Zack Vayda and the Great Divide: Part 1

I saw a short video on Facebook about Barack Obama. The video couldn't have been more than 30 seconds long, and yet the comment section showed that the viewers had two completely different summarizations on the takeaway of the video. In only 30 seconds of content, the entire population was able to hear what they wanted to hear, take a step to their familiar, comfortable side of the fence and start throwing rocks across to the other side. 

But here's the thing: there is no fence. At least, there is no fence between these two groups of people. There is only one fence in America. On one side is all the people that benefit from the country being divided and polarized, and on the other side is the rest of us. There are people in this world that gain from conflict. Politicians and large corporations have figured out how to make money and power from creating words and phrases that trigger us into choosing sides. They've cracked the code, and every time we lash out against someone with a different point of view, we suffer and they grow. 

When a Republican says he wants a wall between America and Mexico, he's saying he wants safety for him, his family and the life he's fought hard to create. Guess what? That's also what Democrats want. When someone from pro-choice says she wants to have her choice, she's saying she wants freedom, support and love in tough times. Guess what? Pro-lifers want that too.

Words and phrases like Republican, Democrat, pro-life, pro-choice, Trump, Obama, Russia and countless others are meaningless. I'm not saying these topics are unimportant, I'm saying there are other words that are much more important, topics we all agree on.

Freedom. Support. Love. Choice. Safety. Comfortability. Community. Opportunity. These are the words that matter, these are the words that we all agree on and these are the words that we should all be talking about. 

Those that benefit from the Great Divide want us to think that life can be boiled down to just two options, white or black, yes or no, and I'm here to tell you it's even more simple than that. There is just one side, our side. 

There isn't Republican or Democrat, there's just people.

There isn't liberal or conservative, there's just humanity. 

There isn't you and me, there's just us.