Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am - Stuck in the middle with you.

Stealers Wheel created this gem of a 70s song, and I am not sure if the knew how much this song would mean nearly 50 years later. Here we are stuck in the middle, and much like the scene in Reservoir Dogs, this song aptly conveys the pain we're all feeling right now.

Left Wing and Right Wing are part of the same dirty bird

While there are always challenges to living abroad, things just got more complex for those living in Colombia on Sunday. I have a close friend visiting for the past week, and one thing I wanted to showcase was ciclovia, because this is Medellin at it's best. It's a time where you can talk, be active and enjoy the sights - of all varieties. But this peace was shattered by some of the worst news ever - there was huge tension between the US and Colombia over the return of illegal immigrants from the United States to Colombia. Beyond the human sadness of this moment, people using this moment to show their political superiority was on full display mostly online, but in person as well.

Let me be clear here, politics are the religion of our time, and I think it's all disgusting. Politics have become people's personalities, and I'm going to say something controversial here - Your political party doesn't give a shit about you. Unless you are a huge donor, you are an NPC to them. You mean nothing to your favorite politician, and that doesn't matter who you love. You thinking otherwise, is the same as you believing that the stripper truly loves you. "You don't understand, we connected!" is the energy you give. Clarifying even further, NOBODY, and I truly - with all due respect mean NOBODY cares about your political views. Further than that, you will never convince anyone to see things your way, the more you try, the more you look like an absolute clown. I try and keep my political views to myself because as a kid, my grandfather told me that you should never talk about your political views, religion or sex life with anyone outside of your life, and I have kept that for a long time.

What Does This Mean For Those That Live In Medellin?

The long and short answer is, we don't know. I can tell you this, it doesn't mean good things. No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, this will not be a great thing for Colombia and those that choose to live here. There are some people are selfishly looking at how they can benefit from the turmoil an uncertainty, hoping for a 6000/1 peso so their dollars can buy them more things, and cheering on an economic collapse in Colombia. But this loud minority is not everyone, despite how it looks on Reddit, Forums and Facebook groups. There are plenty of selfish idiots in the world, and these people are not the spokespeople of the United States, no matter how important they pretend to be.

I can tell you that it means that we as immigrants here are going to be scrutinized more by a certain sect of Colombian society. But, just like other estadonidense, they don't speak for the majority of Colombian society. Financially, this isn't a great thing. If you are one of the people hoping for a economic collapse here so you can be rich, YOU are the fuel to the fire of those that have a strong disdain for foreigners. A collapsing peso benefits you in the short term, yes, but it won't benefit anyone long term. People coming here hoping for this live up to the colonizer moniker, especially if you hope for a weakening peso for selfish reasons.

Where Do We Go Now?

Despite starting my 9th year living here full time, I am not Colombian. I realized with my friend visiting, how many Colombian traits I've picked up, but I'm not Colombian. If you are living here, you have a duty to be a representative of your country. When you cheer on bad things happening to others because it benefits you, you look ugly, and strengthen that "Ugly American" stereotype. When you argue smugly about your political views while being a guest in Colombia, you look like an asshole. It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you're on, your need for superiority is ridiculous. Where we go now, is to take a step back. This moment isn't about us. Yes, sorry, this moment isn't about you. Calm your ego.

Let's move on with our lives, and try and be gracious to our hosts. How about we help the community, and be good visitors. If someone comes to your house and talks about politics, how much does that suck? Even if you agree with them, it gets old. This is where we are. It's tired. Colombians and immigrants alike are fatigued from political talk. Those of us that live here are like children in the middle of a toxic divorce. Let's not focus on which parent is less toxic, because we're going to see in time that both parents are toxic. Let's live our lives and how about this, treat others well. I couldn't possibly care less about who you voted for, and most people don't care either. We all know how hard times are, and celebrating these moments isn't helping anyone. Make Politics Personal Again. Please.