He looks a bit like my cousin.
I find that quite annoying, because I recognize that many people find Ewan McGregor good looking. This means, by being similar in appearance, that my cousin, Iain, must also be good looking.
I’m happy for him but I may also be jealous.
Anyway, Ewan McGregor (looking like my stupid handsome cousin, who can also grow a great beard) looked cool in the glow of Anakin’s lightsaber as he spat forth the line in his Scottish phone voice…
“Only Siths deal in absolutes!”
It was shouted in reply to Anakin (Very Old Spoiler Alert: who we know is destined to become Darth Vader) saying to McGregor’s Obi Wan Kenobi, “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy.”
I remember at the time people generally agreeing that this lack of appreciation for nuance was a trait of the “dark side”.
People would suggest it was similar to what President George W Bush said in 2001 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks… “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.“
To be fair, in that case it’s pretty hard to stand in opposition, but why have we let this mindset permeate pretty much everything… most damagingly, politics?
I think the answer is pretty clear.
It’s easier.
Barring forcing people to go shirts or skins to demonstrate their support for or dissent for every issue (which upon reflection, would make city council meetings WAY more interesting), we’ve just decided that any breaking from towing the party line is the same as allegiance to the opposing party.
It’s just not true.
For example, here in Canada there is currently a piece of legislation that is being debated by the Senate (different from the US but kinda similar - it was created as a ‘sober second thought’ for any bills that regular politicians would create).
The current focus of Bill C-11, as it is called, is the protection of Canadian Culture in the era of streaming and YouTube, etc..
Good intentions but it’s severely flawed.
Please don’t fall asleep.
It has the potential to negatively or positively affect Canadian content creators like myself, so I have a vested interest in its sculpting.
I try not to post about such boring things on social media.
Plus people think I’m rich, so complaining about threats to my career are usually met with “Hey, why don’t you get an ACTUAL job, Discount Drew Carey?”
But I posted anyway…
The government proposed the bill.
The official opposition party opposes the bill.
I posted I was disappointed and disheartened that instead of focusing on crafting the best bill possible, it had spiralled into just more partisan fight fodder.
The opposition party opposing it because they don’t want the government to score a point and the government digging in its heels damn the consequences.
Good for nothing.
Us vs Them garbage.
I was immediately met with people who tore into me for ever supporting the government and also by people who assumed I had now signed up to the opposition party.
WAS I SHIRTS OR SKINS??
It was black or white.
That team or this team.
It’s garbage and gets nothing done well.
When I interact with people in regular day to day scenarios, regardless if we see eye to eye on issues, I am generally comfortable in the fact that we’ll generally get along just fine. We may even agree on some things.
So, what gives with this sense of extreme division?
Honestly, I don’t think it actually exists.
And if it does exist, it’s amplified to the nth degree.
It’s so much easier to know where everyone stands if their yelling in a unified direction and we’re consuming so much information these days, anything that makes making decisions easier is quickly adopted.
It’s easier for marketers.
It’s easier for media.
It’s easier for political parties.
I think as humans we’re programmed to see “us” and “them”, but at some point we realized, that’s just not the case.
We know what affects “us” eventually affects “them” and vice versa.
But who has time for nuance anymore?
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I don’t understand half of this (my senility), but I am keenly interested in knowing whether you support or oppose this bill, Stewart? Like it or not, I doubt that there will be any half-shirts or half-skins?