You know what would be awesome? Just once, I wish I could turn on the television and have talking heads, whether they be media members or politicians, be honest.

Not kind of honest. Not “I didn’t actually lie” honest. I mean brutally honest.

Take for instance the constant mistreatment of the military. I’m not talking about the current crop of Democrats who are “hurting America’s military families in favor of people who are here illegally.” I am referring to current Republicans who have the nerve to act like they give a crud about America’s military families. They don’t.

Don’t believe me, let’s rewind the clock to a time when Republicans had no qualms about “hurting America’s military families” in an effort to defund Obamacare. Getting rid of a law Republicans didn’t like, regardless that it was completely unrelated to the funding of the Federal Government was a completely justified move, even if it meant death benefit checks would be delayed to families of soldiers killed in action. But now that the issue is DACA instead of Obamacare, such action is nigh unto treasonous in the words of talking head Republican lawmakers.

That’s fundamentally dishonest.

But let’s not let Democrats off the hook. In 2013, Senator Harry Reid, Democrat Majority leader, had plenty to say about Republican lawmakers refusing to sign a bill that would avoid a government shutdown. In reference to a woman who had a federal job that would be on furlough as long as the shutdown lasted, he said, “She’s struggling because she doesn’t make that much money, and now to have her job gone. It’s that way all over America. And why? To extract political concessions through hostage taking of one issue, one issue: Obamacare.”

Not fine then. Fine now. Fundamental dishonesty!

Let’s look at another issue that is of much less importance but seems to get people equally up in arms. Presidential Golf!

A 2012 Tweet from Sean Hannity: “Here’s what Obama learned as Commander-In-Chief – That he should use a sand wedge when stuck in a sand trap on a golf course! #LynnDebate”

A 2014 Tweet from Sean Spicer: “177 rounds of golf by @BarackObama — Obama’s political bogey on the golf course @washingtonpost @Milbank”

And of course a 2014 Tweet from Donald J. Trump: “Can you believe that,with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.Worse than Carter”

Here are similar quotes from conservative pundits regarding President Trump’s frequent tax payer funded golf outings.

What’s that? There aren’t any? Wow, that’s shocking! 

Dishonesty!

Meanwhile, publications like Vanity Fair and Newsweek, which had very little (as in, nothing) to say about President Obama’s regular golf outings suddenly are very concerned with President Trump’s regular golf outings. And Shaun King, from the Daily News, even went so far as to suggest that Republicans’ main problem with Obama golfing wasn’t that they had a problem with golfing presidents. They just had a problem with, (HIS WORDS) an “uppity Negro golfing President.”

C’mon. That’s blatantly dishonest. Hypocrites? You bet. Of the highest order. But racists offended by black people playing a white man’s game? That’s a stupid accusation and insanely dishonest.

So why all the dishonesty? Because frankly, it’s what you the American people want. You practically beg them to be dishonest. Ratings of cable news sources and voting trends suggest you are the driving force demanding to be fed a big ol’ pile of dishonest bull crap on a daily basis.

You don’t want to hear the truth that it really has no impact on world or national events when the president golfs, regardless of his party affiliation. And you also don’t want to hear that military families and government workers are no where near the top of politician’s minds when they shut the government down. They don’t care because they are pretty sure you don’t actually care. They are only concerned in making sure that 51% of you, the American people, think the other guy is responsible for all the “suffering” that is occurring due to the government not operating.

Our politicians and our news sources lying to us makes us feel better. Just like lying to ourselves makes us feel better. If it didn’t, we’d hear the truth a lot more about a lot of things. Like:

• The reason Republicans are so against illegal immigration, want no deal on DACA and nearly wet themselves over any move that can be defined as amnesty is because Hispanic and Latino voters tend to vote Democrat. That’s it. They don’t care about the rule of law, they don’t care about criminals flooding across our borders, they don’t care about hordes of illegals sending all their money home without paying taxes, and they don’t care about hordes of illegals sucking up all of our tax welfare dollars. They just don’t want more Democrat voters. (I’m sure there are many who would like to argue one or more of the points I’ve just listed, but be ready. I have plenty of examples to back up my arguments. Factually based examples that contain real statistics. So bring it on.) Meanwhile, Democrats are for any and all immigration, legal or otherwise because traditionally, immigrants: Latino, Hispanic or otherwise, tend to vote Democrat. That’s it. If voting trends changed, you would suddenly see a wave of Democrats making the exact same arguments against illegal immigration listed above that the Republicans are currently making.

• Democrats advocate for a larger minimum wage because it benefits labor unions. They are not concerned about a “living wage”. They want labor union dollars to keep filling their election coffers and so they will say whatever they have to in the face of overwhelming evidence that a higher minimum wage brings down overall job numbers and causes inflation because unions pay them to do so. Conversely, Republicans can cry and moan all day long about how important it is to defend the second amendment, but the truth is, they don’t care about maintaining a strong militia. They are not worried about hunters losing their rights. They are concerned with the contributions that flow from the NRA. That’s it.

So let’s talk a little honesty for a moment. The government is shut down because of you. You, me, all of us. We keep telling our politicians that we don’t want to see an ounce of compromise on their part. We demand that they make the other side give in. So that’s what they do. Then we light them up for being do-nothing politicians. On the other hand, if they do their job and compromise, we beat them up for being spineless untrustworthy politicians.

But it’s all so stupid. We could end this government shutdown right now and everyone could get most of what they want.

Democrats: give Trump the money for his wall in exchange for DACA. Done!

But, but…we can’t give in on the wall. Our side HATES the wall.

I know they hate the wall. They should. It’s stupid. And it will be a colossal waste of money. But…it is what a majority of the people in enough states voted for to elect this guy. So…let them have it. Meanwhile, you get DACA.

Republicans: give the Democrats DACA in exchange for the wall.

But, but…our side will see that as giving in to amnesty.

Maybe, but I hope for the sake of our nation, that the people who feel that way are a small minority. If the GOP has really become the party that wants to be the face of debacles like the deportation of Jorge Garcia, then we as a nation have bigger problems.

Garcia is a 39-year-old landscaper, has lived in America since he was 10, has a wife and two teenage children who are all American citizens, and has tried for years to get legal status, legally. He tried doing it the “right way” and what did it get him? It got him ripped away from his family and sent to Mexico with a very real chance he won’t be able to return for over 10 years. His 15 and 12-year-old children are now without a father. Why? Because, the “right way” couldn’t allow for a man who was brought here as a child to remain with his family and help raise his kids. Is that really a standard the Republicans want to rally behind as the best way forward? I hope not.

So give the Democrats DACA, and you can have your wall. A wall that every sane person knows will do very little to stop the flow of drugs and human trafficking. But you will have your symbol. And then we can get out of this ridiculous mess of finger-pointing and name-calling known as the 2018 government shutdown.

Now I know Republicans will have to defend extending DACA, but if framed right, that shouldn’t be too hard. And again, you get to point to a physical manifestation of what you have gained. The Wall!!!

And Democrats, I know you will have to defend allowing The Wall to proceed. But think through this. You can argue that if allowing Mr. Trump to build his wall was the price you had to pay in order to show compassion to thousands of Dreamers and to keep families together, it was ultimately a price you were willing to pay. And keep this in mind. Once you have that wall that even most sensible Republicans admit will do nothing, think of the optics you’ve gained.

Sitting in New York harbor, facing Europe, is a symbol that represents liberty and our American way of life. At the base of that statue is a plaque that reads:

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

And if you give Mr. Trump and all his faithful what they want, you will have another symbol that sends an entirely different message. It will be a wall that faces south. South towards every Latino country in existence.

I don’t believe all Republicans are racist. I don’t believe everyone who voted for Trump hates people of color. But let’s have a moment of pure honesty, shall we? If I were a Republican serving in a national office once Trump fever has subsided, and for the foreseeable future I had to defend the symbolic optics of a welcoming Statue of Liberty facing traditionally white Europe while a giant wall (Republican president Donald Trump’s wall) greets a decidedly non-white Latin America…I think it would be enough to make me quit politics altogether.