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.