OK. Let’s Make America Great Again

The Kavanaugh appointment and hearings have totally overwhelmed me.  And to hear females defend him brought tears to my eyes.  Our new stance on immigration, trade wars, taxation, civil liberties is so alien and so un-American to me that I feel like a tornado hit and I awoke in Oz.  Either the country has gone totally bat-shit crazy, or I have.  So, I am going to throw myself into the fray on the side of the Trump supporters and see how that feels, how that plays out, how that aligns with our core values.  Perhaps I have been wrong all along.

Since the Kavanaugh hearings are on our minds, let’s look at the time in America when a woman’s role was great, or at least great from a man’s point of view.  Let’s allow the notion that boys will be boys and that women will be not much more than sex objects.  That’s the way it should be.  Women should submit to men.  There is no reason to give them the right to own property, the right to vote, the right to claim their husbands raped them.  Not if women know their place.  The thought of a female president is just ludicrous.  The thought of a female CEO is equally crazy.  If women insist on going to college, which they do not need to do if they can find a man, they should be trained to be teachers or nurses.  Best if they just stayed home and watched soap operas, reality TV, and the Hallmark Channel while they clean house and care for the little ones.  Ozzy and Harriet, with Ozzy always coming first.  And while we are at it, why allow women to make any decisions regarding their ability to bear children.  We white males should decide if a woman can use contraceptives and if she can abort a pregnancy.  Those decisions are too important to leave in the hands of women.  All guys could grab women by the genitals knowing they secretly want us to.  And if not that, it is OK to cover their mouths so they cannot scream while we grope them and undress them.  So if we could simply downgrade female rights and female citizenship we would be making America great again. 

How about minority rights?  We’ve really screwed up there.  We know Anglos by definition are smarter and better than any other race.  Why in the world do we need to even think about quotas or equal access or integration of schools?  Birds of a feather flock together so let’s return to the good old days when Blacks lived in defined areas and kept to themselves except when we needed to hire them for menial labor.  The thought of a Black president is equally ludicrous.  And if we appoint any Black to a position of power or influence he or she must know their place and totally support the White perspective, i.e. Uncle Toms.  Blacks may not protest.  They should sit in the back of the bus and feel lucky that they have a seat.  If they are shot by police more than whites it is because they deserve it.  If they simply knew their place we would all be better off.  Same is true for Hispanics.  They were meant to be roofers and body shop workers.  Any other role is truly out of the question.  Even though we make them pay taxes it is not fair that they come here and expect the benefits of white Americans.  If they would just stay put and work for us life would be great, even if they send most of what they earn back to their families in some poor shit hole country.  So if we reverse the trend of treating racial minorities as human beings with rights we would be making America great again.

It will continue to be OK, however, for racial minorities to play professional sports and fill the ranks of our armed services.

How about religion?  This whole notion of separating church and state is probably sinful.  We are a nation of mostly Christians so Christian policy should be implemented everywhere.  We should have religious icons in all our public places, begin all meetings with prayer, allow believers to discriminate against or punish those whom the Bible says are sinful, i.e. homosexuals, transgender, etc.  We should return to the way it was in Europe when our fore fathers came here.  Each nation had a government-supported religion and if you happened to believe differently you were persecuted and that was OK.  Or, we should take a lesson from the Muslims and simply establish a theocracy.  That would make America great again, at least for the Christians, if they could ever agree on what the policies should be.

How about guns?  Every man, woman, teacher and child should have guns.  (Well, maybe arming women would turn out to be a mistake.)  If all the good guys had guns the bad guys would all get shot.  And for those who are afraid the government will show up to take our guns away we must be able to fight.  We must keep our guns because if the National Guard arrives at our houses to disarm us, we must have deer rifles to defend ourselves against the tanks and mortars.  Besides, how can we enjoy the thrill of killing mammals and fowl if we do not have firearms?  We know that the more guns there are equals the more shootings there are, but we have never tried arming everyone.  We would have to do some screening, however, to be sure that Democrats do not get guns.  If we could do all that we would make America great again.

How about social welfare programs?  It pisses me off that I work so hard and some of my tax dollars get spent on welfare for lazy, do-nothing criminals, drug addicts and bums.  It doesn’t bother me that we have cut back on mental health funding and a lot of people who should be hospitalized are on the street.  That’s what they get for being messed up.  It doesn’t bother me that most of the welfare money is spent on children.  It doesn’t bother me that some folks don’t qualify for welfare because they are working three unskilled jobs and make too much money.  It doesn’t bother me that it is harder to register and receive welfare than it is to buy a gun.  It does not bother me that people sleep under bridges and go hungry and without medical care.  That’s their problem.  They may be victims of circumstance but until we start punishing those victims things will not get better.  And where the hell does the Bible say we have the responsibility to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, heal the sick and welcome the stranger?  Abolishing welfare will allow this section of our society to simply die a slow death and America could be great again.

How about income tax?  Only makes sense to reward the most successful people and companies by reducing the amount of money they are taxed.  Though it hasn’t happened yet, surely these good people, these winners, will spend their new found money on new factories and higher salaries for their workers and stop spending their new found money on executive salaries and bonuses, purchasing their own stock and increasing dividends.  Meanwhile, the less than rich get a tax cut too, but it will not offset the rise in health care insurance, groceries, rent, and interest rates.  That’s OK.  These people vote to MAGA and this is the price they pay for philosophical support.  And the huge debt that the government has now created can only be reduced if we cut back on welfare, Social Security, Medicare, etc.  Perfect scenario, we continue to punish the victims supported by the anger of the middle class.  That will make America great again.

How about foreign policy?  Why have a foreign policy, much less one grounded in core values and beliefs?  We are the biggest dog on the block and people need to fear our bite.  We can get a lot done just with threats and bullying, cutting foreign aid if we don’t like what that country is doing, and spending more on the military.  We should insult our allies who have been hiding behind us for years and elevate dictators in countries that were hostile to us.  We do not want to be the leaders of the free world.  We're America first and to hell with the rest, even when they start making treaties without us, negotiate deals not involving us, and laugh at us in the UN.  This approach will work great as long as there is not a global economy and no instant global communication.  We are making America great again for Americans, who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

How about the environment?  If we protect the environment we hurt the ability of fossil fuel related industries to make money.  It’s that simple.  I know there is a lot of science out there that says global warming is a result of fossil fuels, but the oil companies have hired researchers who disagree.  We need to punch more holes in the ground, lay more pipelines, build more refineries, and initiate more fracking.  If you have more earthquakes, more hurricanes, more contaminated water and farmland and forests you should just shut up and buy Exxon stock.  That is how we will make America great again.

How about work related safety requirements?  What a joke.  Do you know how expensive it is to the producers to provide eye wash stations, first aid kits, safety training, safety equipment and liability insurance?  It is astronomical.  We can make America great again by eliminating safety requirements and letting the workers know they are on their own to keep themselves safe at work.

How about voter registration and voting?  Let’s be honest.  If everyone over the age of 18 voted on election day Republicans would never win.  Democratic voters vastly outnumber Republican voters.  We must find a way to limit the number of Democrats who can vote.  How do we do that?  We draw district lines so that the Democratic vote is diluted and Republicans can win.  We purge voting roles ever so often so people must re-register and Democrats will not know to do that.  We will require additional documentation when people show up to vote like picture ID’s.  That will scare off some of the Democratic voters.   Keep election day on a work day so that mangers and CEO’s and stay at home Moms can most easily vote and working men and woman have a hard time voting.  We are on the right track with all these initiatives and that is how we got into power in the first place.  Yep, we are making America great again, just not more democratic.

I have got to quit.  I tried.  I really tried to see the benefits associated with the MAGA crowd and I cannot find a benefit for anyone other than the wealthy, bigoted, misogynist crowd.  Women, minorities, the environment, the economy, and international diplomacy are all worse off under these assumptions.  I am sick to my stomach.  This is not America.  This is not what made America great nor is it the path to maintain our greatness.  It is a path to the past.  It is a path to promoting wealth accumulation at the expense of societal improvement.  For the poor, middle class and working class Americans who bought into this, you have been misled.  You have been conned.  You are now supporting un-American polices.  America is not getting great.  It is going downhill from great.

We are becoming like any other 3rd world banana republic.  We do what the leader says because he says so.  Not because it is right, or even ethical, but because he says so.  Men are forgiven for using women as objects.  Corporations are forgiven for harming the environment while producing goods in dangerous situations for employees.  The religious views of the leader are becoming law.  The rich and powerful are buying elections.  The only ethic, the only good is money and power.  If that is what we are becoming then we are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave.  We are the land of the craven and the home of the misbehaved.  The path to riches has no moral code.  That is up to us to establish.  Do good things for others.  Protect the weak.  Feed the hungry.  Heal the sick.  Welcome the stranger.

At least, do no harm.

Update 09.06.2018

If I got mad at Molson Coors Brewing Company I might write them a letter, post something mean on Facebook, use social media to organize a boycott, etc.  What I would not do is take my Miller Lites out of my fridge and pour them down the drain.  That hurts no one but me since I have already purchased the beer.  It reveals that I am stupid.  So, go ahead, those of you who do not understand the issue surrounding the NFL kneelers, do not understand the freedom to peacefully protest, do not understand the American hero Kaepernick truly is, go ahead and burn your Nikes.  You confirm what I have always suspected about you.  If you think the flag and the anthem is America and you think burning your own shoes makes a point then you are less than bright.

In the cuckoo’s nest the sane person must remain under cover and anonymous to both survive and provide contact with reality.  The anonymous author of today’s New York Times op ed is no coward.  A coward would have quit.  A coward would have buckled to the craziness.  A person that loves America would try to get word out from behind the lines to the rest of us.  To the author I say Dilly Dilly and buy yourself a pair of Nikes in case you are caught and must make a hasty retreat.  I appreciate you.

To those of you who through some magical, irrational act have convinced yourself that Kavanaugh is the best candidate for a lifetime appointment on the SCOTUS I say you are out of your minds.  If you have to keep his documents secret so we citizens won’t know the truth about him you violate the oath that put you in your chair in the first place.  If you are supporting him because he will take us back to the 1950’s then it is clear you have no business governing in this century.  If you confirm him you are cementing your own future.  He is not worth it.

And if Donald Trump is who he thinks he is, that is a great American hero sent to save us, brilliant, articulate, and stable man, then he would resign immediately based on what has been revealed this week and before knowing that the world now sees him as a buffoon, a danger, and a source if chaos.  The fact that he hangs on and lashes out is evidence that he is not great,he is as we now see him, and he must be removed.  If God chose Donald Trump then he must have done so to wake up the rest of us.

Things You Probably Don’t Want to Think About

The earliest homo sapien bones have been found in Ethiopia, Africa.  Those bones are 200,000 years old.  Therefore, we are an African species.  All of us.  We all are descendants from shit hole countries.  Even if you believe there is some magic that makes these bones appear to be 200,000 years old when they are really just 10,000 years old or so then you cannot explain that the oldest bones still come from Africa.  We have found none older.  Of course those of you who continue to use books written 4,000 years ago to explain the world in conflict with what we know from science today will become extinct because to be philosophically pure you will no doubt give up modern medicine, cell phones, TV’s, automobiles, etc.  Otherwise you are consuming the fruit of the tree you want to chop down.

Yes, global warming is real.  It is mostly man-made this time.  It is caused and promoted by those in the fossil fuel industry who quite frankly care more about the money they can make today than the quality of life of their grandchildren.  Besides, if they did not make billions they could not convince the ignorant among us to vote into office those who most accelerate our destruction.

About 60,000 years ago as the human population in Africa grew, some brave humans struck out for other parts.  Some followed the southern coastline around the Indian Sea and ended up in Australia.  Some went north then west and eventually populated North Africa, Southern Europe, Western Europe, and Northern Europe.  Some from the original southern coastline group broke off and went north into Asia then Eastern Russia before they crossed a land bridge into Alaska.  Those groups headed south and populated North and South America about 15,000 years ago, thousands of years after India, Europe, and Asia were populated.  10,000 years ago agriculture emerged and the human population began to explode.  We did not grow so much when we were hunters.  We did as farmers.  Humans have been here for 200,000 years but mastered control of fire about 125,000 years ago.  For 75,000 years we all ate our steaks rare.

If you live in America you are an immigrant.  Our only native home appears to be Africa.  Your family may have emigrated 15,000 years ago from Asia and we refer to you as Native Americans, but really you are Asian immigrants.  If your family came to this hemisphere as recently as 1,000 years ago by boat from northern Europe or by boat from Australia, then you too are an immigrant.  If your family came here about 300 years ago or less from Europe then you are part of the last arrivals here.  It is funny now that these new comers want to keep “immigrants” out, especially those who have been here thousands of years longer than they have, and especially those from shit hole countries like all of us migrated from in the first place.

If you migrated here from Europe in the 1600’s and 1700’s you were not part of the established elite in Europe.  You were not royal.  You were not landed gentry.  You were not wealthy.  If you had any of those characteristics you would not have left Europe.  Why would you?  No, if you migrated here you were likely opposed to some dominant, state-backed religion, you were in trouble with the law, you were poor, you were a member of some minority or another and you came here for freedom of opportunity and freedom from oppression by the powerful in Europe.  Of course once your forefathers arrived and became wealthy you began a systematic rejection of other immigrants because they were a minority race, poor, believed different religions, and/or were criminals.  What a hypocritical hoot.

To the original writers of our Constitution Freedom of Religion also meant freedom from religion.  It did not mean that some majority religion was allowed to discriminate based on their beliefs grounded in a 4,000 year-old Bronze Age document.  It did not mean that some majority religion could erect religious icons and symbols of their faith, or stamp their logo on our currency, or require school children to recite religious loyalty oaths in classrooms.  It did not mean that tax dollars collected from all could be spent on those who believe like the majority.  If you do not think that is true, put the shoe on the other foot and picture the day when the fastest growing religion in the world, Muslims, become the majority in America and want to do the same things Christians want to do now.  You would likely hit the streets.

As more and more men and women of different racial backgrounds produce children, and as those mixed race children grow up to have children, the human race will eventually merge into a coffee colored race.  It is inevitable and it is happening.  This will be really tough on the bigots who prefer to judge humans on degree of pigment in the skin.  Time to abandon prejudice by race.  We are all of the same species.

As scientific advances accelerate we will abandon more and more religious beliefs that conflict with reality.  The earth is not flat.  The moon is not a source of light.  The earth is not the center of the solar system, much less the universe.  Evolution is a fact, not a theory.  The earth is 4.5 billion years old.  Human beings as we define them have been here about 200,000 years.  All matter was created at the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago.  Life emerges everywhere conditions allow.  99% of all life that ever existed on our planet is now extinct.  We are destroying the only planet where we can currently survive.  Less than 15% of this planet is habitable by human beings. 

That’s likely enough to get your had spinning or to get your head nodding depending on what you want to believe and what is real.