My kid told me I should stop talking politics on Facebook. He says I piss too many people off. I was caught off guard by the statement. "Who gets pissed?" I replied. "Everybody. They don't wanna hear your opinions." Then I took it as something bothering him a bit. Maybe I said or did something to embarrass him. Maybe there's some scuttlebutt he's catching that I don't hear or see. I thought long and hard on it but didn't carry the conversation any further.
People take politics personally. At least a significant number do. They hear somebody say an opinion or view that is in contradistinction to their own and they lash out or instead say nothing and disassoiciate. They fail to initiate debate or express valid points with reason to support their own view. They lash out with personal attacks or labels of collective narrow mindedness. "You're racist", You're elitest", "You're ignorant", "You're selfish.", "You're greedy.", "You want to oppress the poor.", on and on it goes.
    America on it's worst day is better than any on it's best. But it is very apparent that since the end of the Civil War, the country has become more and more centralized in it's governance and less and less forgiving in allowing the states to govern themselves as was intended.