Poli-Sci-Fi

I love science fiction.  Take me to another world, another time, another set of life forms, a whole new array of technology and I am a happy camper.  It is for me like a vacation to a place I have never been before.  Much of the Sci-Fi I read or watch describes settings that I wish were true, some of it describes settings I am very thankful are not true.  I would love to be able to beam somewhere with Scotty, or watch a Jedi defeat the emperor, or watch Paul Atreides ride a spice worm.  Regardless, Sci-Fi takes me away.

But, I know the difference between science fiction and fact.  When I put the book down or the movie ends I return to reality, to the world I know, a world based on fact, not fiction, science, not sci-fi.  There are no such things as Jedi, or the emperor, or Klingons, or Vulcans, or Starfleet, or Yoda.  I know that. 

Political science is a serious field of study.  In this field one learns about our Constitution, how we pass laws, the three branches of our government, the checks and balances each branch has on the other, the appointment process, the impeachment process, the protection of civil liberties from those who would take them away, protection of the media, the separation of church and state and why that is such a wise thing to do.  One learns the advantages of a two-party system and the core values held by each party.  One learns what powers are left to the state governments and there are separate curricula designed to study those governments as well.  One learns about international trade and international politics and other forms of governments as well from the liberal democracy we enjoy to the extreme conservative totalitarian fascist state to the extreme liberal totalitarian communist state.  One learns the difference between free enterprise, free enterprise with regulation, socialism, and feudal totalitarianism backed by the military.  These are areas of real importance around which every American should be informed.  That is perhaps why a student may not graduate in Texas unless he or she has passed American Government and Economics.

Until very recently, political science and economics were grounded in fact, data, experience, eyewitnesses, and outcomes.  But we have entered a new era, evidently, and I missed the announcement.

There was Poli-Sci.  There was Sci-Fi.  Appears to me now that there is such a thing as political science fiction or poli-sci-fi.  There are wonderful fictional novels and movies regarding how governments are formed and operated and the people who experience such an operation prosper or die.  Watch “Running Man” and Alita, Battle Angel,” the Divergent series, the Hunger Game series, “Fahrenheit 451” and “The 100,” to name but a few.  But each of those pieces of media is fiction.  I should not have to say that, but I do.  There are some who confuse fiction with reality and for them, the clarification must be made clear.

There are, however, some current best-sellers in the poliscifi arena. 

“Trump Wins 2020 Election!” 

“Biden, Software Companies and State Officials Steal Trump Ballots, Claim Biden Wins!” 

“Random Group of AntiFa Members and Democrat Extremists Storm Capitol!” 

“The Secret Hand of the Deep State Revealed in 2020 Election” 

“Trump Will Never Concede an Election He Actually Won” 

“Trump Replaces George Washington as the President Who Will Not Tell a Lie,” 

“Trump’s Business Successes Continue to Accumulate” 

“Trump Would Never Assault a Woman” 

“Trump Not Guilty of Any Illegal Act” 

“No President Has Ever Been as Successful as Trump” 

“Trump Enjoyed Overwhelming Support of the People,” 

“Trump’s Impeachments Due to Democrat Conspiracies” 

“The COVID Vaccines Contain Microchip Implants and Will Steal Your DNA!”

“The Only Reason Biden Able to Slow the Virus is Trump’s Push to Find a Vaccine” 

“Only Trump Can Save the USA During These Challenging Times”

“Police Kill Black Suspects When and Only When They Do Not Obey Police” 

“The US Would Be Better Off If All Immigrants Left” 

“Voting Restrictions Must be Enforced Due to 2020 Election Fraud”

Do not be mistaken, the authors of these fictions prosper mightily any time some American citizen buys their fantasies.  But they are fantasies.  There is no truth to any of those themes.  None whatsoever.  People have offered rewards to anyone who can demonstrate proof of these lies and no one has claimed a reward yet. 

Trump lost the election, fair and square and there is no evidence of anything else.  Trump made 30,573 false and misleading statements while he was President.  He is a consummate liar and cannot get through a speech without lying.  There are 26 women pursuing charges of sexual assault against Trump.  He has made so many derogatory remarks regarding women and minorities they are not worth repeating here.  Trump called a meeting of his followers on January 6 at the White House and told them to march to the capitol building.  Trump called the meeting, on the day the votes were to be certified.  His followers used force to enter the building, they stole stuff, vandalized stuff and people died.  The building was the United States Capitol.  It was an insurrection by folks who did not like the outcome of the November election.  Trump could have sent them home, but he sent them down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the capitol.  And he will be held accountable for that as are his followers who were there are now discovering.

There is no Deep State.  No one has ever come forward and announced they are a former member of this so-called deep state.  Though people have come forward and announced they were former members of the KKK, White Supremacy groups, and even the Republican Party.  I figure if there was a Deep State we either would have never heard of it or it would by now be totally public.  What this lie is about is an effort to blame someone and to raise fear. 

My experiences talking with folks who have bought into the poli-sci-fi myths is extremely frustrating.  It is akin to having someone tell me they are Romulan when I can clearly see they are Borg or telling me that Captain Picard is leading a rebellion against Star Fleet, or that the Enterprise is really the Millennium Falcon.  There is no good way to argue with people who are wrong but sincerely believe they are right.

Fictions, and only fictions, continue to fuel these folks.  I celebrate the lawsuits brought by the software companies who were accused of converting Trump votes to Biden votes with no evidence at all.  I hope there will be public trials of Trump for tax evasion, misuse of power, violation of the emoluments clause, and obstruction of justice.  I have to believe that when the truth comes out our friends and relatives who currently subscribe to the poli-sci-fi will abandon those fictions and help restore the reality of the USA, grounded in the political science defined in the Constitution and not on right-wing talk shows.

We now know we can convert the carbon dioxide on Mars to oxygen.  We appear, however, to be unable to convert those who believe lies to those who know the truth. 

End Poli-Sci-Fi. 

Disoriented

 

I want to be sure I understand what is going on.  This is what I see:  Some Anglo Americans are harassing, attacking, robbing, shooting, stabbing, and discriminating against Asian Americans.  The motive for these attacks appears to be that Trump labeled the coronavirus the “China Virus.”  Yes, that same pandemic virus that Trump and his followers did and do not take seriously.  That same virus triggers whining about civil liberties due to wearing masks.  That same virus that Trump followers thought was a hoax, thought would simply go away, thought there would be a miracle cure, thought hot weather would kill, thought ingesting disinfectant would kill, and thought taking hydroxychloroquine would help kill.  So, lump all those lies together, think little of the virus, and yet generate enough hostility to Asians to attack them for the virus those Asians had absolutely nothing to do with?  So the virus is no big deal but the race Trump associated with the virus merits attack?  Is there some deep logic I am missing here?

If we were going to harass, attack, and demean anyone it ought to be those Trumpers who still believe the Big Lie, still will not wear masks, and still will not get vaccinated.  Those are the people threatening Americans, not Asian Americans.

If I do get it, I remain amazed at the dissociative prowess of the Trumpers.  Attacking Asians based on a presidential slur regarding a disease they disown and demean is extremely bizarre.  It is like those folks will use any excuse to spread hate and violence, even if they do not take the excuse seriously.  From where I sit, that kind of thinking or lack thereof merits its own special brand of harassment.

Those folks are disoriented.

Redfish Tags and Other Documentation

 

I want to rent a car.  To do so I must show my driver’s license and proof of insurance.  I want to buy a six-pack of beer, or a bottle of wine, or a fifth of scotch.  To do so I must provide documentation that I am over the age of 21.  I want to buy a house.  To do so I must produce written proof of insurance and written proof of financing.  I want to enroll my children in school.  To do so I must provide proof of residency and proof of vaccinations.  I want to go shoot a deer.  To do so I must have and be prepared to show a hunting license.  I want to buy a gun at a retail outlet.  To do so I must provide proof of age and pass a federal background check.  I want to make an appointment to see a doctor.  To do so I must provide proof of insurance.  I want to go fishing.  To do so I must have and be prepared to show a fishing license.  I want to keep the 29” redfish I caught.  To do so I must produce a tag allowing me to keep it, and such tag is attached to my fishing license.

So?

Seems to me that there are many, many instances where I must produce documented proof of something prior to engaging in certain normal behaviors.  I do not feel intruded upon.  I do not feel under the onus of big brother.  I just recognize that for safety’s sake and authorization’s sake I have to have proof.

So, right-wing-nuts claim that providing proof of vaccination is an intrusion on their civil liberties and is too much like big brother.  Really?  (I say the following tongue-in-cheek for those of slower wit.)  I recognize that more people have died from: renting a car more than from the pandemic, from fishing than the pandemic, from hunting than the pandemic, from the measles and mumps than the pandemic, from buying a house than the pandemic, from visiting a doctor than the pandemic and on and on.  BS!  We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic (hence the term “pandemic”) and asking me to provide proof of vaccination to engage in activities that expose me to other people and other people to me is the most reasonable way to resume normalcy. 

If you want mask mandates to continue, social distancing to continue, disease and disability to continue, and death due to the virus to continue then you should oppose wearing a mask and oppose producing proof of vaccination.  Or worse and dumber, refuse to get a vaccination. 

This is not about civil liberties.  This is about our former way of life, and death.  One can either support the continuation of the horrible impact of this virus or one can support the eventual erasure of this virus and a return to normal, whatever that may be.  Do not be an obstacle to life and health because you have fear of a needle or see the creeping signs of big brother.  That is pure folly.  Required documentation is already standard practice in the USA.  This issue, however, is so much more dangerous than a redfish tag.

Wear a mask.  Maintain social distancing.  Wash your hands.  Avoid large groups.  Get vaccinated.  Grow up.