Who really wins when we're divided?

 

The Other Half

No,

half this country isn’t

gullible,

             naive,

                      immoral,

                                    or selfish.

That other half has views

they believe you are blind to.

 

Politicians, Personalities, and Parties

don’t help anyone see the other side.

They only preach their brand of extremism

and vilify those who think differently.

 

They make us believe everything is

wrong or right,

                      stupid or smart,

                                              unfair or just.

But who benefits when we lose empathy?

Who celebrates distrust and anger?

Who gains when we’re divided? 

 

Politicians, Personalities, and Parties. 

 

They want us to see a world

where one must win or lose.

And thanks to our compliance

we’ve given them just that.

 

But they’re the only winners.

The rest of us . . . are losing.

 

 

_____ 

 

One of several poems I wrote while trying to figure out how the America I grew up in became so divided, and how its citizens seemingly lost empathy for each other.