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Over the past week, I've overheard a lot of conversations about how important it is that we impeach Trump. Part of me would love to see that happen, but I'm not sure how helpful it would be. After all, it's important to remember that if we impeach our current president, we'll still be stuck with Pence. It's also important to keep in mind that, even if we dump Trump, you'll still have to listen to your dumbass friends pretend to understand politics. So, really, there's just no way to win.
Besides, impeachment would just be the tip of the iceberg, and getting rid of Trump won't fix all our problems. We're a divided nation, and that's never more apparent than when we as a people attempt to navigate a completely apolitical situation.
I was on a plane recently, and as a vaguely ethnic man, I generally assume that everyone will assume I'm foreign and avoid talking to me. But I ended up sitting next to a pleasantly friendly guy in his mid-thirties named Brent. He was an enthusiastic dude who quickly struck up a conversation and told me that he worked in retail. He then let me know that he and his ailing father had spent four years saving up enough money to take a trip trip to Australia together.
Of course, I immediately assumed this was a terribly important vacation for Brent. After all, according to every Hollywood movie I've ever seen, a son and his father can only ever build a meaningful relationship right before one of them dies.
Unfortunately, the flight left about an hour behind schedule. And due to inclement weather, we were running about two hours late by the time we neared the next airport.
Before the plane began its initial descent, a flight attendant made a very polite announcement to the passengers. She said, "We thank you all for your patience, and we know how eager you are to deboard the plane. We do, however, have a few passengers on board running late to their international connecting flights. If this is your final destination, we ask that you remain seated until all passengers with connecting flights are off the plane in the hopes that they may continue their travels."
It was a simple requests that two different flight attendants made twice more before we landed. Even the pilot reiterated the point as we neared the gate. But because people are inherently selfish monsters, upon deboarding, everyone got up and clogged up the aisle as if nothing had ever happened.
This is a little thing that I saw happen one time, and I probably shouldn't assume that the rudeness of 150 people on an airplane is indicative of human behavior. But stuff like that really bums me out, you know? Like, if a few folks on a plane can't come together to help Brent and his father go on vacation, then how the fuck are over 300 million Americans going to unite to end fascism or racism or whatever?
Of course, that's an overly cynical point of view, and it's wildly pessimistic to assume that people aren't willing to change their ways or fight for a better future. It's also too optimistic to assume we'll defeat hatred and bigotry just because we have hope in our hearts.
Realistically, we'll all continue to strive for the type of governmental change that forces politicians to treat people with respect. That way, we can excuse how terribly we treat each other.