Episode 43: Sitting On The Fence

"If I lay here/if I just lay here/would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

                                         -Snow Patrol, "Chasing Cars"

  These days, everyone seems so divided. Whether it's politics or something more simple like if She-Hulk is good or not (it is), it seems like anyone can be at someone else's throat over what is a simple disagreement. It seems like many people have forgotten how to respectfully disagree, and want everyone to think the same way they do instead of embracing differences of opinion. 

   Well, there is a third option. Instead of being completely this way or that way, you can be...

Sitting On The Fence

   There are some things that I know my side on, many of which are pop culture things, food things, or political things. I believe that Fall Out Boy is better post-hiatus than pre-, that Pepsi is better than Coke (unless it's McDonald's Coke), and that we should not have the death penalty at all. But, on a lot more things, things that dominate my thinking a lot more, I'm more of a centrist.

Marvel vs. DC

   Ah yes, the age old question. Even people who aren't really into superheroes probably have a preference when they get right down to it. I've spent phases of my life on either side, but I've gotten to the point where I just love both and refuse to pick one. I've said before that asking me to pick Marvel or DC is like asking a parent with two children to pick which child they prefer. Of course they love both, and even though they may subconsciously actually prefer one of the two, they would never say that.

   I am a big fence-sitter when it comes to Marvel and DC. I think the objectively best superhero movies ever made are Logan (Marvel) and The Dark Knight (DC). My two favorite superhero shows are Smallville (DC) and Daredevil (Marvel). I spend a lot of time with both companies, and my love for both is so high that I refuse to show favor to either.

XBox vs. PlayStation

   The console wars. They get so heated. But I don't know what to pick. I spent a lot of time playing on my PS Vita as a kid and as a teenager, and today I often play my sister's PS4. But, for years I played my XBox 360 almost exclusively. I played through a lot of games on that thing. On the issue, I'm still on the fence. I am definitely leaning more towards PlayStation's yard, but I don't want to get off of the fence.

Politics

   I think I've said before on this blog that I consider myself a Democrat. But there's more to it than that. I've taken multiple political tests to see where I am on the spectrum and I always get a little left of the center. I am a registered Democrat, but only because I wanted to be associated with one of the big two instead of taking the widely-traveled and too-easy path of being with neither. It just means that, if I were to ever run for office, I would do so with a D next to my name instead of an R.

   However, Republicans say a lot of things I agree with. I definitely do not agree with the MAGA crowd and 98% of what they do angers me, but the general umbrella of conservatism and the Republican Party have a lot of things to say that I can get behind.

   This situation is like the console wars one. I am definitely leaning toward one of the two yards, but I don't fully want to leave the fence.

Conclusion

   I think we could all afford to sit on the fence more. The fence is a comfortable place where we hear both sides, and don't get caught up in the groupthink and frustration that comes with being firmly in either yard. I think if more people were on the fence on certain issues, the world would be a more cooperative and friendly place.

Anyway, see you next week!