What happens when stepping into quicksand? At first it is a slow pull on the body and, as a person sinks deeper, they fight that pull, which only makes them sink faster.
The people in America are sinking, and every time one more ugly blow discharges from one side of the table to the other, we go deeper.
This is not about the conduct of our politicians. This is about every one of us, the citizens, and our behavior through these difficult times of the past three years.
The new normal is, if people have opposing views, the floodgates open, pouring contempt, criticism, disparagement and belittlement over all involved. This sinks us deeper into the quicksand.
The last three years have been so divisive, that common decency is no longer a valuable asset of character. Remember explaining to your children not to succumb to peer pressure because it could cause them harm? We adults are doing just that, caught up in the ugliness and sinking deeper still.
Adding fuel to the fire, it is now open season for chastisement and public shaming based on who someone spends their time with. When did we become so narcissistic and self-absorbed that we have the power to judge and aggressively attack the company another keeps?
At this point, we are sinking up to our eyeballs in the quicksand. We are suffocating from the mess we stepped into.
If we, the common people, continue on this path of disrespect and hostility towards one another because of differing viewpoints, we are risking the complete loss of kindness and understanding among us. The quicksand will swallow us in one last enormous gulp. There will be no one to blame but ourselves and our behavior toward our fellow human beings.
Molly McDonald, Salt Lake City