Transcription
The other day, a Republican that lives in my area asked me on social media, "Why can't we all just get along?" And so, I invited her to lunch so that we could sit down and share our stories and share our hearts and try to get along. And you know what she did? Ignored me.
Because the right-wing doesn't seem that interested in getting along. The right-wing thinks that getting along is the left staying silent, is the left shutting up. There's this attitude that has happened in America and it is the result of propaganda. It is the result of indoctrination. It is 50 years of intentional misleading of the public, by the media, by think tanks, by the Republican party, where they think that just because one party wins Congress, one party wins the presidency, that suddenly that is the only party's voice that matters in America. But that is not democracy. And that is the antithesis of American values.
America was founded on the idea that we should all have a voice. It's why the very first amendment in the Constitution exists. It doesn't exist so we can all go around insulting one another. Because it seems as though the right-wing only likes to use their first amendment to hurt others, to enact cruelty, but the First Amendment is specifically there so that we always have a right to petition the government for a red address of our grievances. And for some reason, the right wing has this idea that the left doesn't have a voice anymore, that we don't deserve to say how we feel, to be represented.
And all most of us are really asking for is well-being, is well-funded education, healthcare, food security, cheap groceries, cheap housing, affordable housing at least. But because we are on the left, it doesn't matter what we want. They're not listening to the content of our complaints, the content of the things that we're asking for. They just don't like us because we're not on their sports team. That's how they treat it. Like it's a sports team and we're just the enemy because we're not on their team.
But I've noticed that when I go through the comments and I see all of the people who are fighting for democracy, who are trying to hold our representatives accountable, hold the right wing accountable, these are people who have genuine concerns about the well-being of America, the well-being of our economy and of our neighbors. But those on the right who have something to say about it, they only have insults. They only have cruelty. They don't have policies. They don't have facts. They just have a desire to harm is what it appears to me.
And it's so interesting that the other day I showed up at my congresswoman's speaking event and I posted a video about that and the host of the event sent me a Facebook message afterwards and said, you know, that we were causing a problem, causing a disruption at their event, and why can't we all just get along? And I wrote them back a very heartfelt message that basically just said, "I care about democracy. I want to be represented and I'm standing for all these other people that want to be represented, too, but we're not being heard and you get the congresswoman anytime you want, but we don't. And that's not fair. That's not democracy. So, why don't we try to get along? Why don't you let me take you out to lunch, my treat, and I we can sit down. We can talk. We can maybe see if we can see eye to eye. I promise that I'm not who you think that I am." Nothing. They just ignored me.
So, isn't it interesting that the party of "why can't everybody just get along?" doesn't actually want to do the work to get along? They just want to be cruel. They want to ignore us or they want to insult us. And I don't want that. I'm not looking to insult my fellow Americans. I'm trying to unite with my fellow Americans. I'm trying to fight for all people. And if we flip things, if we get a big blue wave, I'm hoping that those in office will speak for all the people, not just for Democrats, not just for the people that voted for them.
I don't want to be an activist. I don't want to be in politics. But if I were an elected representative, I would spend all my time listening to the people. I think about how the right-wing has demonized the left so much. It's not just about disagreeing on economic policy or disagreeing on how things should be run. This is about them saying that we don't deserve a voice and we don't deserve to exist. All because we want a better future. We want rights. We want democracy.
The party that cares about traditional American values like the Republican party always claimed to. And now the Republican party is just the party of cruelty, authoritarianism, bigotry, hate. They want to laugh at us. They don't want to actually enact policies or support policies that help their neighbors and help themselves. And I blame that on the media. I blame it on the regime in office. I blame it on all of the propaganda and the lies that has just depleted the empathy from America.
But I need people to really understand that it is not the left that can't just get along. That the right-wing only has cruelty and insults and they're not interested in giving us space and giving us a voice. And so unfortunately, we have to demand it. We have to get loud and we have to get bold. They say, "Why can't you just be nice and be quiet? Be polite." We tried that. I tried that. I called over and over again. And I did the right thing. I showed up at the town hall and all I've gotten is well, nothing. We've gotten nothing.
And I wouldn't be doing this if it was just me. I would just move. I would just move somewhere else. But when I look around and I realize that there are thousands of people in my district and millions of people all over America that are begging to be heard and begging to be cared for, having our tax dollars stolen from us without representation. That's why I stay and that's why I speak up. And I would love to get along, but I can't get along with people who don't think I deserve a voice. I can't get along with people who don't think that I deserve to exist.
And it's very reminiscent of my time deconstructing Christianity. When all these Christians come to me, people that I know, my family, people that I don't know, and they say, "Why do you have to go off talking about Christianity? Why can't you just get along with Christians? Why do you have to speak about your atheism? Nobody cares." I can't get along with people who think that I deserve to burn in hell for all of eternity just because I have empathy and I care about people. How am I supposed to get along with someone who thinks you deserve to burn forever? You're bad. No matter how good I try to be, no matter how much I try to show that I care, they don't offer that same respect. And yet, I'm still caring. I'm still trying to unite. I'm still letting them know I am your neighbor, not your enemy.
And yesterday we did our chalk events and there were a lot of people that showed up to chalk outside of our congresswoman's office and the local news I contacted two of the local news stations. One of them ignored me, which I expected, but the other one did show up and they took some pictures and did a little write-up and they took a reel of me for Facebook just kind of talking about what we were doing. And I'm going to put that here so you can see exactly what I said because I wanted to make sure that I was as neutral as possible and that I could appeal to as many people as possible. There were a lot of things I wanted to say that I didn't because I just wanted to show that I'm here for democracy and I'm here to use my voice.
"My name is Christy Burke and I am out here with some local concerned citizens just trying to get our congresswoman's attention. We have been calling her and asking for a town hall throughout August recess and we haven't heard anything back. So, we thought we'd kind of bring the town hall to her, bring our chalk, and just kind of use our First Amendment right, and make our voices heard. Um you've been trying to reach out to Representative Marks Parker and haven't had any success yet in getting a response."
"Yes. Yes. So, we have been reaching out for months, especially this month. I know everyone here, plus a lot of other people have been calling and emailing trying to ask her for a town hall, and she just won't respond. I don't know if she's not getting our messages, but we haven't heard anything back or seen a town hall scheduled yet."
"And what would that be your main message to her if she came driving down here or went to our office right now?"
"Yeah. So, my main message is to hold a town hall so she can actually listen to us. At our last town hall, she said that we had to listen to her and that's just not how our job works. We are the people. We have the people power and it is her job to represent what we have to say. So, we want her to hear that."
And just that, just using my voice and saying that the people of District 1 want to be heard sparked so much cruelty in the comments. So many comments about my appearance, about my voice, about where I'm from, the nihilism, the bigotry, the cruelty from people that on their profiles profess to be Christian, profess to love Jesus. I was taught in Sunday school that God created us all for a purpose and that we're all important. But somewhere along the way, the church changed their mind on that subject.
I think about the fact that in kindergarten we were all taught to be kind to one another, to not judge people on their appearance, to be compassionate, to share. And I don't know why they taught us that. If they weren't expecting us to continue to hold those values as we got older, but it doesn't matter how cruel the world is, I'm always going to hold those values because I believe in them. And I still believe, and I know a lot of people don't like when I say this, but I still believe that most people, even the ones that are leaving hate comments and being unkind, I believe that those people have potential to be the good people inside that they were born to be.
But that they live in a world in a society that has corrupted them, that has broken them down, that has victimized them and turned them into people that instead of working on themselves, they just spew the rage and the sadness that they have inside at others. They take it out on everybody else because they haven't quite learned how to heal themselves from all of the terrible things that have probably happened to them in their lives. And if I hadn't done the work on myself or had the privilege to get therapy and to do what I need to do for me, I probably would be a very angry person, too. And not everybody has the money, the ability, the time to get therapy or to work on themselves. And I understand that that's a privilege, too.
But I believe in uniting with my fellow Americans and resisting the real enemy because my neighbor is not my enemy. And I don't care how much they hate me. I don't care how much they think that I don't belong here or I shouldn't have a voice. I will always fight for their rights and mine. But when people ask why can't we just get along, it's usually the people that are refusing to get along asking that. It's the people that think that getting along means they won, they have the power, they get a say, and everyone else needs to get in line and shut up. That is not democracy. That is not the American way. And I will never ever adopt that attitude.
So, I just wanted to share that I have a lot on my mind these days. I constantly find myself wanting to get on here and just talk and I don't because sometimes it just makes me very emotional. Underneath all this, I'm just a sensitive soul who just wants to see good in the world. And I'm going to keep talking about this. I'm going to keep showing that we are not the problem, that we are not the bad guys. That just because Trump gets up there and says that we need to eradicate Democrats, eradicate the left, just because he says that, it doesn't mean that what he says about us is true and it doesn't mean that what everybody else is saying about us is true.
But there is hope in all of this and I want to share that the hope is that this administration thought we were all just trapped in our little algorithmic bubbles. They thought we were all so consumed with the false narrative, the false reality that they have worked so hard to feed us online and through the media that they thought they could just get away with this. But there's one side that's rising up and getting in the streets and getting their community and working. And it's not the right-wing. It's the left. It's the progressives, the liberals, the Democrats that are all standing up and saying enough is enough and getting to work and dedicating their time to real American values like democracy.
And it's the right-wing, I've noticed, that is still trapped in their little bubble, that won't get off the internet, that have become the keyboard warriors, and all they have left is hate and cruelty. They don't have love and compassion and concern. They don't have real genuine policy that helps America. They are losing everything. They can barely afford their house. They can barely afford their groceries. Their kids aren't getting a good education. And they're still behind a keyboard angry at everyone else that isn't the problem while they worship the guy that is the problem.
And I'm not going to shut up about it. I'm gonna keep talking. And if it gets redundant, I don't care because this is the most important thing. And I do want to get along. But if you think that getting along means we have to shut up, that's not how this is going to work. It is the ones who have empathy, who have compassion, who have a hope for a good future where everyone is well. Those are the people that are true American patriots. Those are the people who love their country.
Republicans think they love their country because they put their hand on their heart at a football game and they say the pledge of allegiance. They think they love their country because they like the land. They like America, but they don't like the people in it. And they don't want the people in it to be well and to be cared for. And I don't know what I am anymore. I wouldn't even call myself a Democrat. I don't know. I might just switch to independent because I'm not really happy with the two-party system, even though that's the system we're living in. But I just I don't care about labels. And that's why I don't care if you're a Republican, if you're a Democrat, if you're a good person with good intentions and you're willing to stand up for American values, then we all need to be doing that. We all need to be resisting in our own ways.
So, I'm asking you to do that. And if people don't want to get along, that's fine. Do your thing. Keep going. Because we're out in the streets. We're getting work done. And they're all still trapped online yelling at each other, screaming at bots, being influenced by right-wing media that benefits corporate America, not the people. So, just remember that next time someone says, "Why can't we all just get along?" Because I am trying to get along and I will keep trying. No matter how much hate, no matter how much cruelty exists around me, I will always work to be a shining light and I'll always do what's right because that's what I believe.