"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." -Adolf Hitler
We live in a world of lies and easily manipulated masses. Even Hitler knew it, and he probably knew it better than anyone. Why am I starting out my article with a Hitler quote? Well, right now you are probably surprised, offended or confused. All of which make you all the more interested in what I am going to say, right? At least, that is the plan. Manipulation.
This past year, especially for us young people who are able to vote for the very first time, has been a crazy year in politics. Yes, politics has always been messy and confusing, but this year it is a circus. The big and simple lies have infiltrated every part of the culture around us. “Build the wall!” they say, “Free college for all!” they demand. These simple ideas have been repeated so often that a majority of us actually believe these things will happen. In high school, I didn’t really follow politics, and I really thought that none of it affected my own life. Now that I’m a little bit older, I see that I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’ve turned into somewhat of a political junkie, constantly watching, reading, and being sucked in by the news around me. Clinton did what!? Trump said that!? I feel like I’m watching an over-dramatic and incredibly stressful reality show that is on par with the stupidity of "Keeping up With the Kardashians." In this crazy whirlwind of politics, it is very easy to get sucked into what other people are saying, especially at our age. I watch half of my friends wearing “feel the Bern” t-shirts, and the other half wearing “make America great again” baseball hats. So, let’s talk about some of these crazy manipulative people we call politicians!
Donald Trump is a showboat. How many times has he been a news headline because of some crazy thing he said? Too many times. Our society has turned him into this huge buffoon, and some people are actually into it! They like the “realness” of who he is, or at least who the media shows he is. Oh, and do not even get me started on the wall. Build the wall? Make Mexico pay for it? Really? No, I am not joking guys. People actually believe this stuff.
Bernie Sanders, the political activist and Washington outsider that every single millennial in the country seems to be creepily obsessed with. He promises things like free college, minimum wage increases, and higher taxes on the “top 1 percent." Those things seem like great ideas, right? In theory, yes. However, it just can’t work. In a perfect world where debt didn’t exist and economics didn’t matter, then maybe. But it’s just all unrealistic hype that gets people excited, passionate, and angry. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy and the fact that he stands up for what he believes in. I just think his promises are far too unrealistic, and they just wouldn’t work in our country. The USA is much larger than Denmark, people! Stop using it as a comparison!
Hilary Clinton? She’s not even worth a whole paragraph. She’s a liar, thief, con-artist and incredibly talented manipulator. Yes, she has a uterus, but that does not make her a supporter of women. Sorry ladies. The biggest liar of them all.
So, being young during this confusing time is frustrating. We live in a broken and unfair society. I know that we all have good intentions on how to fix the world and make it better, and it is great to be passionate about those ideas. Unfortunately, in this past year, I have seen too many young people end relationships and friendships over anger and political disagreements. We all want what’s best for this wonderful country of ours, so let’s all work together to try to make that happen. Screaming “build the wall!” in someone’s face does not invoke change, and shutting down Trump rallies does not fix any problems. We’ve been so manipulated by the media, and even the candidates that we love, that we forget why we are doing what we are doing. Take a breather, let someone else have a different opinion than you, and find a common ground so that you can work together to actually make a change.
Don’t let Hitler be right. Don’t let manipulation lead you to believe a lie, no matter how simple the lie is, and no matter how much you hear it.
