Divided

During the pandemic, we’ve allowed ourselves to become even further divided than we were before, and that’s a shame because the divide was already pretty damn wide.

The lengths to which we will go to support our side is astonishing.

I’ve seen name-calling.

Mask shaming.

Lack-of-mask shaming.

Outright refusal to consider other viewpoints.

Worst of all, there are god-knows-how-many “news stories” out there, giving undue leverage to one side or the other.

According to some popular YouTube videos, taken as the Gospel by some viewers, the virus is nothing more than a hoax to bring down an American President. Others claim that Bill Gates is in cahoots with China and released the virus so that he can profit from a vaccine.

At the same time, you have major “trusted news outlets” using footage from other countries, claiming it to have been shot in our country, in an attempt to make the situation appear even bleaker than it is.

And it’s all lies.

The people who produce it know it’s all lies.

And they don’t care.

Because the lies push an agenda, substantiate a worldview, and give them an excuse for their behavior. At a time when the situation is rapidly evolving and our collective understanding is incomplete at best, telling lies and pushing an agenda is disgusting.

But, perhaps I shouldn’t be disappointed. Maybe it’s just human nature. If you think about it, we lie to ourselves all the time.

How many people do you know who are unhappy with their position or their lot in life? People who claim to want more, yet refuse to do anything about it. Take a moment and think about the people you know who fit this description and think about what they all say about it.

It’s a common refrain; you can probably hear them saying it.

“I can’t.”

Like fake news, “I can’t” is a lie that’s used to prop up an agenda, justify a viewpoint, and, most of all, provide an excuse for behavior.

This afternoon my wife, Julia, and I are heading out to check on a rental property we bought last month. The place was a mess - one of the worst I’ve seen in 15 years of the real estate business - but as of yesterday, the work is done, and it should be shining like new.

From a young age, I wanted to buy rental properties, but I was always scared. Despite what you might have heard on late-night television, being a landlord isn’t glamorous, which is why some folks pay us to manage their properties.

There’s a financial risk, repair issues, and chasing down deadbeat tenants. How will I pay the mortgage if the renter bails? What if the air conditioning breaks? What if the tenants trash the house?

For years, my fear outweighed my motivation, and I refused to do anything about my desire. Instead, I told myself a lie. “I can’t buy investment properties because it would be unfair to the investors I often work with if I’m competing for the best properties.”

I told myself this lie to justify not taking the risk of buying property and to give myself an excuse for not taking advantage of excellent opportunities. I missed countless opportunities along the way, and the cost has been greater than I care to admit.

Eventually, I reached a point where that was no longer unacceptable. If I won’t tolerate others lying to me, why would I tolerate me lying to me?

There’s nothing much I can do about the lies in the fake news, but there sure is something I can do about the lies I tell myself.

I name them for what they are, and I refuse to believe them any longer.