No links, no citations, no filters—just what is on my mind today.
For the past several years, I have lived with a persistent, quiet weight. If I am being entirely honest, I am worried. All the time. I am tired of the division, tired of the hostility, and deeply saddened by what political alignment has cost us on a human level.
I’ve tried to engage in courteous dialogue across the aisle, only to watch conversations spiral into name-calling and defensive deflections. More painfully, I have watched years of history evaporate. I have had family members unfriend me on social media. I have been completely blocked by lifelong friends—people who were incredibly dear to me. It is deeply jarring when decades of shared memories and mutual affection are tossed aside over a ballot choice. Why do we burn bridges over who we vote for? How do we survive as a society when we lose the ability to separate civic disagreement from personal affection?
My concerns go to the heart of how our nation is governed. We are witnessing an unprecedented shift where long-standing presidential precedents and basic norms are treated as entirely disposable.
We watch the White House set up an official government website—an actual “Offender Hall of Shame”—dedicated entirely to tracking and publicly insulting individual media outlets and reporters. We watch historic parts of the executive mansion, like the East Wing, get demolished for vanity projects. When these things are met with a shrug by supporters, I am forced to ask a simple question: If a future leader from the opposition party utilized state-funded platforms to target their critics or bypass historical boundaries, would you be okay with it? If the answer is no, then the standard you are setting right now is incredibly dangerous.
Historically, the American presidency has been viewed as a position of moral leadership and diplomatic decorum. Today, that is deliberately rejected. Instead, we get a daily litany of aggressive, highly personalized insults targeting political rivals, private citizens, and foreign leaders. Opponents are routinely labeled as crooked, losers, low IQ, disgraceful, braindead, or crazy. Some people say they love this because he’s “shaking things up.” But how is that different? Lying, greed, immaturity, and a love for unchecked power aren’t “different”—they are the oldest flaws in human history. How does this shift in civil discourse affect the behavioral standards we are setting for our children?
Perhaps the heaviest barrier to cross is how we process shared reality, most notably the events of January 6th.
The people who stormed the Capitol were prosecuted because they committed actual, undeniable crimes: assaulting law enforcement, destroying federal property, theft, and seditious conspiracy. Those are facts handled by American courts, not opinions. Yet, we are told to believe a political spin over what we saw with our own eyes. If I tell you the sky is purple, even though we both can see it’s blue, should you believe me? No. It’s that simple. Have we reached a point where political loyalty requires us to reject plain reality?
I don’t support Trump. I don’t believe the lies. If you love him, perhaps we see the world through fundamentally different lenses. But my ultimate question isn’t “how can you vote for him?” My question is much larger:
When the dust settles on this political era, what will be left of our institutions, our civil discourse, and our relationships with one another?
A Note on Community Moderation: I welcome civil debate and differing perspectives on the points raised above. However, dehumanizing language, personal attacks, misinformation, or off-topic deflections will be removed. Let’s focus on the ideas in this post, not insults or distractions.
Copyright © 2009-2026 Maria Appleby for Maria’s Musings: Tales My Heart Tells. All Rights Reserved.
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