First off, I don't base my views on "what Americans are like" with what people post online. Just about everyone I know personally has just gone off the deep end it seems.
People I've known for decades who were "right of center" have now drifted to the far right. Where they used to support separation of church and state, small government, etc. they now want the government to tax the poor, establish a Christian ethnostate, and are openly talking about "the coming revolution". Meanwhile, most everyone I've known who is leftist wants the government to disarm them, claims to be pro-LGBT but blindly supports any Muslim country and blindly hates Israel, and thinks Joe Biden is the "greatest president EVAR".
Am I just in a weird bubble where 95% of the people in my life are politically and philosophically dipshits? Does anyone else experience this with people they actually know? I feel like I'm going crazy when I can be talking with a "leftist" about trans rights in Texas and then the very next conversation is about how wholesome they think the average Palestinian is in Gaza. Is there anyone else who's at least left of center and recognizes that religious zealots in the Middle East want to kill you and shouldn't be supported and religious zealots in YOUR OWN FUCKING COUNTRY want to kill you and you shouldn't disarm yourself?
Just what the fuck is going on in this country? There's so much disinformation and paid trolls that I don't base these views off what's online. I just run into the exact same lunacy with nearly everyone I've known my whole life.
American here.
Uhhh....I'm not really sure who you're talking to on the American left about Joe Biden, but few people really like him as a president, despite his effectiveness.
Also, do you understand why 95% of the people in your life believe what they do? It's easy to call people stupid when you don't understand where they're coming from.
I don't need to understand where they're coming from if they want to cut social programs, lower taxes on the rich, support societies that would happily execute gay people, etc.
Even though I don't need to understand, I do actually. When it comes to the people on the right, it's mostly people I've known from growing up in a religious family and from spending a lot of time doing work in factories. They're bigoted zealots who think that the real problem with Millennials and Gen Z is that they just don't want to work anymore. And if they just wanted to work and put in the effort they could all be retiring with nice cars and mansions.
As for the people I know on the left, it's not as many who are completely insane. But it's still most of them. People who voted Hillary because "it was her turn!" or even voted Obama because "I feel bad for black people, so he needed to be president no matter what" (those are literal fucking quotes, I shit you not). Not only that, but they'll talk about how dangerous the rightwing is and how they want to overthrow the country, and then the very next topic of conversation can be about how they don't trust themselves with a gun and are offended at the suggestion that they should arm themselves.
If you think with either of these I'm talking about you and you're offended, you need to reevaluate your morals.
I don't know if you necessarily have to understand them, but you should still ask them about it, just to make them think about it.
Lots of people form their opinions out of their ass without ever being confronted with why they have hat opinion.
You don't have to like these people, but you do need to co-exist. That'll be difficult if they are allowed to dig themselves into their trenches without any resistance until they start flinging shit at each other.
The only way to avoid it getting worse is to engage in dialogue and keep questioning them. Don't argue, don't tell them what is right or wrong, just keep asking "why do you think that?"
The other side of that coin is to allow people to question your beliefs and to actually think about things when they do.
Those two things together is what will really help, imo.
They will ask eventually. I just don't want to force anything on anyone
I believe that it is impossible to teach anyone anything, but it is possible for anyone to learn anything.
Understanding happens when someone thinks and reaches out.