It’s a phrase, as well as the abundant derivatives, that never seem to be properly understood. Sept. 1st gave the United States the kick it needed to reflect on the term, and to no one’s surprise, the wildfire was immediately underway. Texas House Rep. Michael McCaul argued this week that Republicans were “very offended,” and some Republicans were quick to argue that President Biden has now officially become the “divider in chief” after cosplaying unity during his inauguration. Some were quick to criticize the presence of Marines. Some criticized the inflection of Democratic policy as the “right answer” to America’s problems. Whatever one may argue, there was still substance that trumped all of the issues.
In a time where everyone in this country believes they are right and immune to being wrong, we must assess the basic concept of what being wrong is. In the land of extremes, the average person believes that every person in the opposing political party is the problem. In the land of normalcy, the average person believes that only some of the people in the opposing political party are the problem. Even better, in normalcy, the average person recognizes all factors that constitute a problem and who is actually connected to them. In the land of extremes, the average person will do whatever it takes to make things seem connected for the sake of their own ideology. People in the extremes are less likely to believe they are wrong unlike the people in normalcy. While some may think otherwise, self-awareness is at an all time low in the United States, as both major political parties now share guilt in blurring the lines between normalcy and the extremes.
Whether one likes it or not, the Republican Party is not only sliding farther to the right, but also further into ignorance, and that is thanks to the unflinchingly loyal constituency Biden mentioned in his speech. The Democratic Party is bullying itself by constantly shifting the goalpost for what constitutes progressiveness; however, Democrats remain closer to their older selves than the Republicans. Yet, the average American appears to overlook what’s happening to their own party when assessing the other. In turn, the lack of self-awareness feeds into the vicious cycle of “everyone who doesn’t believe in what I believe in is wrong no matter what”, that has taken the country by storm in recent years.
Democracy is a system that transcends the power of the individual while functioning on individual participation. Through it all, Biden may very well have a point when he said “everyone’s entitled to be an idiot” a few days later. The real question is whether you’re one of them and whether you’re destined to make the world, or rather America, a better place. The only issue is, what does that mean nowadays?