First off, I don’t base my views on “what Americans are like” with what people post online. Just about everyone I know personally has just gone off the deep end it seems.
People I’ve known for decades who were “right of center” have now drifted to the far right. Where they used to support separation of church and state, small government, etc. they now want the government to tax the poor, establish a Christian ethnostate, and are openly talking about “the coming revolution”. Meanwhile, most everyone I’ve known who is leftist wants the government to disarm them, claims to be pro-LGBT but blindly supports any Muslim country and blindly hates Israel, and thinks Joe Biden is the “greatest president EVAR”.
Am I just in a weird bubble where 95% of the people in my life are politically and philosophically dipshits? Does anyone else experience this with people they actually know? I feel like I’m going crazy when I can be talking with a “leftist” about trans rights in Texas and then the very next conversation is about how wholesome they think the average Palestinian is in Gaza. Is there anyone else who’s at least left of center and recognizes that religious zealots in the Middle East want to kill you and shouldn’t be supported and religious zealots in YOUR OWN FUCKING COUNTRY want to kill you and you shouldn’t disarm yourself?
Just what the fuck is going on in this country? There’s so much disinformation and paid trolls that I don’t base these views off what’s online. I just run into the exact same lunacy with nearly everyone I’ve known my whole life.
I think you’re in a bubble of right wing idiots unfortunately (though the Republicans I know have be emboldened since Trump and are finally being who they truly are). I have a lot of those types where I’m from and some that I work with, but the majority of us are fed up with the bullshit of our government and want to see it changed (especially among the millennial and gen z crowd). Unfortunately the older generations are in power and doing whatever they want, so we’re having to deal with the bullshit that the very vocal minority want as opposed to what the majority does.
America is dog shit right now and I couldn’t be less proud of this country, but look at the past presodential election, the majority voted left, despite that our broken government is getting further right anyway.
I hope it’s just a bubble. I do live in a region where if you drive out in the deep rural areas, there’s a non-zero chance that you’ll see a swastika flying on a flag. I’ve just never seen so many people be so “un-American” while claiming to be true patriots.