Two Parties

I’m a two-party guy.  That does not mean I have a full social agenda tonight.  I’m talking about politics and decision-making.  Yes, I am a progressive Democrat, but I absolutely do not want Democrats to be the only party.  I do not want the Republicans to be the only party either. 

H. L. Mencken wrote that for every complex human problem, there is a solution that is neat, simple and wrong.  Smart man.

 

As a species, we are facing the greatest challenges ever.  Can we survive on our home planet or have we done so much damage our climate and atmosphere are irreparable?  How many humans can our planet support?  How do we resolve conflicts that are driven by deeply held belief systems that are not subject to logic and science?  Now that 99% of all life that has ever existed on this planet is extinct, how shall we ensure that we do not follow that same path?  How do we get to a position of collaboration rather than competition with others of our kind?  How do we reconcile the wealth of the 1% with the extreme poverty of the 36% who are daily on the verge of death?  Shall barriers between humans grow stronger or should we be breaking down barriers? 

We so want someone to just step up and say “Here are the answers.”  But no one person can do that, and if they do we know upfront they are wrong.  We cannot solve human mobility across national boundaries by building walls.  We cannot solve our climate crisis by saying there is nothing to worry about and life should go on as usual.  We cannot solve the conflict between religious groups by government institution and support of one religious belief and casting other belief systems as evil.  We cannot solve the conflict between the haves and the have nots by writing off the have nots and ensuring the continuation of the haves.  We cannot solve the tension between members of our species based on DNA and skin pigment by suppressing those groups we deem somehow unworthy.  We cannot mandate the reduction in human rights and freedom and expect positive outcomes, especially if the reduction in freedom is the result of a religious belief.  Each of those paths has been tried and each has failed again and again, and yet we try again and again.

Democrats do not have a patent on the best answers to these challenges.  Nor do the Republicans.  I am a Democrat because I have looked at the proposed solutions of each party and I perceive that the proposed Democrat solutions are much more likely to yield a long-term resolution of the problems and I perceive that the Republican solutions appear to protect the status quo.  And I believe the status quo is killing us.  But, I truly believe the more minds that are brought to a problem increases the likelihood of problem solution.  For our survival we must, we absolutely must gather at the same table and discuss the issues.  We will disagree.  We will argue.  But solutions generated by open contribution and respectful debate are much more likely to ensure our survival than petty power politics.

Democracy is hard.  We must defend the right of someone to articulate what we absolutely oppose and yet be willing to seek truth in what they say.  We must confront the misuse of power for selfish ends.  We must view our entire planet, not our little square on the planet.  We must see each other, not just those who look like us and think like us.  We must plan for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren and on and on, not plan for the next quarterly report and this year’s contribution to our total wealth.  We must regain integrity.  We must pursue truth, embrace it no matter how painful, and act on fact. 

If it turns out that as a species we are incapable of the pursuit of such a noble mission then archeologists of another species will make that note on our tombstones.  The pursuit of such a mission in this nation will require two political parties both of whom are more interested in the mission than sustaining temporary majorities.  No one will care if a party has the majority and the decisions they make doom us.

Birds of a feather may flock together, but I deeply hope we are smarter than birds.  One party could foster tyranny.  Multiple parties would result in chaos and divisiveness.  Two parties, respectful of each other, can do it.  Have done it.  But we must confront those who are building walls in the petty game of politics and say to them our great-grandchildren mean more than your re-election.  We must care more about the world and America’s role in the world than we do about our own temporal power.  Just ask Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, etc. how long power lasts.  It is a false goal.  

Our mission must be to save the planet, pursue equality and equity, pursue human rights, save each other, and thereby save ourselves. 

Accountability in 2030

As I approach my 80^th birthday I review my life.  Something about being this old triggers looking in the rearview mirror rather than the windshield.  I reflect on my life, what I have done, what I have not done, the good things I did and the mistakes I made.  Some of those mistakes haunt me to this day.

My 18-year-old grandson came to me the other day with a series of questions I had a hard time answering.  He was in his senior year in high school and was studying American Government.  He had already had American History.  He was confused about the past and my take on the situation.

“Grandpa,” he began.  “Can I ask you some questions about what was going on in our country back in the 2016 to 2020 time frame?  We are looking at our government during that time and some of my classmates have very strong feelings that I do not understand.”  

“Sure.  Ask away.”  I said.

“Did you support President Trump?”

“Well, yes I did,” I said reluctantly.

“Why?”

“There are several things you have to understand about those days for any of this to make sense.  Barak Obama was elected President in 2008 and took office in 2009.  He inherited one of the worst economies this nation had ever seen.  Stocks tumbled, foreclosures were skyrocketing, plants were shutting down, unemployment was rising, the national debt was climbing, and on and on.  The nation turned to a Democrat to fix the economic fiasco left by Bush and handed him a Congress controlled by Democrats.  In other words, the Republicans really took it on the chin in the 2008 election.

But the Republican machine was a long way from dead.  During the campaign conservative talk show hosts and Fox News continued to imply that Obama was a Muslim and that he was born in Africa, not Hawaii.  It was a constant blitz of false information.  I did not know it was false.  In fact, I had voted Republican every year since the late 1970’s so I hated that the Democrats were in control.  Hearing that their leader was possibly ineligible to be President and that he was a member of a religious group that attacked us helped me feel better about hating Democrats.  I was uncomfortable with a Black President.  It seemed to me that our nation was turning more and more to protecting minorities and less and less to protecting the Anglo middle class.  That upset me.  It seemed to me that we were being taxed just so people who could not or would not work would have benefits.  That upset me.  It seemed that our judicial system was always siding with minority rights.  That upset me.

But what really upset me was the Democratic Party stand on two issues.  Gun control and abortion.  I was opposed to stricter gun control and believed it was my 2^nd amendment right to own firearms.  The NRA constantly told us that the Democrats were going to take our guns away, so did Fox News.  When Obama won there was a rush on firearm and ammunition purchases.  We now know that was the goal of the NRA who represent firearm manufacturers.  But many believed the Democrats would take away our guns.

The Democrats also supported Roe v. Wade which gave women the right to decide whether to have an abortion or not.  I was strongly, emotionally opposed to that.  I felt that unborn babies needed protection.  I felt that only God should judge which baby survives and which ones become miscarriages.  I felt like abortion was murder and I stood on holy ground opposing it.  No matter what the Democrats did regarding the economy, or health care, or international treaties, or protections against future crashes, or protection for American workers, or efforts to reduce global warming I could not see it.  I was told over and over again that Obama was terrible.  Democrats were terrible.  

And I believed it because I wanted to believe it.  As long as I listened to just some news sources and read some books and talked to only certain friends all these beliefs were strongly reinforced and I believed they were factual, not propaganda.  It was as though my team had lost the Super Bowl and I believed the other team cheated to win.  I could never forgive that other team even if they in fact did not cheat.

Obama won a second term.  Unbelievable.  At least Congress was now controlled by Republicans and every effort the Democrats made to pass legislation was thwarted.  Republicans even allowed the government to shut down to stop Democratic spending even though the national debt created by Bush was coming down under Obama’s budget.  The debt was coming down because employment was improving, homes were being built, and the economy was rebounding.  But again, I could not see it because I hated Democrats. 

So, when 2016 rolled around and Trump won the Republican nomination I was all in.  He promised to reduce the number of Hispanics entering our country illegally by building a wall.  He convinced us that those people were killers and drug dealers.  He promised to protect gun rights and oppose abortion. He promised to stimulate the economy with a huge tax cut.  He promised to improve our standing in the world by not taking any gruff off anyone, standing up to NATO, the UN, the EU, China, North Korea, Iran, ISIS, etc.  He said everything I wanted to hear.  So yes, I supported him.”

“But Grandpa, did you know he was a liar?  Did you know he was charged with sexual assault?  Did you know he used women and hated minorities?  Did you know he would protect oil companies at the expense of the environment?”

“Yes, I guess I knew all that at the time.  It didn’t matter.  I hated Democrats so much and Trump was talking my kind of talk.  Make America Great Again sounded wonderful, back to the good old days where men were men, and white men ruled.  I really liked it.  I loved it, in fact, and the more I loved it the more impossible it became for me to see the truth and the more impossible it became for me to listen to Democrats.”

“I don’t understand.  You knew he was corrupt and his administration was corrupt and he committed impeachable offenses, and yet you continued to support him?  Just does not make sense to me.”

“In hindsight, it does not make sense to me either,” I said.  “I was living in an echo chamber.  The news I saw and heard, the friends I had, everyone around me was strongly supportive of Trump.  And my hatred of Democrats and the belief that Democrats wanted our nation to be a socialistic/communistic country scared me.  It took a long time for me to see what was really going on, and when I did I felt great guilt and embarrassment.”

“What changed your mind, Grandpa?”

“I watched the impeachment proceedings.  Witness after witness confirmed what the Democrats had been saying all along.  I began to doubt what I believed so I started listening to other sources of news.  Suddenly I realized I had been living in a cave.  This man was corrupt.  He was guilty as charged.  And no matter how many times I heard him say he did nothing wrong and how many conservative editorials attempted to dismiss the facts, the facts were the facts.  I read the Meuller Report and realized that there was collusion, there was obstruction.  He obstructed justice.  He abused his power.  He opposed the US Constitution.  I was sick at heart.  I think I felt much like the Germans did when they saw Hitler as the savior of their country only to realize he was a horrible war criminal. 

“But I changed before he was removed from office.  I began to share facts with my friends, but they did not want to hear them.  They had an excuse for everything.  It wasn’t that Trump was bad it was that the Democrats were bad.  To this day I am amazed I ever swallowed all that.  I don’t anymore.”

“Thanks, Grandpa.  There are still a lot of kids whose parents think removing Trump went against God’s will and was the beginning of the end of our nation.  How do you respond to them?”

“I believe the truth will set you free and the truth will come out.  When I opened my eyes I saw the truth of Trump and I will never go back to believing the ultra-conservative propaganda machine again.  It may take a generation to recognize what almost happened here, but thank goodness democracy and our law prevailed.  We will eventually right the course this man set.  I am so sorry I did not help do that sooner.  If I and others had done so you would not be facing these tough questions now.  I am so sorry.”

“It’s OK, Grandpa.  I still love you.”

Great News!

Of the millions of Trump supporters in our nation, I am now personally aware of two who have done the following:

Read the Mueller report and concluded that Trump and his team were supporters of Russian interference in our 2016 Presidential election,

Read the Mueller report and concluded that Trump did in fact obstruct justice on at least 10 occasions by trying to get the Muller investigation of the Russian influence in his campaign canceled,

Read the transcript of the Ukrainian phone call and concluded that Trump did, in fact, ask the leader of a sovereign nation to collect negative information on Trump’s possible political rival,

Reviewed income from Trump hotels and concluded that Trump is, in fact, making a lot of money by scheduling events at his property in direct violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution,

Reviewed claims by Trump that it was Obama who began the practice of separating kids from parents at our border and concluded that it was, in fact, Trump’s policy to do so,

Reviewed the speeches made by Trump at his rallies and found them to be rife with lies and misinformation,

Reviewed the progress of “the wall” and found that other than scheduled replacement of sections of the wall virtually no new wall has been built,

Reviewed the allegations of 22 women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Trump such claims arising prior to his election and found most of those claims merit further investigation.

Reviewed Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns and his college transcripts as the most flagrant violation of transparency committed by a sitting US president,

Reviewed Trump’s orders to ignore Congressional subpoenas as another example of obstruction of justice, and

Reviewed Trump’s orders to White House and Executive branch current and former employees to refuse to honor Congressional subpoenas to testify before Congress as further examples of obstruction of justice.

After review of all the above, these two Trump supporters are in total support of the immediate impeachment of Trump and his immediate removal from office.

Education and facts do make a difference.  That is great news!

 

The bad news is there are millions of Trump supporters who simply refuse to review the above.

Cockroaches

One of the joys of living in south Texas’ tropical clime is the cohabitation we enjoy with large cockroaches.  Big, brown, scurrying, ugly wood roaches.  I have been in places when after dark I could hear the stampeding of hundreds of little clicking feet.  Turn on the light and they scatter, hell-bent for some dark hole or shadow in which to hide.

It has always seemed an appropriate metaphor to me to picture as cockroaches those folks who hate the burning light of truth to shine on them.  When the light comes, they scurry and hide.  They will hide behind anything rather than face that light.  They will seek to create darkness even if it is the darkness of their own shadow.  Anything but the light.

Sadly, our President is a cockroach.  He is fighting tooth and nail to avoid the blinding light of truth from shining on him and it is both a sad and scary sight.

 

In the darkness, he pays to have adulterous sex with a porn star and then pays her to not reveal that fact.  When it comes to light he scurries into darkness.  Cockroach.

 

In the darkness he claims to be a successful business person but when the light seeks his income tax and financial records he scurries into the darkness.  Cockroach.

 

In the darkness, he claims he is a stable genius but when the light seeks his transcripts he scurries into the darkness.  Cockroach. 

In the darkness, he meets secretly with the leaders of hostile nations, and when transcripts of those meetings are sought he says no and scurries into darkness.  Cockroach.

 

In the darkness, he sends his subordinates to cut a deal with WikiLeaks to provide harmful information on a political competitor, but as the light shines on such dealings he scurries into darkness.  Cockroach.

 

In the darkness, he sends his subordinates to negotiate with the Russians regarding influencing the outcome of our elections, but when the light begins to shine on those negotiations he attempts to block even the inquiry.  Cockroach.

 

The number of White House press briefings has shrunk to a record low.  Better to announce the news as you see it in the darkness that Twitter provides.  At press briefings, those damn cameras turn on the lights and one must answer questions, or scurry away.  Cockroach.

As an investigation into his obstruction of justice begins he tells his subordinates not to assist in the investigation and scurries into the darkness.  Cockroach.

 

In the darkness he has spends $3.4 million on each trip to play golf at his own country club, but when the Government Accounting Office asked him for more details, he scurried into darkness and denied the request.  Of his 973 days in office as of April this year he has spent 299 days at his own properties, 231 of which playing golf.  Cockroach.

 

Congress subpoenas executive branch employees and documents and Trump claims Executive Privilege and tells his appointees and employees to ignore the subpoenas.  He scurries away from the light.  Cockroach.

 

As the Mueller investigation ends and the light shines on 10 specific instances of Trump efforts to obstruct justice, in the darkness Trump announces “no obstruction” and scurries into the darkness.  Cockroach.

 

Standing in the darkness of the shadow cast by his supporters Trump makes a host of wild claims at his rallies, takes credit for everything good, accuses the Democrats of everything bad, insults our allies, insults individuals, insults news organizations, insults people recently deceased, mocks people with disabilities, admits lust for his daughter, and complains about being the most picked on President of all time while claiming to be the best President of all time.  When fact checks reveal in the light that he is lying, he scurries into the darkness to await another rally.  Cockroach.

And now a whistleblower claims Trump’s team interacted with Ukraine to get dirt on Joe Biden.  This is a President using the power of his office to undermine a political challenger for personal reasons with the leader of another nation.  Requests for information from the executive branch have been met with denials and claims of executive privilege.  Once more the light of truth heads his way and Trump scurries for the darkness. Cockroach.

There are those who like cockroaches.  In China, they farm cockroaches for food.  The Republican Party has made great efforts to keep the light of truth from shining on the cockroaches and to protect them from extermination.  So sad.

Cockroaches all.  I hear them scurrying in the halls of our democracy at night.  America, please stop providing the shadows for darkness and please turn on the damn lights.

Heartbreak

Heartbreak.  The worst pain in the world.  I have not given birth, but I have passed kidney stones and those who have done both say the kidney stones are worse.  I have broken bones, I have cracked ribs.  I have had two heart attacks and six major surgeries.  I know physical pain.  And I would go through all of it over and over if I did not ever have another heartbreak.  Heartbreak is the worst.

Heartbreak only happens when we love someone, and when I say someone I should include animals who are members of the family.  All life ends.  And for those who have reached the end and left me here I have ached, and ached.  The ache is literally in my heart.  In my chest.  A tightening that will not come loose.  Memories make it worse.  Replaying happy times makes it worse.  But most terrible is projecting current and future times.  I wonder what the people I love who no longer love me are doing now.  But, if I knew it would likely hurt more.  I can imagine the setting where it would hurt the most and do my best not to think of it.  But that is folly.  I cannot tell myself to not imagine a blue elephant without seeing one in my mind’s eye.

It is the loss of love.  Death is terrible, so final.  Regardless of your religious beliefs it is clear that the remainder of the time you are alive that now dead person will not be here.  In that is an ache that bears down and wrings tears from eyes so red, so tired yet so unrested.  Worse for me is the loss that comes from the living who in one way or another imply they will be happier without me in their lives.  Those who love, leave and then live on.  Those who could stay, but won’t.  It is in that decision to separate in life that the real gut wrenching happens for me and I feel my innards ripped and shredded and the pain in my chest almost overwhelming.  Surely death would be better than this pain, this rejection, this loss.  Why go on?

And yet I do.  I come close, but I do not leave.  I swear I will never love again.  And yet I do, always with fear and trembling that another monster pain is lurking around the corner.  I am skittish fearing early symptoms of that pain, I am prepared to jump before I care too much.  But even when I think I have protected myself I have not.  Someone leaves.  I die.  And I hold on to the hole they have left in my life, the space they took up in my head, the joy they provided when together, and wonder why the hell is it empty now, why did they decide they would be better gone than here where I could love them?  I pray they will return and fill the void.  But that prayer goes unanswered.  Always.  The void remains.  The scars form.  The shell grows more brittle. 

But the pain of heartbreak never goes away.  Each new one resurrects the pain from heartbreaks past and I wonder if somehow I am a magnet for such pain.  Do I somehow cause what I hate the most?  Do I somehow love too much?  Perhaps.  But no one stays long enough to coach me.  They take their heart and run.

I hurt tonight.  Deeply.  Perhaps a kidney stone would help.

School Resumes

August.  Teachers are returning to begin another school year, kids not quite yet.  After 40 years in this business I have some thoughts about how we start school.  And silly me, I will share them.

We spend an inordinate amount of time shutting down and starting up school years.  Each spring teachers have to pack up and take down all their stuff in addition to finalizing grades, etc.  Then in August teachers have to unpack and set up all their stuff.  Teachers see the classroom they are in as “their” classroom so they will knock themselves out to make the room appropriate for the grade and subject.  No other major enterprise spends time shutting down and starting up every year like schools do.  The main reason for the shutdown is custodial.  Summer is the time of deep cleaning.  But I have always thought just letting teachers secure their stuff where it is makes more sense than a total shutdown.  Custodians can work around and still get the rooms clean.

Teachers want time to work in their rooms. Not only for all the start-up unpacking, but to plan.  In a matter of days kids will show up and teachers are expected to have something for them to do, like learn.  Cannot expect teachers to do that well if we do not give them time to prepare.

Things that are a total waste of time during this pre-school season include motivational speakers, faculty meetings regarding handbooks and opening day procedures, etc.  Ask a teacher who the motivational speaker was a year ago and they likely will not remember, much less remember the message.  Two years ago?  Forget it.  Save the money and give teachers more supply money.  Faculty meetings are for principals, not teachers.  Going over the rules in a large group is crazy.  Treat teachers like professionals.  Simply say that teachers are expected to read and understand the employee handbook, the student handbook and the student code of conduct.  If a teacher has a question, email a principal.  New teachers should have buddies to help them digest all the most boring text in the world, found in those handbooks.

There will likely be a lot of whoo-rah regarding the kick off of the football season.  Band may get mentioned.  Volleyball, cheerleaders, dance team etc., may get mentioned.  But make no mistake this is about extracurricular events and mostly football.  That’s all fine and dandy, but school systems should celebrate teachers every bit as much as they do head coaches.

Administrators, or counselors, or somebody, will put together a schedule for the coming year.  That typically takes hours and hours.  But in no way does it compare with the days and months teachers will live that schedule.  Always seemed to me that teachers should have a voice in those schedules.  I know some may want first period off so they can come late, or lunch conference so they can leave campus every day, but the vast majority of teachers are professional and they know what works and what doesn’t.  Failure to ask the practitioners on this and other topics demeans teachers and the profession.

Teaching is the most important job in the school system and should be treated as such.  They hold the only position that requires a substitute when they are absent and that should say something.  Involve them in decision making.  Ask them their opinion.  Focus the pre-school time on promoting their planning and success.  Soon enough, kids will arrive and we must count on teachers for the remainder of the year to get the job done.  Teaching is a very private act that occurs behind closed doors with a group of kids and one adult.  We must trust teachers to do their job.  That job is critical to the future of our nation.  That job is teaching for learning for every kid in the system.  How important is that?  Wow.

I wish all my teacher friends a great start to the coming year.  I wish all my administrator friends peace and support.  Educators can help each other be successful or create roadblocks to success.  Find the roadblocks and eliminate them.

Have a great year!

If the NRA begins the NAA

What if the National Rifle Association launched a sister organization to do for automobiles what the NRA has done for guns?  The new group could be the NAA, the National Automobile Association.  If so, I can picture their policies:

They would oppose vehicle registration because once registered liberals might confiscate their cars and trucks.  They would oppose requiring driver’s licenses to operate a motor vehicle because that would limit the number of people who could buy cars and trucks.  They would oppose mandatory car insurance as that implies when there is a wreck someone may be responsible and cars don’t wreck, people wreck.  They would oppose speed limits as that reduces the functionality of the motor vehicle and there is no reason to limit law abiding drivers from driving as fast as they want.  They would oppose seat belts as that is a silly safety precaution that adds expense to the production of cars and it is not needed for those same law abiding drivers.  They would oppose license plates as that would be a way for the government to track vehicles and thereby limit the rights of the owner and the driver.  They would oppose vehicle inspection requirements as that requires drivers to take their vehicles to state run operations to determine if the vehicle functions properly and does not pollute the environment.  When the day comes that the government can tell you that you may not drive your car it will be a loss to a great American freedom.  Further, if and when the government comes to take away your car how would you escape?

There would be a whole new crop of bumper stickers.  Cars don’t kill, people kill.  You can pry my truck keys from my cold dead hands.  Good guys with cars is the only way to stop bad guys with cars.  Bad guys won’t obey car laws anyway.  Limiting who drives what and how has never stopped wrecks. 

They would take these positions based on the 1^st amendment and freedom of expression arguing that cars and trucks are the most obvious expression of each person in America and there should be no limits to that expression.  Why should you have to have headlights and blinkers if that is not your style?

We would, of course, see traffic fatalities skyrocket and families of innocents killed by reckless drivers would have no compensation because the insurance requirement is gone.  In fact, hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident would become SOP as there would really be no consequence for driving a fast car or truck recklessly.  When an unregistered truck driven by an unlicensed driver with no vehicle inspection and no insurance crashes into a Walmart and kills 20 people we can shrug and say that is the cost of freedom.  Besides, if you don’t have a truck how can you get somewhere to hunt?

So, if the NRA positions make sense, why not the positions of the NAA?

I Care

I’m in the third quarter of my 69^th orbit around our little star.  I have seen eclipses, meteor showers, Shuttle launches, forest fires, floods, hurricanes, blizzards and tornadoes.  I watched as humans first stepped on the moon and we landed vehicles on Mars and asteroids.  I watched Eisenhower initiate the Interstate Highway system.  I heard Kennedy say, “Ask not what your country can do for you….” But I only heard recordings of FDR saying “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”  I watched Nixon go and I watched classmates leave and go to die in SE Asia.  I watched Watts burn.  I watched Chicago erupt in protests in the year I graduated from high school.  I watched Wallace stand on the steps of the University of Alabama to forbid Black students from entering, and I watched Martin Luther King Jr’s, “I Have a Dream” speech live on our black and white TV.  I have seen us go from 3 bathrooms (men, women and colored) to two, and I have seen separate but not equal water fountains.  I remember life with rotary phones, no TV, no microwaves, no computers of any size, no jet travel; where radio and books were the escape.  I have seen much.  And yet still not enough.  I am not sure as are any of us how many orbits I have left.

In case I don’t have the chance to say it, I love you all.  I love you if you are taking Trump Kool Aide intravenously.  I love you if you host all my favorite liberal websites.  I love you if you read my blogs even if you argue with me.  I love you if I have yet to meet you and I love you if you have broken my heart.  I promise, I will never put you in a cage.  I will never separate you from those you love.  I will never suggest that you return to a country of ancestral origin.  I will never support someone else’s’ religious beliefs becoming the law that rules you, nor will I ever support the punishment of the minority, those who think differently and those who think at all.  You are human beings as am I.  We are not aliens here.  Earth is our home and we must begin to nurture her for survival rather than rape her for profit.  We must take care of one another and let go of the fear that someone is going to get something that should have been mine.  We teach Kindergarteners to let go of that fear and to share.  Surely we can manage that.  Surely we can learn if we have nothing good to say that we should say nothing at all.

And surely we should know the solar system, the galaxy, the universe is unbelievably vast and intelligent life is likely elsewhere.  I suspect we are not alone and we are not so unique.  We are an evolved species, even if we have not shown that to be always true.  We must take care of each other.  We must teach, we must clothe, we must feed, we must shelter, and we must heal all those that we can.  What a glorious mission!

So should you ever doubt that I cared for you let me say in no uncertain terms that I did.  Deeply.  Until the day I died.  

There, I feel better.

Horrors

Do you remember the news story about a 2 year-old boy snatched by an alligator in front of his parents at Disney World?  I do.  I still cannot imagine the horror those parents must have felt as they watched their precious son disappear beneath the surface of the pond in the death grip of an alligator.  That kind of real horror grabs me by the guts.  I feel my stomach twist.  I feel a shot of stomach acid.  I feel a shiver in my spine.  I feel a sharp pain in my chest.  I feel heartbreak.  I feel horrible.  I am in horror.  I so wish I could not picture the event, that somehow I could turn off my brain and erase that projection from my mind’s eye.  But I cannot.  It plays and replays.  Horror.  I escape shaken and changed, full of a renewed awareness of the fragility of life and the unfairness of life, and the random ways in which the universe reminds us that strange coincidences happen often to our horror.  And I think of those I love the most, hold most dearly in my heart’s esteem.  I am oh so grateful that my horror is vicarious.

Is there a way to relieve this horror by finding someone to blame?  Can we say the parents should not have been walking by that pond and they somehow got what they deserved?  Can we say that alligators hunt small mammals and the alligator was just doing his thing?  Can we say that life is tough, it is unfair, it is cruel just get over it?  None of those strategies work for me though I hear they work for others.  I am still in the shoes of the parents, watching my two year-old.  No rationalization, no blame of others will ever relieve that pain, that horror.  The pain I share is sympathy and imagined empathy.  I believe it is an essential element of the human condition.  I believe to lack sympathy and empathy is dysfunctional.  Anyone who found the death of that young boy funny, or just, or somehow simply fate lacks those human attributes.  Sympathy and empathy are prerequisites for vicarious horror.  I am horrified by the ability of some to avoid empathy by blaming the victims

And so I find new horrors.  Children taken from their parents, separated, scared, unable to speak the language, crowded together, hungry, no water, no soap, no way to get clean.  And they cry all night.  What a horror.  I imagine the parents, grief stricken and confused, separated from the humans they love the most.  Also crowded, also without food, etc.  What a horror.  How can I be a human and not feel their pain?  I only can if I can find a way to blame them, fear them as they suffer at our hands.  There is no other way.  If I can only think of them as somehow less human than me, then I am OK.  But, I cannot think that way.  I think all human life is precious. 

We did the same thing to the Japanese residents during World War II.  Hitler did the same thing to the Jews and Gypsies in Germany.  Terrorists groups do the same things to people who think differently than they do.  Others are doing the same to Syrian refuges and Nigerian refugees, Afghan refugees, Venezuelan refugees, and on and on.  We did the same thing to Black Americans.  Some have always found a way to justify their disdain for other humans allowing them to be isolated, tortured, deprived of necessities, and even killed.  I can’t do that.  Every suffering human is a 2 year old boy in the grips of an alligator.  I would do all that I could to save him.  Save them.

Yes, I am a bleeding heart.  Yes, it haunts me as I slip into bed at night that others are sleeping in cardboard boxes or in sleeping bags under bridges.  Yes, it haunts me that so many go without food, water, shelter, health care.  I believe as our Declaration of Independence declares, that all men are created equal and have certain rights that are simply an inherent attribute of being human.  Our glorious gift from France standing on Ellis Island simply says, “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!” 

We have not always been a nation of acceptance and tolerance and support and opportunity.  But when we drifted from that path we would right ourselves and resume leadership of humanitarian efforts on this planet.  In that we were noble.  We are no longer noble.  In fact, if we point that out we are asked to leave.

Now, we create horrors.

Who's Left?

I am wondering about my fellow Americans.  Perhaps you will know the answers and can provide insight:

Who’s left that believes climate change is not real and is not influenced by human behavior?  Anyone?  If so, how can they believe the reams and reams of science and data that show otherwise?  If so, are they professional ostriches or just ignorant?  I have to believe that anyone who can read has learned we are in deep dodo of our own making and must act immediately to save the only planet we have.  If there is someone who does not know this they should automatically qualify as having a mental health issue.  Like the high council of Krypton ignoring Jor-El we play dumb at our own peril.

Who’s left that believes Trump is an honest man?  He has told over 10,000 documented lies in his 2½ years.  They all tend to be exaggerations of his own greatness or lies about reality shifting to his own version of reality which is, in fact, not real.  So, are there still some who believe he is honest?

Who’s left that believes Trump did not obstruct justice in the Russian election influence investigation?  Again, only those who have not read chapter 2 of the report.  Does anyone doubt that those efforts to end the investigation are anything other than felonies?

Who’s left that does not know the Russians did influence our election in favor of Trump? 

Who’s left that does not know that Trump does not support the US Constitution as he has sworn to do?

Who’s left that does not know if one speaks the truth to Trump one will either be fired or branded as anti-American or branded as attacking the President or labeled Fake News?

Who’s left that does not know Fox News is an entertainment network, not a news organization.  They can say anything they want to say just like Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood.  What they are is the Trump propaganda arm.

Who’s left that does not know Trump lost the presidential election popular vote to Clinton by 3 million votes?

Who’s left that does not know that Trump began the separation of immigrant children policy in 2017?

Who’s left that has any evidence that a wall will work to stem or discourage immigration?

Who’s left that believes we are being invaded by terrorists, thieves and murders?

Who’s left that believes unilaterally imposing tariffs is a good thing for our economy?

Who’s left that believes Trump is capable of multilateral collaborative international efforts, treaties and sanctions?

Who’s left that believes the increased output and declining unemployment are credited to Trump and not Obama?

Who’s left that believes Trump wants to serve the America people rather than cut services for the needy and increase the wealth of the greedy?

Who’s left that believes Trump supports our allies more than he is in awe of dictators?

Who’s left that believes Trump is not a racist?

Who’s left that believes Trump is not a serial sexual offender?

Who’s left that believes Trump is in office to serve the USA as a public servant rather than in office under the mistaken assumption he is CEO of America working to help himself, his family and the wealthy?

I do not want names.  I just want those who may be left to either learn how to read, how to think or to get professional help.

Freedom is Unique

Somewhere around 2016 we stopped celebrating and supporting freedom.  I find that very disturbing.  Equally disturbing is the anger I sense from those folks who support the winner of the 2016 election.  Why are they so mad?  They won!  Why is it so important to somehow punish Clinton and Obama?  They won!  It feels very much like I would feel if the US Women’s Soccer Team now went after the Netherlands team.  Just seems stupid and petty, but the anti-Democratic rancor is ever present.  And I see the anti-Democratic rancor as un-American and anti-freedom.

I think for many people political perspective and religious beliefs are not discovered or chosen, they are inherited.  People who grew up and remain isolated by race, education and income are constantly reinforced to hold the same beliefs they held as 16 year olds.  Clearly, many have had epiphanies and have changed their outlook on life, but not that many.  We do know that the more diverse the setting in which one lives and the more education a person has the more likely their tolerance increases and their belief in fundamental freedoms increases.  Those in homogeneous settings not so much.  If everyone around you is an evangelical Christian and a right-wing conservative then it is very rare to find a liberal perspective.  In fact, the liberal perspective is seen as evil, foolish, idiotic, etc.  In an effort to counter that attitude I sit to pen a post regarding what freedom really means and why liberals support freedom.

Our nation begins with two critical concepts.  All men (and women) are created equal.  All men and women have rights that cannot be violated.  Freedom occurs where the wealthy and powerful agree to limit themselves for the sake of the freedoms of others.  It is present when the law assures freedoms and all agree to follow the law and law enforcement enforces the law.  That is a set of rare attributes found only in a few nation states.  Is our nation a free nation? 

The way to find out if a nation is free is to see if it is possible to do and say the unpopular.  Is it possible to believe something different than most?  Is it possible to criticize the leadership?  Is it possible to gather with others and protest a position assumed by the majority?  Is it possible to speak out in opposition to the leadership?  If a nation protects the minority point of view and minority belief systems then a nation is likely free.  If a nation punishes, harasses, puts down, insults all those who hold a different perspective from the majority that nation is in no way unique and in no way promotes the freedom of its citizens.  If it is not OK to be a Muslim or an atheist, then the nation is not free.  If it is not OK to kneel in protest to the actions of the government then the nation is not free.  If it is not OK to burn a symbolic cloth, sit during a symbolic anthem, protest the arrest of an identifiable minority group than that nation is not free.  It is by measuring the range of behavior that is protected by the majority that is critical of the majority that we discover how free we are.

There is nothing unusual about a ruler wishing the press would only say nice things about him or her.  There is nothing unusual about the press finding flaws, errors, conspiracies, etc., that are attributes of the leaders.  There is nothing unusual about rulers and leaders attempting to banish, punish, and attack those members of the press who are critical of the ruler.  That happens all over the planet.  What is unique is a nation that says the press is free to criticize, free to expose lies, free to expose conspiracies and the rulers agree to protect that freedom.  Such freedom is unique.  America has had that freedom until very recently when a leader has chosen to attack the press, label the press the enemy of the people, ban the press from important meetings and developed a new idioms for the reports that are critical of the leader:  fake news and alternative facts.  Attacking media that is critical of the leader is not unusual.  Protecting the rights of the media to do so is unique and exists only in a nation that values freedom.

There is nothing unusual about a ruler wishing to avoid limitations to his or her power.  Many nations have some sort of elected group, a parliament, a congress who are designed to check the power of the ruler.  The leader’s ability to ignore those checks is not unique.  That happens in every nation with a strong armed leader.  In some nations the leader can actually dismiss the elected body.  What is unique is a nation that says each branch of the government will respect the functions of the other branches.  The courts serve as check on legislation.  Is a law that has been passed and enforced a constitutional law?  Does it protect the freedoms of everyone?  If not, the law is judged unconstitutional and dismissed.  Is the head of the executive branch running amok?  If so, the legislative branch can investigate and impeach the head of the executive branch.  The executive branch can veto legislation that the executive finds contradictory to his or her goals and the constitution.  Without those checks we are not free.  Without the balance of power established in the three branches we are not free.  America has had that freedom until very recently when an executive has attempted to stop the investigation by the legislature.  We have had that freedom until very recently when an executive decided to ignore requests and subpoenas from the legislature.  We have had that freedom until very recently when an executive took us out of treaties and alliances that were legislatively approved.  We have had that freedom until very recently when an executive has declared that his actions, his wealth, his taxes and his meetings are private and others may not know what he is doing.  We have had that freedom until very recently when the executive has sought ways around rulings of the courts regarding the census, regarding prohibiting Muslim immigrants, regarding moving legislatively approved money for the military to build a wall, etc., etc.

There is nothing unusual about a religious group wishing everyone believed as they believed.  There is nothing unusual about a leader wishing to put his or her own religious beliefs in the law of the land.  All believers believe their belief is the only right way to believe.  Countless nations have an official religion and citizens are subject to penalties, punishment even death if they do not believe as the state wants them to believe.  What is unique is a nation that protects the individual right to believe whatever that individual chooses to believe.  We have had that freedom in America until very recently when our executive announces that he perceives it is an attribute of religious freedom to practice one’s belief to the extent it harms others.  It is OK to discriminate against other citizens based on one set of religious beliefs.  It is OK to ban certain marriages based on one set of religious beliefs.  It is OK to limit a woman’s reproductive freedoms based on one set of religious beliefs.  It is OK to promote prejudice and exclusion based on one set of religious beliefs.  There is nothing unusual about such a stance on this planet.  It is not, however, a characteristic of a free state.

Want to know if you are free?  Stand on the corner and proclaim you are an atheist.  Stand on a corner and proclaim that separating children from their parents is a horrible human rights offense.  Stand on the corner and kneel during the national anthem to protest unarmed members of a race who continue to be shot.  Stand on a corner and claim that all people have rights inclusive of Muslims, all sexual orientations and identities and all races.  Stand on a corner and condemn the position of the right wing Christian churches.  If you are not booed, if you are not fired from your job, if you are not egged, if they do not start plucking chickens and boiling oil then you likely live in a free state.  If the only people who find it safe to stand on the corner and proclaim that they are Christian, they are anti-abortion, they are pro-Russian, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, they are anti NATO and the EU, they believe investigations into the executive are witch hunts, they forgive sexual assault, they forgive obstruction of justice, they forgive attacks on the press, they support Russian interference in our elections, they support holding camps at the border, they support the separation of children from their parents, they believe that unilaterally initiated tariffs are a good thing, they believe all programs and people Democratic are bad, then you do not live in a free state.

I deeply miss our freedoms.   I wish conservatives did too.  A free nation is truly unique. 

Lessons We Have Yet to Learn

Freedom of religion means freedom from religion and freedom from government supporting one religion over another and from government supporting religion over no religion.

If you oppose abortion for religious reasons that’s your right.  If you support the government adopting your religious views in law and policy that is wrong and un-Constitutional.

Trusting your guts or your beliefs when they conflict with science and data is a path to foolhardy failure.

Our government was designed to be a series of checks and balances, each of the three branches having a critical role to play.  When one branch ignores the checks of the other two branches that is un-Constitutional.

If you fear democratic socialism more than tyranny you need to study each.  As a nation we have consistently fought tyranny and consistently successfully endorsed democratic socialism.  Now, our President praises tyranny and attacks socialism.  That is the path to tyranny.

Trump is not a leader, he is a boss.  That is why he likes the military.  He can order them around.  Amazing that no Trump in 5 generations has ever served in the military.  It is nice to be king.

Tanks in Washington and concentration camps on our southern border are not symbols of freedom.

Trump has spent more tax payer money on his 4^th of July campaign event than the cost of the Mueller investigation.

Trump has spent more tax payer money at his own golf courses than the cost of the Mueller investigation.

Though he swore to protect and defend the Constitution he has attacked many of the main provisions of our nation’s framework.  He calls the press the enemy of the people even though they are constitutionally protected.  He suggests he should serve 5 terms as President.  He avoids Senate confirmation of Cabinet level appointments by naming them interim or acting.  He refuses to honor legislative subpoenas.  He seeks ways around Supreme Court rulings.  He withdrew the US from a number of treaties and alliances that were congressionally approved.  He has committed obstruction of justice on multiple occasions with investigatory groups.  He has celebrated dictatorships in Russia, North Korea and Saudi Arabia while being critical of our closest allies.  Trump has continued to profit from his private sector holdings while serving as President, a clear violation of the Constitution.  In short, he has violated his oath of office and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Trump is a documented liar.  Trump is a documented sexual predator. 

Our Declaration of Independence began the United States.  It states that all men are created equal.  It states that when a prince or king or leader resorts to tyranny it is time for the people to revolt.  We came a long way toward those lofty goals until 2016 when we began to treat some people as less than equal, tyrannical leaders as friends, and endured a prince more interested in promoting self and personal family than protecting the citizens of this nation.  Such a Presidency must end.  It is antithetical to America.

And there were no airports in 1776.

Happy 4^th of July.

Nightmares

I awoke at 2:30 a.m. from a nightmare that left me shivering in a cold sweat.  I was afraid.  I’m well beyond worrying about the bogeyman, or things that go bump in the night, or ghostly apparitions or monsters under the bed.  I had a dream that shook me to the core.

Democrats finally decided to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump.  The impeachment articles included obstruction of justice, failure to fulfill the duties of the Presidency, and violations of the emolument clause.  The hearings were televised and the witnesses and facts just kept rolling out.  He was guilty.  The House voted to impeach and the case went to the Senate for confirmation.  McConnell attempted to stonewall, but the House threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against him.  In a historic vote in the fall of 2019 Trump was convicted and ordered to vacate the office of the Presidency.

He refused.  As Commander-in-Chief he ordered the Army to form a defensive ring around the White House where he gathered his family and confidants.  He televised speech after speech encouraging his followers to rise up, take to the streets, and use their weapons to defend him.  Trump cast himself as America’s savior and the victim of a coup and a conspiracy.  There was little likelihood that the Cabinet would invoke the 25^th amendment to add additional rationale for his departure.  But the Joint Chiefs were stuck.  Trump was commander in chief.  Capitol police were not likely to invade the White House when confronted by the US Army.  The FBI was not going to intervene as they were thoroughly under Trump’s thumb.  Trump was violating the Constitution and the due process of law, but his followers did take to the streets to defend him.  It was a coup.  It was Trump becoming the first Imperial President of the US and undoing Constitutional restraints on his powers.  He signed an Executive Order disbanding Congress and ordered the Army to supervise the departure of the elected representatives.  Once gone, he took the sole reins of power.  Still his followers supported him.  Civil war was brewing and the nation was beginning to splinter.  Putin was celebrating.

I awoke.  Scared to death.  Could this possibly happen?  I got up, paced and fretted.  I drank a scotch to calm my frazzled nerves and attempted to shake the dream from my head.  I finally returned to bed, once again to sleep, once again to dream.

The Democrats decided not to impeach Trump for fear it would be too divisive for the nation.  Plus in secret meetings the military revealed their dilemma should he refuse to vacate the office.  It was decided to let the chips fall and allow the voters to decide in the fall of 2020, and decide they did.  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were overwhelmingly elected as President and Vice President respectively.  It was a landslide in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.  Democrats regained control of the Senate and even McConnell was defeated.

Trump immediately claimed voter fraud, declared the results invalid, and launched a nationwide investigation.  By Christmas it was clear that the vote was legitimate, but Trump claimed it was merely an inside attack by his enemies to remove him.  Though Biden formed a transition team and planned an inauguration, Trump ordered the Army to surround the White House where he and his were cloistered.  Trump called on his followers to rise up, take to the streets and defend what he called his stolen Presidency.

In January, Biden was sworn in on the steps of the Supreme Court.  The ceremony was interrupted twice by armed gangs firing shots into the crowd, killing some and wounding many.  Once sworn in, the nuclear codes were disabled for Trump and the football passed to Biden.  Biden, now Commander in Chief, ordered the Army to return to their base.  Most did.  Some Trump loyalist remained, however.  They became surrounded by the Army loyal to the US, not to Trump.  As the Army began to advance on the White House, militia members, Trump supporters, attacked them from the rear.  By nightfall, DC was in bloody chaos.  Trump would not relinquish power and the nation began its second Civil War.

In Red states known Democrats and liberals were dragged from their homes and placed in internment camps.  In Blue States the National Guard was called out to maintain order and sweep up militia members who refused to honor curfews.  Blood was shed.  American blood shed by Americans.

By the end of the week it was clear which states would remain loyal to Trump and which states would honor the Constitution and the rule of law.  Trump closed the stock market and banks.  Our allies were conflicted.  Should they enter the fray on the side of our Constitution or let Trump have his way.  They could only stand by and watch as the former United States of America fell apart and a dictator began his rule of terror.  Democrats, liberals, the media, minorities, folks with other faiths and no faith were all rounded up and interred.  The military was ordered to form a human barrier at our border with orders to shoot to kill anyone attempting to cross into the US.  Trump declared the former name of this country, the United States of America, was no longer valid and directed that from now on we were simply “America” and he was making us great again.

This man will not go easily and he will not obey Constitutional restraints.  Thoughtful conservatives realized too late what was happening and risked being interred if they spoke up.  Trump was an American Hitler and by the time that was clear all but the uneducated, bigoted, gun-toting evangelicals knew it was a huge mistake.

I awoke in a horror that quickly morphed to tears.  Freedom is fragile and in reality it is already showing cracks.