.

Don’t stoop to their level of hate.

Be kind.

Be loving.

Be compassionate. 

Biden won the election. Let’s focus on these next four years with hope instead of being bogged down by people’s hate and conspiracy theories.

We don’t have to keep fighting with people who are hateful and disagree with our new president. In times before this, I think that was healthy. I still had friends who were different affiliations than me before T**** became president. But it’s different now. 

There is a clear line between love and hate. 

We can all see it. 

We can let go of the people comfortable and justified in their hate. We can continue supporting efforts and movements that drive out darkness. We can continue holding those accountable for hatred and insurrection. We can continue being the good that outweighs the bad.

We move forward with love and compassion.

Because love always wins.

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