We, the Ignorant Isolationists
"We have not grown farther apart; we have been convinced to see it that way."
In the "Writing on Psychedelics" series, I delve into a singular subject while under the carefully administered influence of a medically-prescribed psychedelic substance. This is a controlled experiment and should not be replicated without proper medical supervision. Proceed with caution.
While going under, the psychedelic is starting to work on my mind. While I begin completely lucid, by the end of this section I am struggling to form coherent sentences as the psychedelic takes full effect.
During the coming up phase, I start writing as soon as I am able to sit and think clearly again, while still very much under the influence of the psychedelic. I write until I am either completely lucid or satisfied with the conclusion.
Only minor edits are made after the fact to maintain the integrity of the piece.
Going Under
There is this common consent among people, it seems, that we as a people are growing farther and farther apart. And that, generally speaking, our ideologies no longer resemble one another. "We used to agree on these things," is a sentiment I commonly hear. But, it is my assessment that we have not grown farther apart, but instead we have only been convinced as such. It is my conclusion that civil war has happened in the past not because we became so different, but that pundits and leaders and those who want power convinced us that we were different. They turned our eyes away from a common enemy, and we began to look at each other. Why, you may ask? Because the common enemy is the rich man, and when the rich men want power they must take government. And when they realize that they can not take power without getting people to look away, and that we are all looking at them, they make us look at each other. We see each other as ideologues not because we are, but because we think we are. It is not a platitude to suggest that we are more in common than we are different, instead, it is a message that has rarely grasped a generation and taken hold in their heart. It is rare that the people come together to fight against the rich man. And the rich man has a lot of money to make us distracted. You see, when did we begin to believe that a con man or an old man could save this country? As soon as we began to lose faith in ourselves.