Two Facebook Hot Takes
Yes, they’re political…
Sorry for the hiatus again in posting. I haven’t been writing much at all lately.
I also told myself to take a break from Substack to also take a break from politics, but let’s be honest, I haven’t taken a break from politics. I mean, how could you in this day and age? How can you ignore what’s going on?
Well, I’m sure a lot of people are, but I can’t. But trying to come up with a new take on politics and philosophy every week is exhausting, emotionally draining, and difficult. Back when I was writing about politics about every week, I find that I wrote some of my least favorite pieces.
It was difficult coming up with a new look on things that often. So that’s a big part of the reason why I have taken a step back from posting on here. I find that I write better and have deeper thoughts when I’m given time to digest things.
And exactly that sort of happened on my Facebook page, where for whatever reason, I felt compelled to write two EXTREMELY LONG Facebook posts over the past few weeks about things that troubled me politically. And honestly, I like them. So I figured that the least I could do is copy and paste them here for you all to read. It’s low effort, but at least it’s something.
Anyway, without further ado, here they are in their unedited glory:
Post #1 - Gingko Biloba
Oct. 24, 2025
Are the people you’re voting for listening to what you tell them you want, or are they telling you what you want?
If you can’t answer that question with a sound mind, then you probably shouldn’t be voting for them.
I’ve been thinking about this lately in regards to the modern Republican Party, but I think this is a really good question to pose against all politicians of all parties.
I’ve noticed that conservative voters often feel underrepresented, and that’s because they are. Officials in the Republican Party right now are not listening to their concerns.
Supposedly Rural America has strong voting power, yet Rural America is still struggling even as the entire government is under control of Republicans. As someone in Rural America, I see this first hand. Cancer rates are high in Iowa. Grocery prices are not going down but going up in a lot of cases. Farmers are struggling with China’s retaliation to our trade war. And the government is STILL shut down.
And what do our elected officials do? Miller-Meeks doesn’t want to host any town halls at the moment, even though it’s her entire job to listen to her constituents. Trump is bailing out Argentina with $40 billion as American farmers struggle with the economy he gave them. And I have yet to see a Republican voter actually happy with our current situation yet.
But they keep going back to Republicans because Republicans promise to listen to them, and they “know” that Democrats won’t (I mean, naturally the “liberal” party is going to prioritize liberal legislation over conservative). But officials in the Republican Party simply aren’t listening to their constituents.
Rather, they’re telling their constituents what they really want.
“You WANT tariffs because they WILL bring back power to the United States.”
“Chicago, DC, and Portland ARE WAR ZONES, so you WANT the national guard patrolling the streets.”
“Illegal immigrants are NUMEROUS and DANGEROUS, so you WANT us to expand ICE and maximize its efficiency.”
“People are MILKING Medicaid, so you WANT us to put cuts on it to get rid of those freeloaders.” (I’ve seen basically this exact argument made by paid actors on an ad for the “Big Beautiful Bill” recently.)
Republicans by and large are being TOLD what they want, and not the other way around. It should be the VOTERS telling their ELECTED OFFICIALS what they want. Remember, they are called “representatives” for a reason. When they aren’t representing you, they’re not doing their job.
And obviously this is more nuanced than a Facebook post by a college kid can describe. Politicians can’t just listen to every little thing their constituents tell them, but dammit, they can make an effort to try. Rather, we have a political system where Republicans are listening to Trump more than their constituents because they’re afraid of Trump. All they need to do to keep their constituents is TELL them what they really want. And then their constituents don’t hold them accountable. It’s created a political system where the genuine concerns of moderate conservatives are buried as extremist ideologies are prioritized.
And Democrats are guilty of this too, but I don’t think as extreme typically. However, this method of convincing voters on all sides of the political spectrum has been on the rise, and it’s because it’s effective. I think this problem has existed in America for a long time in every party, it’s just reaching a violent extreme.
So here’s my advice when you go to vote for anything, no matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on. I don’t care if the candidate is a Republican, Democrat, Independent, they could be a cat for all I care.
Are they listening to questions and concerns of their constituents? Are they considering the feelings and experiences of voters? Are they making an effort to understand the other side(s) of an issue? Or are they telling you what you should believe? Are they telling you what the state of America is?
The Founding Fathers set this nation up for the people to tell the elected officials what the state of America is, because it’s the collective of the people who truly know that best.
If your candidate is telling you what you need to vote for instead of you telling them what they need to vote for, they are not representing you. They are manipulating you.
Anyway, here’s Gingko biloba.
Post #2 - Bison Crossing the Road
Nov. 30, 2025
Words matter.
And there are three things our president said these past few weeks that have given me enormous amounts of ethical distress.
1: In response to a video made by Democratic lawmakers urging service members to refuse illegal orders if they should come, Trump posted, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
2: After two national guard members were shot in DC, Trump vowed to “permanently pause migration” from all “third world countries”.
3: In a post he published on Thanksgiving, Trump referred to Minnesota governor Tim Walz using the R-word. That is a slur.
All three of these instances have given me great moral pause as I’ve tried to sort out how a leader could use such careless and dangerous language. Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me. What has been more impactful on me is seeing people try to defend this.
Each statement deserves a post of its own why it is bad. But I’ll try to keep it brief:
What the Democratic lawmakers said in their video, even if you deem it irresponsible, was not illegal in the least. They urged service members to refuse illegal orders. That is perfectly legal. Trump threatening the death penalty is one of the most blantantly authoritarian things I have ever seen. Period. It is disgusting, dangerous, and disgraceful. You do not threaten to kill those who disagree with you. That is weaponization of the law to the highest degree.
Shutting off all asylum seekers potentially permanently in response to a shooting committed by one person is deplorable; downright vile in this nation, one built off of people seeking refuge from other parts of the world. I understand that national security is important. I could understand discussion about reforming our asylum seeking process. However, this decision is rash, hasty, dangerous, racist, and nationalistic. It is demeaning to all Americans and everything America stands for. It puts potential asylum seekers who pose no threat to our nation in danger. This is the same logic as if a Christian shot up a grocery store, so I banned all Christians from entering our nation. Sweeping generalizations like this violently enforced into policy is evil.
And finally, it is never okay to use a slur, especially against another leader within your nation. As president in these divided times, he should be preaching unity. But he’s preaching hate. He’s calling people names. He’s calling people slurs. He doesn’t have to like Tim Walz. He has a right to publicly criticize him. However, it is never right, especially for a president, to use a slur.
And now I know a lot of people have counter arguments. A lot of people will claim that words don’t really matter, that the left has been participating in name calling, that the content of Trump’s character doesn’t matter as long as he has good policy. To the first and third of those arguments, I cry bullshit.
To the second argument, yes, the left has been participating in name calling. That’s what people do when they get angry. It’s not right from either side and should be condemned by leaders flat-out. Politics shouldn’t be a place for name calling.
However, what Trump said in all three of these instances went past name calling. It was either seriously dangerous language, or it was the use of a slur. And slurs hurt. If you don’t think they hurt, clearly you’ve never had a slur used against you.
To address the other two arguments, I want to ask a question. How do you expect a leader to put forth good policy if they don’t have good character first? Good character is a requirement for good leadership. If you disagree, you might want to consider your character. That isn’t to say that people with good character will automatically have good policy. However, if you’re going to settle for a leader who has deplorable character for the sake of policy, I think you’re going to be sorely disappointed.
And finally, the first argument. Words matter. They matter a lot. And if you want to argue with me that they don’t, I have one name.
Charlie Kirk.
Remember when people were making fun of his death? His assassination? How people were making jokes about it? Celebrating it online? Did that hurt you? Did that make you feel sick?
If it did, then I 100% understand. People were making fun of someone’s death. I get why you’d feel disgusted and consider that extremely disrespectful. I understand why you would feel hurt.
But here’s the thing about that. Every one of those posts that may have offended you so bad about his death were just words at the end of the day. Just words.
And they hurt.
Because words matter.
That’s why we have language. Words mean something. They carry thoughts. Beliefs. Histories. And in some cases, instructions. We just can’t be careless with our words. They have power. Hell, this entire post is just words. Words you’re reading. Words you’re considering and thinking about, processing and digesting. Maybe you’ll feel compelled to argue with me in the comments. But if you do, I want you to realize something.
These words had enough power to compel you to feel the need to argue.
Words. Matter.
And our president uses words like a playground bully.
He berates and belittles and attacks. He makes fun of people and threatens them when he gets angry. And worst of all, he influences people. He’s extremely influential. He influences his supporters, other Republican politicians, and, in all honesty, he heavily influences Democrats. I’m not afraid to admit it.
I grew up with bullies. I wasn’t bullied terribly like you see in movies, but I had my fair share of bullies. And they didn’t ever use physical violence or force to belittle me. They used words. They made fun of me. They tore apart my confidence. They belittled me and made me feel like I was nothing. For that, I have grown up resenting people like that.
And Donald Trump along with some of his most steadfast supporters are those kinds of people. As a matter of fact, many of those school bullies I had ended up becoming Trump supporters. And I regret to say that the content of their character has barely improved.
And if you want to defend the president’s childish language, maybe it’s time to consider if you’re on the side of the bullied or the bullies.
I have grown up believing that we have an obligation to protect those most vulnerable around us. I mean, what is a society for if not that? What purpose do we have as humans if not to take care of each other?
People in third world countries, especially those seeking asylum, are among the most vulnerable around us.
People with disabilities, mental or physical, are among the most vulnerable around us.
Donald Trump, the billionaire president of the richest nation in the world, is not among the most vulnerable around us.
He is a pompous, privileged baron with a victim complex the size of which would make Jupiter look like a dwarf planet. He behaves like a toddler and doesn’t know how to take “no” for an answer. He expects everything to be given to him, or he will throw a tantrum. He manipulates, he deceives, and he lies. He has morally repulsive behavior that should be condemned by everyone on every side of the political divide.
Yet people feed into his victim complex. They feed his ego, his pride, his greed. To those who continue to defend his actions after all of this, how far are you willing to bend? How far are you willing to let him bend you?
I understand people being Republicans. I understand people being fed up with Democrats. I understand people being fed up with this whole damned system we’re stuck in.
What I am struggling to understand is how someone can continue to support him with a sound mind.
To those of you who do, I want to believe that you’re good people. I want to believe that you mean the best. I want to believe that you have your reasons.
But with every day, with every word that man says, it gets harder to believe that.
Remember, words matter. A lot.
Anyway, here are two bison crossing the road.
I’m happy to see you back. It’s just a matter of if you are helpful or hurtful. Thanks for your insights.
Very insightful! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!