A very good friend of mine sent me this cartoon as a thought provoking item and asked me what I thought of it. While it is thought provoking, my response to this is a little too complex for a quick Facebook answer, so I thought I'd write it here instead.
At first blush, this is something of a "societal statement", but it underpins a dangerous thing I see in how people perceive news and the occasional "microwave moment". You see, there's a penchant today for trying to find the optimal trump card for an argument (pun somewhat intended) that really serves no purpose other than to shut down any kind of dialog. This cartoon is totally in keeping with that sentiment. I'm not trying to cast my friend in the light of being someone shallow enough to just stop a dialog from continuing, but there are a lot of people who do that sort of thing, and it really bothers me- because these types of memes are extremely superficial and do absolutely nothing in helping people change their thought processes. No matter what anyone may say about this, all additional dialog is met with nothing more than the content of this meme, and a wry statement like, "made ya think, didn't it?". Yeah, it did, but there's a whole lot more to this dialog that this meme doesn't cover and no one is going to be better about processing what could be construed as "cognitive dissonance" with this in their face.
There is a tremendous difference between the two statements and an even bigger difference between the reaction to them. Before you start arguing the meme's superficial argument, permit me to tell you why that is a fact.
First off, Mr. Trump is on his way to attempting to be President of the United States. (Let's call that POTUS for brevity) and Colin Kaepernick is not. What that means is that he really should have a plan for changing what he calls "not great", and even though I agree with about 10-12% of what Mr. Trump says, he does have a "plan". Is it a great plan? No. Is it an attainable plan? No. Will he make it happen- most likely not- and that's not because he's an idiot (he is that) but, rather it's because he lacks both the political clout and the mental ability to make it happen. What Kaepernick is saying is without a plan to go forward- that is, he wants everyone else to do the work. He isn't in any position - nor will he ever be - to make a bit of difference other than to try to illuminate a "problem" that he sees as there. In the end, Kaepernick's protest is doomed, (so is Trump's for that matter) but the thrust of their statements actually has a completely different weight.
The reaction, though- that's what's really different. What the issuer of the above meme is actually saying is that there is something wrong with society because they react differently to the speaker. This is really the crux of the matter for me, because what society thinks is that unless we all agree on everything, there's something wrong with us. What society would call the correct response is that everyone agrees with everyone else on all topics- but it's more than that- they want agreement on the issues to come from the same thought process. What's super-dangerous about that is this:
Who dictates what thought process is right? This is where our freedoms really come into play.
Let's call it like it is. Mr. Trump wants to work and continually does work (despite what you may think) and has spent his career amassing his wealth by years and years of business acumen. (You can say whatever you like about it, but the man is a smart business man. Do I agree with everything he does? Hardly.) Mr. Kaepernick has his $11.9 million dollar salary guaranteed because he plays with a ball.
Do Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Trump have the right to say what they say? You bet your bippy they do. They both have an equal right to their opinions under the law. But, as a society do we have the right to say "yeah" to one and "boo" the other? Again- your bippy is in danger here because we absolutely do, and there is nothing wrong with a difference in the reaction.
Why is their nothing wrong with that difference?
Because one of them has more value than the other. Yes, it's that simple.
Or, think of it another way- Mr. Trump's opinion could have MUCH longer living ramifications if left to it's own devices. Mr. Kaepernick's opinions effects will only last as long as he is in the limelight, and only if he actually does something about it, and I guarantee that won't happen. Even if Mr. Trump does not win the election (Dear God, hear our prayer.....) his opponent is going to have to address the statements he has made in the form of stated policy and a path forward. (That has already happened.) If Trump's opponents were to base their policy reform on what Mr. Kaepernick says, most of the conscious US populace would roll their eyes and call them on the carpet for it, and the rest would go back to watching "Keeping Up With The Kardashians".
But, make no mistake- both of the people above are complete and total idiots. They aren't worthy of being paid attention to, but Mr. Trump has a slight advantage in validity because he is running for POTUS. Both of them have a right to say what they say, however misguided they might be, and both of them can get different reactions and that is not wrong, and there is much more to the dialog than a stupid meme can possibly offer.
So- what does one do when they run across a cartoon like the above? I say, post it and ask the thought provoking questions, but be ready to be corrected and don't use something like this as an argument-ender. The really cool thing about these kinds of memes is that they do start conversations. The bad part is when they are used to just stop that dialog before it starts.
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