I’ve never been a huge sports fan. I’ll watch some of the national stuff, support my country and all (when I can decide which one that is), but I’ve never understood the rabid support that people give to a group of athletes who really couldn’t give a shit about them. When people say ‘we didn’t do so well this weekend,’ or ‘our prospects are looking good,’ who is this ‘we’ they’re talking about? You’re not contributing to their prospects, you’re not helping them get to the championship or face relegation. You’re certainly not getting paid by them; if anything, you’re giving them money in ticket or merchandise sales, you’re paying them for the honour of claiming the mighty ‘we.’

But watching politics, I think I get it now. There’s definitely a culture of ‘us v.s them’ in political discourse. There’s a team mentality that I can feel the allure of. It’s nice to have someone to root for, and like-minded people to share your ups and downs with. And if you’ve read more than one post by me, you probably know which side we- sorry, I- support.

One thing I refuse to do, however, is insult the opposition. If I post about politics, which I promised to do a month ago (and the several unfinished, unposted blogs languishing in the nether will attest to), I won’t call them repuglicans. Or any of the other monikers I’ve seen used time and time again by people I otherwise respect. Likewise, if someone posts something using the phrase ‘libtard,’ then they can fuck off. Coming from either side of the political spectrum, if you’re going to resort to name calling then you’re not interested in having a conversation, you want to win the argument by any means, even if it’s just shouting louder than the others.

And what I think people have forgotten is that politics isn’t about your side winning. It is absolutely not the same as supporting a sports team, regardless of how good that feels. Surely the ultimate goal of politics is to make everyone a winner, not one side over another. A country is strong when all its citizens are represented, looked after, and prosper. While we may differ on the best approach to elevate everyone, past examples prove that neither extreme is going to accomplish that, and that’s why it’s so vital to have our politicians, and our population, work together.

Or maybe I’m naive. I don’t know. I know I’d be saying the same thing if my team had ‘won’ the last election, because I don’t like what Democrats turn in to after a won election (talking about the elected, not the voters). Sod it, back to the screenplay, where no one runs for election or anything.