Closed Hearts, Closed Doors, Closed Minds

 As a former Methodist I was sad to hear that the Methodist Bishops have concluded there is no compromise available on the issue of non-heterosexual marriages and clergy so the church will split.  The conservative wing, those who will not support same-sex marriage and homosexual clergy, will establish a new Methodist Church known as the Global Methodists.  As I recover from my sadness I begin to laugh.  So much for the motto, “Open Hearts, Open Doors, Open Minds.”

In 1785 Methodists officially opposed slavery and called for emancipation.  Southern Methodists fought back and the church at first mollified its position, then reinforced the original position.  Members of the church who supported slavery, left the church.  In hindsight, it should be safe to say that bigotry drove the split.  Today is no different.  Those who not only do not recognize the existence of the LGBTQ community are splitting from a church that recognizes same-sex marriage and heterosexual clergy.  Geeze.  Some Methodists are slow learners and the new “global” church shall be scorned in years to come by those who continue to have imaginary friends.  For some, politics and religion are a sacrilegious mix worse than gays and straights.

(I would further suggest the moniker for the new churches should be "Provincial Methodists," as the term "global' implies a worldwide view and liberal thinking.)

As the new church begins its lobbying efforts to attract current Methodists to join them the issues will look like they are logistical:  what happens to church property?  What happens to established fund balances?  etc.  Moot as far as I am concerned.  The issue is bigotry versus love and acceptance as equals those humans who are different from the majority, the same issue present in discussions of racial bigotry.  Rejecting a person because of their race is the same process as rejecting someone because of their sexual preference. 

No doubt both sides will rail against the other side citing Bible verses and interpretations to sanctify their sanctimonious positions.  I find that equally laughable as the Bible is so full of conflicting statements that almost anyone can find a verse supporting their particular point of view.  I would simply point out that those who support inerrancy and the literal so-called truth of the Bible stand on shakey ground if they do not support stoning to death anyone who has premarital sex, anyone who commits adultery, anyone who gets a divorce, and anyone who disobeys their parents.  The 4,000year-old Bronze Age philosophy reflected in the Bible is simply not appropriate for the 21^st Century any more than the owner's manual for a Model T is useful for reference on a model Tesla.

It may not be immediately obvious, but I suspect this split will accelerate the growth of the fastest growing group in American religious categories:  The “None.”  As science advances, as fact replaces faith, in fact, faith only exists without facts, the number of people opting out of organized religion is escalating.  If facts confirmed Christianity everyone would be a Christian.  Or, if prayers were answered there would be no doctors.

Still, for mostly historical and sentimental reasons, I regret to see the split.  I have long held that there is no such thing as a conservative Christian and this split continues to prove my point.

Regardless of faith or lack thereof, I support Open Hears, Open Minds, and Open Doors.  Those who judge others by superficial characteristics and/or characteristics determined at birth, who would build walls against other people, who would exclude other people from a place at the table, and who would perceive that some humans are superior to others are not the people who will advance humanity in generations to come.  They represent roadblocks to improvement and to faith.  

Mandate Freedom?

I saw a sign on a rear window of an SUV in the grocery store parking lot.  The message was written using red tape.  It read:  “Mandate Freedom.”

Mandate freedom?  My head swirls.  This is the most oxymoronic phrase I have seen in a long time.  It is right up there with “Christian conservative,” “empathetic Republican,” “benevolent billionaire,” “jumbo shrimp,” and “hot water heater.” 

A mandate is an authoritative command.  A mandate is a rule or policy or procedure that is required regardless of circumstance.  Freedom is the antithesis of a mandate.  Freedom is life without mandates.  To promote a governmental command to instill freedom would be laughable if not so scary.

After some brief googling I learn that there are T-shirts available with this phrase from a variety of sellers.  Good thing my first encounter with this nonsense was with an inanimate rear window rather than an apparent human.  My guffaw would likely have been offensive and I might be pressed to teach a mini-lesson on freedom and mandates.

And yet, it appears, this is where we are in these United States.  We are regressing along the curve of human evolution in so many ways and with such speed that I fear Darwin would feel obligated to re-write the Origin of the Species.  To wit:

Belief in the paranormal, the supernatural, and imaginary beings remains rampant in a society that has advanced due to science. 

There is a total loss of respect and appreciation for knowledge and expertise.  There are those among us who choose to believe theories espoused by those with opinions rather than education while those who are skilled, trained, and knowledgeable in the field are either ignored or vilified.

Rational thought, reasonable discourse, critical thinking, deductive reasoning, the scientific method, and problem-solving are skills not only frowned upon by many but in some cases, they are banned or characterized as evil.

Lack of integrity, lack of honesty, promotion of false assumptions and theories, and institutionalized lying are now the hallmark of political discourse for many.  Stop the steal, Trump won, Russia is our friend, North Korea is our friend, tariffs are effective, trickle-down economic theory, isolationism, America first, America is used by its allies, minorities and women have no rights, the liberal elite control everything, and confronted with facts claims of fraud abound.  I didn’t lose, the other side cheated.  This transparently false landscape is painted over and over by many elected leaders and pundits and is believed by many who do not value critical thinking.

Acceptance of cognitive dissonance.  Many feel freedom and individual rights should be paramount in a democracy while at the same time seeking to mandate a way of thinking espoused by a few.  Religious freedom is important, but only for Christians.  History is important, but only history that is purged of evidence of issues conservatives disagree with.  Being told what to do is abhorrent unless those who are told what to do are not part of the conservative camp.  They can oppose mask mandates and vaccine mandates while supporting mandates regarding a woman’s uterus.  Freedom now means freedom to think and act as I think and act but not freedom to think differently, act differently, or be different from the norms established by conservatives.  Heterosexuality is good, everything else is bad, Christianity should rule but Muslim practices should be banned, etc.  Mandating my worldview is more important than freedom while they scream for freedom to discriminate, persecute, and treat others as second-class citizens.  Such dissonance only exists in the minds of those too fearful or unable to rationally confront their beliefs.

The evidence is pretty clear.  Unless we return to a secular democracy grounded in science and rational thought, supportive of individual rights, and wherein truth and integrity have a deep meaning we will continue to regress.  All men (sic) are created equal and all men (sic) have inalienable rights.  If we cannot agree on that we have abandoned our core values.  At that point, I worry that the United States will no longer be united and our grand democratic experiment will have failed. 

Republican Beliefs

If I’m a Republican:

I see the world as competitive, not collaborative.

I believe winning is everything, and if you are not cheating you are not trying.

I do not believe in fair play, level playing fields, or integrity.  I believe in winning.

I believe lying is essential to acquiring and maintaining power.

I am opposed to anything President Biden proposes regardless of its merits.

I am opposed to anyone President Biden nominates regardless of his or her qualifications.

I believe Trump won the 2020 election and Biden stole it from him.

I do not think homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, or transsexual people should have any rights and there is something wrong with those people.

I do not support court-ordered or legislative restrictions on the right to bear arms. 

I do not support court-ordered or legislative restrictions on my freedom to worship.  I do support restrictions on beliefs other than mine.

I support court-ordered restrictions on freedom of speech as it applies to people who hold different opinions than I do. 

I do not support court-ordered restrictions on the separation of church and state. 

I do not support the constitutional statements that all men (sic) are created equal and have equal rights.

I do not think women should be able to make decisions about what is growing in their bodies.

I oppose increasing the national debt for programs that help all our citizens, especially those most in need.

I support increasing the national debt for programs that help our wealthiest people and important industries.

I oppose the recognition that all economies are connected and that globalization is a byproduct of communication and transportation.

I oppose the rights of Democrats to vote and I support legislation that hinders the Democratic vote

I oppose the rights of Democrats to be represented by Democrats and support the drawing of representative districts in such a way as to minimize the possibility of a Democrat winning an election.

I oppose the Equal Rights Amendment.

I oppose expertise, knowledge, and science, and prefer to trust non-educated talk show hosts. 

I do support the fruits of science in my personal life inclusive of computers, cell phones, TV, microwaves, and modern medicine.

I oppose immigration to our nation unless the immigrants are white people from Canada, Western Europe, Australia, or New Zealand.

I oppose immigration from any nation of poor people of color.

I support sending immigrants of color back to their country of origin.

I support cutting defense, health, and human services budgets to build an ineffective wall on our southern border.

I believe big pharmacy, medicine, defense contractors, hedge fund managers, millionaires, billionaires, the petrochemical industry, and the NRA deserve our protection and promotion.

I believe whites are superior to all other races and men are superior to women.

I do not support quality education for all children in America; only affluent white children.

I believe white law enforcement officers if they feel threatened have the right to shoot and/or kill people of color.  I believe people of color automatically make white law enforcement officers feel threatened.

I believe that protesting against white law enforcement officers for shooting and killing people of color is un-American.

I believe the law enforcement motto of “to protect and to serve” applies only to white citizens.

I believe our nation should be an evangelical, fundamentalist, Christian nation and that all our laws and policies should protect and promote that religious belief.

I believe if an election yields an outcome I do not like I am authorized to practice civil disobedience inclusive of attacks on our government.

I believe any historical or current fact, process, or procedure that reveals the folly and negative impact of any of these beliefs should be censored from our educational system.

I believe that any subpoena of any documents or persons which show illegal activity on our part should be blocked.

I believe books that highlight any historical or current fact, process, or procedure that reveals the folly of such beliefs should be banned if not burned.

I believe we are a nation founded by white, Christian males.

I oppose the government telling me what I can or cannot do including the protection of minority rights regardless if those are minorities are of race, culture, sexual orientation, and/or religious beliefs.

I believe CEOs should be protected by law, but labor should not.

I oppose any scientific research that disagrees with my belief system including research on the planet’s climate and pandemic.

I believe the government’s role in our nation should be to protect and promote those individuals and enterprises that we declare to be winners and that we should suppress and ignore the needs of those people and enterprises we perceive to be losers.

I believe the role of the US Supreme Court is to protect the laws and policies that promote the above beliefs.

Great American Myths

 As a nation, we seem to be stuck between two ideologies that are becoming less flexible and more polarized.  I am fascinated by that for a variety of reasons, mainly because one of those ideologies is based on mythology and the other is based on science, logic, fact, and reason.  I would never have believed that as a nation wherein citizens have embraced the advancement of science and technology as in cell phones, TV, space exploration, electric cars, microwaves, modern medicine, etc., we would even be having such a dichotomy of ideologies.  But we are.

It seems to me we should identify the mythical portions of an ideology so that those who strongly believe something and discover their beliefs are myths have the opportunity to awaken and endorse reality.  The question is, can those people handle the truth?  Some of the following are facetious.  Most not.

Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Mother Nature, Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Superman, the Avengers, et.al.  On the surface, most adults understand these are myths and most adults promote the mythology to children to instill magic and mystery if not behavior manipulation.  As a nation, we seem to have decided that this set of myths is OK to perpetrate on children, especially since such belief yields high revenue in the private sector.  But, they are myths. 

2020 Election Results.  The myth circulated by Donald Trump and his supporters is that Trump actually won the election and somehow Biden stole it from him via fraudulent votes.  Does not seem to matter to these folks that no fraudulent votes have ever been found or reported and that every lawsuit claiming fraudulent votes has been tossed out of court for lack of evidence.  Biden won by 7 million votes.  Anything else is a myth.

Trickle Down, Supply Side Economics.  This economic philosophy has never worked.  George Bush and Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan have all proved beyond any doubt that cutting the taxes of the wealthiest Americans and most profitable corporations do not lead to increased hiring, increased production, or anything but the increased wealth of the wealthiest.  Given additional money wealthy people invest.  To stimulate the economy the government must put money in the hands of lower and working-class Americans.  Given additional money, these groups go out and spend thereby increasing demand, hiring, etc.  Trickle Down is a myth that only benefits the wealthy.

Any economic organization other than private-sector capitalism is socialism and/or communism and is bad.  Bad for whom, or bad in what way?  This myth is almost funny in that those who believe it and perpetrate it are either capitalists or ignorant.  Of course, private-sector folks want to abolish productivity and success via a socialistic enterprise.  If those folks cannot abolish such an enterprise they will scheme to collect some of the tax dollars for themselves.  Schools are socialistic.  So is law enforcement.  So are prisons.  So is the military.  On and on.  Anytime any enterprise is funded by tax dollars, where the capital investment is public and subject to bid laws, where decisions are made by an elected body rather than a CEO, and where salaries are set by an elected body you are looking at a socialistic organization.  It sure as hell is not free enterprise.  So, the private sector wages war on public sector activities while opening charter schools, private prisons, private security firms, etc., etc.  Others who believe this myth are for the most part confusing totalitarian decision-making with socialism and communism.  I do not know of a democratic communist state though China claims to be.  But there are dozens of democratic socialist states, most of whom are outperforming us economically.

The Government that Governs Least Governs Best.  This myth is the correlated to the myth that what is good for business is good for the USA.  The problem is that without regulations and watchdogs American citizens are seriously at risk.  Our economic system is built on the notion of making a profit.  Anything that can advance that goal is therefore OK.  So, meatpackers do not need to worry about contaminated meat, toy manufacturers do not need to worry about safety issues for kids, car manufacturers would not worry about fuel efficiency and exhaust regulations, factories would not need to worry about safety for the workers, on and on and on.  If left unregulated the private sector would not implement any of these safety measures and no one company would implement them because they would then be at a competitive disadvantage with others in their field.  And it seems that we do not even need to talk about regulating banks, mortgages, hedge funds, etc., after the debacle of 2008.  It is clear that CEOs and corporate boards hate these government regulations and clearly, they would not be needed if it was economical to do the right thing.  It is not, so the government that responds to threats to its citizens and seeks to protect its citizens is the government that governs best.

And the issue of protecting civil liberties is a different topic.  If the government does not do so, no one else will.  When the government stops protecting civil liberties then we are violating the core premises of this democracy:  all people are created equal and have certain inalienable rights.  Even women, and Blacks, and liberals, and atheists and those who would kneel during the national anthem.  There are those among us who, if they had their way, would convert Biblical commandments into law, just as Muslims convert their commandments into law; they would send all people of color somewhere else, they would ensure women maintain a second-class citizen role, ensure that skin color and zip code determine the quality of education, and on and on.  Those who think like this have absolutely no interest in protecting or expanding civil liberties or civil rights.  Those who think like this stormed the Capital on January 6.  Those who think like this do not understand what the land of the free really means.

COVID.  The mythology surrounding the pandemic should never have evolved.  It did so because we had a President who downplayed the virus and contested science from the beginning.  That planted skepticism in the minds of his supporters and we continue to reap the deathly rewards of that skepticism.  We know how Covid spreads.  We know how to combat it via vaccinations.  But for some reason unfathomable to me Trump morphed from the notion that Covid was a hoax, it was no worse than the flu, he declared we had it under control, he would not support masks and social distancing, and then he took credit for the development of vaccines that had been in the works for years before he ever took office, but he would not tell his supporters to get vaccinated.  That is, until very recently with a caveat:  do what you think best. Over 800,000 Americans have died from this disease and the variants are wreaking further havoc among those not vaccinated.  Vaccination is not a civil liberties question any more than a stop sign is.  We all agree that to live in a nation where we must take precautions we may not like, but we do so to protect ourselves and our fellow citizens.  So, click your seatbelt, have car insurance, have a driver’s license and a fishing license and hunting license, and wear a helmet when you play football.  These are not civil liberty issues.  These are rational public health and safety issues.  And to those who believe that the vaccines are a cover for microchip insertion or DNA collection I would simply say grow up.  Such mythology has absolutely no basis in fact or reality and anyone who promotes those beliefs is placing thousands at risk and, in my humble opinion, should be arrested just as we arrest people who intentionally spread HIV.  The parents who are suing school districts because they require masks should be reported to CPS for placing their children at risk.  Yes, masks should be mandated.  Yes, vaccinations should be mandated.  Only because there are folks too dense to see the truth of this international threat and listen to media sources more interested in making up conspiracy theories than they are in helping people.  We certainly did not have such folks around for polio, smallpox, measles, mumps, tetanus, diphtheria, etc.

Global Warming.  As far back as the late 1800’s scientists began warning us about global warming as the result of the release of greenhouse gases from the consumption of fossil fuels.  The litany of scientific analysis of our fragile climate extends from then to the present day.  Global temperatures are rising.  The cause is the consumption of fossil fuels.  If you want to track those studies check out the timeline found at https://history.aip.org/climate/timeline.htm.  Climate change deniers are simply whistling in the dark, hoping that the changes we see are not so bad, are the result of natural climate cycles on earth, and that the end is not near.  Climate change deniers also make a ton of money on finding, refining, and distributing the extracts of fossil fuels, the chief cause of climate change.  They do not want to admit that they are poisoning planet earth, perhaps beyond recovery, any more than tobacco companies wanted to admit that smoking was addictive and promoted lung cancer, or that Coca-Cola was a beloved drink due to the cocaine mixed in the brew.  So big oil has committed millions of dollars to hire scientists who will conduct a study and proclaim climate change is no big deal.  (At first, their mission was to claim there was no evidence of global warming, but the evidence for that is now so vast that the task has changed.)  States like Texas that have provided safe harbor for big oil clearly do not want the myth exposed.  We are experiencing global warming and we must reduce if not eliminate the burning of fossil fuels.  If we cannot do that we will destroy the only planet we have.  To think otherwise is to believe in a myth that is not supported by any independent scientific research.

Supreme Being.  There is no evidence beyond fervent belief that there is a supreme being.  Belief is not truth.  Belief precedes truth and knowledge.  Reason dictates there is not a supreme being.  There are approximately 1000 deities worshipped on our planet right now and each set of believers are convinced their god is the one true God and all the other believers are infidels.  Everyone is an atheist for every deity except their own deity.  However, there is no evidence that such a creature exists other than through myth.  And if he or she or they or it exists, that being is either impotent, incompetent, or not caring and does not merit worship.

This supposed Supreme Being evidently picks sides, picks winners, decides who lives and who dies, and empowers people to commit atrocities by the belief that this being is on their side.  Ridiculous.  If you believe in a supreme being and believe that such a being cares who wins an election or an athletic competition or which child lives and which child dies you are the victim of mythological propaganda.  If you believe that your particular religious beliefs should become the law of the land then simply look at Afghanistan under the Taliban to see how well that works out. 

The notion that a god makes a list and checks it twice to decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell is absurd.  If God exists all he has to do is show up.  Why would a supreme being be so willing to commit genocide?  Why would a supreme being advocate the dominance of men over women?  Why would a supreme being prescribe death by stoning for premarital sex or adultery?  Did anyone go to heaven before Jesus?  If so, why was there a Jesus?  On and on and on.  If you want to read a book that is most likely to convince you there is no god I highly recommend the Bible.  Not the passages the preacher chooses.  Start at the beginning and read it like any other book

Life after death.  The expression says it all.  The belief that there is life after death has no foundation, in reality, any more than life before birth.  All life forms on this planet expire.  Those that are sentient and have self-awareness simply cease to exist as do single-celled critters.  This myth provides some glimmer of hope that humans are an eternal species with an infinite life span.  We are not.  Hand in hand with this myth is that there is a heaven and a hell.  Equally ludicrous.  We can detect light emitting from behind a black hole millions of light-years away from us.  The thought that some places house billions of souls, (whatever those things are), for eternity and these places are not measurable or observable is a myth. 

Pro-Life.  Somebody somewhere posited that aborting a blastocyst, an embryo or a fetus was an act of infanticide or the killing of a child.  This mental image holds great power among those who believe that abortion is morally wrong because it is in effect murder.  That of course is a myth.  Many of the supporters of this myth aggressively insist that their view of this medical procedure, aborting a growth inside a woman, is an issue of homicide, and are known to promote legislation that makes such procedures illegal, they protest at clinics where such procedures are performed and even attack the medical personnel who perform the procedure.  This is one of the saddest myths in our nation today.

The growth that is terminated is not a baby.  A baby has a name.  When a mother loses her baby to death there is great grief.  This is not what is happening at all.  If you believe that is the case do what I do and request that the pro-life person simply send you the names of the dead babies so that condolences can be offered to the parents.  I never get a name because this is what the mother and the doctor have decided to do.  For anyone else to morn is at least patronizing and at most the application of a given set of beliefs on other people. 

Some base their myth on a religious holy book, but that book does not mention abortion.  The Bible, the Christian Holy Book, makes it very clear in the second creation story found in Genesis 2 that life does not begin until the first breath.  Approximately 20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, a term that means automatic abortion.  For those who argue abortion is immoral what shall you do with the miscarriages?  Again, religion enters the picture with the common answer that the loss of this growth was the will of some god.  Before birth, the growth in the womb is on total life support.  It receives its oxygen and food and blood from the mother.  Growths that exist solely because of full-time life support are always subject to termination.  Tapeworms exist in the human body, they have a heartbeat, they have a brain, and yet no one screams when they are removed.

What reveals that this belief is a myth is that the very people who believe the myth are not pro-life for children or others who are already born.  This group tends to support the death penalty where jurors decide a full-fledged grown-up human being may be killed, but opposes the termination of growth inside a woman is hypocrisy to the nth degree.  Further, the same group tends not to support child welfare, increased spending on public schools, more CPS officers, etc.  This group claims to be pro-life but that means pro-life pre-birth because once a child is born they do not support programs to improve the quality of life of these actual babies.  Pro-Life is a religious based, hypocritical myth that many who hold the myth to be true would enforce this myth on all women rather than allowing a woman and her health care provider to make conscious, scientific and sociological decisions.  The very men who scream about government control regarding masks are willing to control a woman’s body.  Should be blasphemy.  It is, to those who think.

Fox News (et al) is News:  In the beginning, there was ABC, CBS, and NBC, all vying for viewers.  The competition, however, centered on the anchor more than the facts.  All 3 networks scrupulously reported facts, and if they had something to say regarding their opinion of the facts, that something was labeled an editorial.  One never doubted the facts as reported and all three networks, though competing to scoop the other two, reported the same basic facts.

Cable TV changed all that as did Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.  Now the media choices are overwhelming.  I can find “news sources” that are pro-Catholic, pro-guns, pro-Protestant, pro-evangelical, pro-Republican, pro-Democrat, pro-vaccines and masks and anti-vaccines and masks.  This smorgasbord has had two effects in my humble opinion.  The first clear effect has been to drive us to the notion that there are “alternative facts.”  That is, what one believes becomes fact and the repetition of lies becomes fact by repetition.  The second clear indicator is that folks want to hear what they agree with and do not want to be confused by the facts.  Facts become irrelevant in this environment.  Who agrees with me is the litmus test for listening.

But truth abides and facts reside.  There is only one set of facts for any given situation and we have lost the ability to discern facts from efforts to attract and maintain an audience.

Fox News, and their conservative ilk,  is not news.  It may be news on the local level when reporting a shooting, a high-speed chase, and a robbery at a convenience store.  Other local networks will cover the same stories reporting much the same facts.  But once the conversation becomes elevated to state and national issues, facts disappear and opinions and beliefs rule.  The more outlandish the opinion and belief the more likely the network will attract folks who are not critical thinkers or who are not prone to fact check the news.  Media sources that circulate conspiracy theories (Trump won, the vaccine is harmful, cow de-wormer works on Covid, masks are a violation of rights, life begins at 6 weeks in the womb, Biden blew the Afghanistan evacuation, and Democrats are coming to take guns away,) are almost all BS and serve no purpose but to keep the unread and illiterate faithful believers riled up.  Why?  Because that generates advertising revenue based on viewership and fund-raising for the conspiracy theory crowd. 

We could end a bunch of this by simply requiring news networks to scroll a message at the bottom of the screen that says, “The following report is a conspiracy theory with no basis in fact.”  Hannity, Carlson, et al would have the scrolling message permanently affixed to their shows.

I am watching my grandson wrestle with the myth of Santa Claus.  I think he knows, as do many of his classmates, that Santa is not real.  And he is deeply saddened now that evidently, all the adults in his life have lied to him.  He really wants Santa to be real because such a creature would be wonderful to have around.  When I first took out all my religious beliefs and unpacked them it became clear to me there was no god.  I sat with my preacher to discuss this because it unnerved me tremendously.  I had always believed in god.  I had always prayed and gone to church and sung in the choir, etc., etc.  I really wanted there to be such a being as a god, but it was clear there was no evidence that such a being exists.  The preacher said not to worry, many people go through a stage in their faith journey where they are mad at god.  I laughed.  I am no more mad at god than I am at Santa.  Neither exists.  To be angry at them would be pure folly.  I am angry and unnerved by the lies and deceit that have been fed to me my entire life. 

As those who really confront the myths listed here will experience anger too, I think.  It is hard to accept the truth if one believes otherwise.  But our nation will not exist as a secular democracy until we accept truth as the bedrock, not mythology. 

We believe all men and women are created equal.  We believe every living human has rights that should be protected.  We believe there should be a wall of separation between religious beliefs and the government so that the government never tells people what to believe or whether to believe anything at all.  We believe our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, and we discern their will via the vote.  Any attempt to deny folks the right to vote is un-American. 

And in my humble opinion, any attempt to undo the outcomes of a fair and just election should be treated as treason.  That’s not a fact.  That’s a belief.

The earth is not flat.  We have been to the moon.  Consumption of fossil fuels is killing our planet.  Zeus is not real. Biden won.  Let’s get on with the governance of America as the people have willed.

Have I Got this Right?

I want to be sure I’ve got this right:  There is no evidence at all that fraudulent votes were cast in Texas during the 2020 Presidential election, but Governor Abbott has continued to call special sessions of the legislature to pass voter suppression bills in an effort to eliminate fraudulent votes.  Meanwhile, there are huge bodies of evidence that confirm Covid 19 vaccines are effective against the disease and that wearing masks and social distancing are effective at combating the spread of a Worldwide epidemic, but Governor Abbott has ordered no mandated mask-wearing and no mandated vaccinations.  Have I got that right? 

So, people will die because of his mandates.  So American citizens will be de facto denied the right to vote because of his proposed legislation.  He is attacking the right to live and the right to vote simultaneously.

It appears to me there are only a few explanations for this delusional behavior:

It could be that Abbott is just stupid.  Really stupid.  He is willing to fly in the face of all the science and all the metrics so that his personal little view of the world becomes the law of the land.  I would sit on the street corner and laugh at the naked emperor were not people dying from this stupidity and American citizens will lose the right to vote. 

It could be that Abbott is evil personified.  He wants more Texans to die and he wants fewer Texans to vote.  Both goals are evil.

It could be that he has been co-opted by others who are really stupid and/or really evil.  Throughout our history, we have seen elected leaders abandoned their oath of office for money and power.  Perhaps Abbott has simply been bought by the cultist right-wing believers.

Or, it could be that he is a sleeper agent for liberal Democrats.  Those folks dying from Covid because they will not get vaccinated and will not wear masks are mostly Republicans.  So as he works to pass superficial voter suppression laws that look like they will inhibit the Democratic vote he is determined to inhibit the Republican vote by allowing Covid to kill mostly Republicans.  If so, he does not really know Democrats who will always stand to protect the vote and always stand to protect our citizens from attacks of disease, hunger, exposure, etc.  If he is a sleeper agent, he should be fired and prosecuted.

Have I missed something here?  Or is there a new libertarian trend that demands government does not work to help people.  Rather, the government should work to hurt people.  Does this trend aim to eliminate all laws and regulations that require us to do things we may not want to do?  Perhaps Abbott will issue future executive orders that dismiss the requirement that one wears his or her seatbelt, obey posted speed limit signs, stop at stop signs and red lights, and allow driving while under the influence.  Perhaps he will order that having insurance is not a prerequisite to driving or that car inspections should cease.  Perhaps he will issue future executive orders that will ban anyone who has ever voted for a Democrat to lose their right to vote.  Perhaps he will issue future orders that abolish compulsory attendance at school, child labor laws, and currently required vaccinations for mumps, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, etc. to attend school.  Perhaps he will actually void UIL rules that require kids to wear helmets while playing football.  The list of government requirements that help us, protect us, and keep us from hurting each other is a long list.  Shall we see all that go away?

Perhaps.  He is headed down that path.  I wonder if inheriting Trump voter support is worth the death of even one child courtesy of his mandates, or the exclusion of one American who would simply like to either vote by mail or show up at a nearby polling site.

Have I got this right?

We Say We Believe in Democracy

 I have been a student and/or teacher of American Government since 1968 and had anyone told me as recently as 2016 that we would have seen our democracy come so close to falling apart in 2021 I would have laughed and said we are smarter than that, we are stronger than that, our belief system is better than that.  I would have been wrong.  As it turns out, we say we believe in democracy but only if the results of democracy are to our liking.  Otherwise, getting what we want, enforcing our beliefs on others, and maintaining power and wealth is now more important to many, many Americans than democracy, and I am heart-sick about it.  Imagine a Christian blinded on the road to DC by the god RA who wants to know why the Christian has persecuted him.  That gut-wrench when one realizes that what they most believe, most love, most support is wrong.  That’s where I am.

So I begin by asking, do you believe in democracy?  Do you believe that a government should serve the people, not vice versa?  Do you believe elected officials are public servants, not tyrants?  Do you believe that all people are created equal?  Do you believe that we are a nation of law and not a nation of personality cult and power and money?  Do you believe that the right to vote is the most precious right in a democracy because without it there is no democracy?  Do you believe that the government should never promote one religion over another or any religion over non-religion?  Do you believe that the way forward is always based on the expansion of human rights and reliance on science and logic rather than belief?  Do you believe that citizens have the right to protest, have the right to seek to resolve their grievances?  Do you believe that a free press is absolutely essential for free people to know what is going on in their government?  Do you believe that we must both protect the rights of the minority while avoiding the tyranny of the majority?  Do you believe that we are a liberal secular government made different from all other governments because of the beliefs outlined above?  Do you believe that when the people speak, whether we win or lose, like it or not, we support the outcome because that is the essence of democracy:  trusting the will of the people?

As I write this I see the horrible scenes from Afghanistan as the Taliban not only eliminate their secular government, the Taliban eliminates people who support a secular government.  The Taliban are a religious cult, totally convinced they are enacting the will of their particulate supreme being.  Anyone who disagrees with that belief is wrong.  Worse, anyone who disagrees is subject to a death sentence.  Women should not be educated.  Women must dress a certain way in public and serve men in certain ways.  Women may not work.  Women may not leave home without a male escort.  People are not created equal.  Taliban mullahs have dictatorial power over everyone.  It is scary as hell. 

When they were last in power in 2001 there were public executions of infidels and violators of their religious code.  That group of cultist fanatics is back in power.  The god of the Taliban does not believe in civil rights, protecting minority views, or equality and equity.  The history of this chaos, this regression in government, begins long ago, but most recently with Bush’s post 9/11 intervention there, then Obama’s ongoing support and increased presence of American troops, then Trump’s claim to have negotiated a US withdrawal, then Biden’s effort to honor that negotiation and withdraw only to learn the Taliban lied and did not keep any of the promises they made to Trump.  Tragic from the get-go.

And yet it appears to me that evangelical Christians and Catholics and the Taliban have much in common.  They all believe that the best government is a theocracy wherein the beliefs of the religious are supported by the government.  Evangelicals even argue that the US was founded as a Christian nation when nothing could be further from the truth.  All these groups want to see religious icons supported by the government whether it is monuments displaying the Ten Commandments or flying the crescent and star flag over public buildings.  All three groups strongly oppose women’s rights, especially freedom of choice.  All three groups assume their god has ordained certain elements that must be included in their governments such as religious holidays, worship on certain days and certain hours, clothing to be worn (or not worn) by women, attacking anyone who does not support their particular religious beliefs, religious institutions free from taxation, resentment to the notion of separation between church and state, and assuming that some god is on their side and sanctifies even the most atrocious acts.  None of the members of these groups appear able to intellectually perceive that there are other belief systems.  Each firmly believes they hold a universal truth and that their god is the one true god.  Discussion using logic, science, or political theory is impossible with them as they believe they are right so there is no point in discussion unless it is to convert the heathen or infidel.

Each election or coup that places one of these believers in power is a step away from the essence of democracy.  And yet, what shall we do when the people speak and select candidates and programs that are fundamentally religious?  Shall we honor the notion that the people rule when they make what many would call stupid decisions?  Or shall we assume that such decisions made by popular vote are erroneous and must be corrected? 

We have a litany of conflicts over such issues from the Iron Curtain in post-World War II in Europe, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan and a host of African and Central American nations.  What shall we do when the people speak and make the wrong choice as supporters of democracy see it?

In most of the cases above the selection of leadership was not made based on democracy.  The decisions were made based on brute force and/or military intervention.  Should we even negotiate with armed forces rather than governments?  The Taliban is not a government.  It is an armed religious group.

Clear signs that the cultists want control is to claim any election whereby they were defeated was a fraudulent election and then take steps to reduce the number of eligible voters in future elections.  Those who support democracy prefer to see every eligible person vote and place safeguards to ensure the validity of the election process.  We had accomplished the second of these tasks prior to the 2020 election.

A general rule of thumb, which means this is a complicated issue and a simple solution is likely the wrong one, is to look at each systemic change in government and ask, “Are people attempting to gain entrance into the country, or are they attempting to escape?”  One could also ask, “Who decided to change the form of government?  Was it the voters?”  Each answer will yield insight into what I think should be the American response.

I get it that we cannot and should not police the world.  If we believe in the self-determination of peoples and the ultimate goal of promoting democracy worldwide then we should back off where it appears the people have made a choice.  On the other hand, if those who support people making the choice and an armed intervention forestalls that process we should seriously consider intervening in some way.  Likewise, if human rights are being crushed.

People are fleeing Afghanistan.  Not a good sign.  No one elected a Taliban government.  Not a good sign.  However, we have inadvertently flushed the Taliban out of the hills and caves and into Kabul.  Now might be a good time to say to them, “Establish a government that allows elections and human rights, or we are coming back in to do so.”  And should the people elect the Taliban, we will leave.  Evangelicals, cultists, jihadists, and other anti-democratic regimes and organizations do not merit our support.

If the right-wing fringe gains a majority in this country and votes in leadership that opposes democracy, human rights, suffrage, immigration, etc., then we may very well become a nation where people choose to flee rather than enter.  It is then that our true belief in democracy will be tested.  Will we vote?  Will we allow and promote maximum voter participation?  Will we abide by the outcome and verify then ignore cries of fraud in the process?  We will see.

Democracy is at risk both here and abroad.  Scary for me because I believe in democracy.

America without Democracy

I am sick and tired of doctors making medical decisions.  Who the hell do they think they are?   It is high time we get a businessman in there to tell doctors what they should and should not do.

I am sick and tired of engineers making infrastructure decisions.  Who the hell do they think they are?  It is time for a businessman to get in there to tell engineers what will work and what won’t.

I am sick and tired of lawyers making policy recommendations.  Who the hell do they think they are?  It is time for a businessman to tell lawyers what is appropriate given our Constitution and what is not.

I am sick and tired of scientists making medical recommendations.  Who the hell do they think they are?  It is time for a businessman to tell the scientists what will work and what won’t and what is serious and what is not.

I am sick and tired of anyone who has studied, practiced, and observed any field of endeavor, and then we conclude that such a person has expertise.  If you have spent your life managing a shipping company why shouldn’t the bosses’ idiot son take over?  If you have spent your life pipe fitting why shouldn’t a businessman decide what welds are best?  Why the hell did we ever value knowledge, experience, and study?  All it really takes is a businessman who stands up and says, “I know more about technology than anyone, I know more about foreign trade than anyone, I know more about our defense than anyone, and I know more about the ideal water flow through showers and down potty’s than anyone.”  When will all these experts understand that if one walks on water one does not need a degree or experience or knowledge? 

Sure, we should drop nuclear bombs on hurricanes.  Why not?  Sure the coronavirus is a hoax and not to be taken seriously.  Sure shining UV light inside a person will kill the coronavirus.  Sure injecting disinfectant into a person will kill the virus.  Sure, if the National Hurricane Center does not include a certain state in the projected path of a hurricane a businessman can re-draw the map with the cone of uncertainty as he sees it.  Sure getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing is a violation of your rights even though the businessman is not clear on what those rights are and why those recommendations matter.  And of course any election that did not return the businessman to office must be riddled with fraud.  Because he says so.

I just know if the other party supports science, I do not.  If the other party supports math, I do not.  If the other party seeks to end the pandemic via science. I do not.  I would rather base all my life and death decisions on what my gut tells me regardless of science, regardless of experts, regardless of doctors, regardless of PhD’s, regardless of anyone with education and common sense.  Those are the people who populated the swamp and we don’t need them.  We have guts.  We have beliefs.  We have the businessman.  We do not need facts or science.

Don’t you know it is the year of belief without evidence, followership without leadership, decision- making without facts?  And an America without democracy.