Country Divided, Brothers Divided

An exchange on FaceBook recently brought to mind how our country is divided. I have been estranged from my brothers for over a decade due to political differences when Bush/Cheney invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. My contention at the time was wrong countries for wrong reasons. We left it that we would know truths in 20 years. And we parted company to not have contact since. It took less than 10 years to know the invasions were misguided.

My feelings now are the country is in another misguided administration which is hell bent to punish the underprivileged and give government breaks to the greedy rich. I blog and post on FaceBook almost daily news I feel contribute to the discourse dear to me.

Back to the exchange on FaceBook and a divided country. My conservative brother I've refused contact with for years over the Bush invasion recently commented on one of my shared FB memes -"Jesus Christ Ron--- Grow the F---- up. What hell is the matter with you." This contact reminds me the conservative side of the political system is not bending, even with all the news concerning Russian collusion, the administration's tax benefits for the rich, the dissolving of the EPA, the privatizing of the public education system, the threat of privatization of public assets, removing safety nets, etc. Maybe farfetched, but can you imagine a corporation buying the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or Yosemite? Or, even the Washington Monument?

The country is divided almost as much as it was during the civil war. When brothers are pitted against each other we are almost beyond divided. My brother once told me he was coming down to punch me in the nose. This exchange was over whether President Obama was serializing bullets. The president was not ever serializing bullets or threatening gun ownership. I told him if he thought that would settle things, I'd let him punch me and we'd go our separate ways. That's the epitome of aggression and pacifism. My brotherly relationships are beyond repair. I'm thinking of lowering my profile. My nose at this age is tender and may not heal. I am hoping the countries divisions are not beyond healing.