The Subtle Art of Making History
Here’s the little secret:
No one cares. Sure, they may care right now. It might currently feel like the most important thing that’s ever happened–ever. But, in a day or two, in a week or two, in a month or two, nobody really cares. That’s just the cold hard truth.
Today the headlines are lit up about the “historic news” that the Supreme Court has overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that has long been the foundation of abortion rights. (I so badly want to put quotations around abortion rights, on account of the insanity of the assertion, but I will refrain.) Seeing people leaping and weeping with joy, or doubled over clenching fists of rage, illustrates just how illogical this whole debate has become.
Get your popcorn, because this emotionally triggering event was designed for one purpose and one purpose only: Politics. So spectacular will be the Night of Rage and the Summer of Rage that follows, conservatives will soon feel the putrid wrath of unhinged Leftist mobs. Everything up to this point has merely been a primer, the opening act for what’s to come.
But nobody really cares about abortion. Nobody would be sitting around the dinner table talking about it, unless they wanted us to. It wouldn’t come up in conversation any more often than say, a random stranger’s vaccination status. The few people that are personally impacted by the issue, for whatever personal reason, would naturally make their own personal decision, within their own personal sphere of influence, after having their own personal conversations.
Beyond that, nobody cares. Why would they? How would they even know? What’s the point in caring? Ahhhh… now that question strikes a nerve, does it not?
What’s the point in caring about abortion?
Sit with that question for a moment. Why do you think people are so emotionally invested in this issue? Do most people really even have skin in the game? Why is it so emotionally charged? Why would some lunatic be willing to travel all across the country with the intent to murder another human being, just because they have a different opinion about personal choice? Can you see how nonsensical it is?
In the same way, the self-righteous preening and emotional capitulations, people falling to their knees in rapturous surrender to the goodness of God — who suddenly answered the many years of fervent prayers to protect innocent unborn babies — all smacks of political indoctrination. Again, why would anybody care that much? The Bible says about as much about abortion as the Constitution does. In either case, one’s personal conviction ultimately comes from personal interpretation–and that’s where the politics come in.
Politicking is the art of persuasion. It’s a science really. Understanding that how an individual thinks affects how they feel, by suggesting, leading, planting, or interrupting thought, politicians can push emotions in this direction or that depending on the desired result. This “historic” decision on abortion is a perfect example of what I mean.
Democrats are calling the decision “outrageous and heart-wrenching, vowing to wage rage in retaliation, and even have the president warning of a ‘Mini Revolution’ due to the decision.
Yet I still contend that nobody cares.
Or, more accurately, the only reason people care, is because they are being directed to care. They’ve been conditioned to care. They are expected to care. Each side is well-versed and rehearsed in emotional response. Again, if it weren’t for the politics of it, who would even be thinking about this issue? How many people would be talking about it? How many people would think this issue is so vital that our country should be violently ripped apart over it? It’s insanity. It political, pure and simple. This is not a moral dilemma, it’s an emotional one, and that’s just that.
Now, I realize there are many people who strongly disagree with those statements. Some people might find themselves seething at the very audacity of questioning the sanctity of the party platform. Notice how I haven’t declared an opinion on the matter one way or another–I’ve simply asked some challenging questions and pointed out the fact that this is an emotional issue, that it’s a political issue.
The politicians are putting on a show for the sake of their own amusement. This entire saga has been staged and predictable. Democrats get to fire up the base, get out the vote, and raise funds with renewed fervor. Republicans get to revel temporarily and rake in donations to help defend this historic decision. At the end of the day, it all boils down to money and power. The second it’s no longer politically expedient, the center stage show will move on to the next act, and nobody cares.
But don’t expect that to happen overnight. Instead, expect this heavily charged, deeply divisive issue to be exploited to the fullest by both sides of the political class. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to speculate the Summer of Rage will benefit both parties, and I suspect they are both counting on it, rubbing their money grubbing fingers together and salivating over the chaos.
There is no better distraction than raw emotion, however it gets provoked.
Speaking of which, how do you feel about these words from Lead Mitch McConnell:
“It’s no secret that we lost ground in suburban areas. We pretty much own rural and small-town America … I hope it will be viewed favorably by [the] voters in the suburbs we need to regain in order to hopefully be in the majority next year.”
This vanguard of the entrenched political Right rightly asserts that the party owns rural America and Small Town USA. He is remarking about the other landmark decision handed down from on high today, the decision to compromise on gun control and institute new “red flag” laws in exchange for affirming the right to carry arms–something signed off on by 15 “back stabbing” Republicans who saw fit to further erode the Constitution to gain political capital.
They want votes. They want power. But nobody really cares. The politicians can lie, cheat, and steal their way to immense wealth and momentary fame, but nobody really cares. They’re too busy eating their popcorn and watching the show, that way they know how to feel about what’s happening in the world. It’s all part of being a good human.
Notice how few people are talking about Ukraine today? How few people are talking about the tragedy and injustice of Uvalde? How the J6 hearings have been postponed until later? How no one seems concerned about the national debt, outrageous inflation, or precarious state of the economy? All of these hot topic issues are just simmering on the back burner, ready to be served up when this sensational news runs its course… at which point, as I’ve said, nobody really cares.
My hope is that you hear my heart in all of this. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that nobody cares. There are major issues on the table, like total economic collapse, the installment of a totalitarian regime, and the death of the American dream, but nobody really cares. Personal freedom is rapidly fading into the sunset of a golden era, but nobody really cares–because politics trump all, and the only thing that matters is what they want you to think about.
Is the Dobbs ruling a major moral victory? Maybe for today. But more than anything, it’s just a convenient distraction that provides political fodder for future battles that will dazzle the razzled crowds. In short, its staged political theater portraying politics at its best—they’re subtly making history, rewriting it in the process, but nobody really cares—at least not about that.