I do respect your opinion...

See, the thing is, we can disagree about what we want, what's best, who we like, what we think may happen under what circumstances.... that's all fair, and nobody can say for certain what is going to be or honestly assert that their preferences are "better" (they may be better for them, or theirs, or under some circumstances, etc.)

But we cannot really disagree for a real length of time about what is actually in existence, or what actually happened, unless there is no evidence whatsoever.

Because facts, truth, reality; these things are real. They're not subject to one's likes and dislikes at the level of changing because of your stance on them. (you are welcome to take whatever stance you wish).

But at the end of the day, we either sent astronauts to the moon, or we did not. Our CIA ousted Salvador Allende in a military coup, or it did not. We are engaged with bombing 7 other nations currently, or we are not (or the number is 6, or 8). These things are not opinions, they are facts that can be proved or disproved.

Americans are currently wildly gullible and unable to have these conversations in a truly honest manner because we have been lied to for generations. We are daily exposed to lies on NPR, or CBS, or MSNBC, or FOX, or Washington Post, or NY Times, or a public address from President Obama, or a rally from Trump, or a shyster on Oprah channel.

And these lies use our prejudices, our biases, our preconceived notions to stroke our egos, to appeal to our wants and desires, to reinforce our fears so that we don't think too hard or long because it is - genuinely - scary and disturbing.

American propaganda is a well-oiled, mature, efficient, seasoned machine of epic proportions with nearly limitless funding. It's adverts are slick, compelling, emotional, and manipulative as hell. As manipulative as our best psychologists and studies have been able to become. We have engineered the world's best device for deceiving and manipulating large numbers of human beings.

But I'm asking you. I am begging you. I am on my hands and knees - please - for yourselves - for your children - for your loved ones - for the future that might yet be - I implore you to become deeply suspect of the US government and all - every - single - thing - it claims to be true.

Precious little that comes out of either political party and their extremely well paid PR firms has more than a fleeting association with reality. It's all there to blow smoke up your derriere. Smoke tuned to just the right texture, temperature, scent as to be most pleasing to you as an individual who believes that part of who you are is a member of a certain identity - a grouping - such as "I am a proud liberal" or "I am a proud American" or "I am a proud Republican"

Such affiliations are - well - we can have that discussion sometime - I eagerly await it. But for now, just know that they're using the connection between who you believe you are - "I am a good person because I am for social justice as are all of my liberal compatriots" to twist your view of the world. To hide from you the evils committed by democrats. To hide from you the evils committed by the American apparatchik. The evils done in the name of business and profits and global trade and international relations.

You, and I, and everyone we know are just a game that they're really, really good at winning.

To turn the tables - we have no choice but to stop playing by their rules, believing their lies, and failing to see how we are literally pawns on their board.

I am not your enemy.

I am not insulting your "intelligence."

I am your friend. I am your brother. I am your comrade. I am asking you to put aside your ego - that false house of cards - long enough to be brutally honest with me - not just about who we are - but about what the world really - in _fact_ - looks like - and why.

And through that, I honestly believe, we have a chance to change things for the better.

Not lie to each other about how it will all be okay.

But really enact changes that cause actual changes in the world for the ultimate betterment of what actual is and will one day actually be. Truth. Indisputable, factual, actual, reality.

The truth can set you free.
Nobody is truly free until everyone is free.