US VS. THEM IN AMERICA

While I truly am tired of the division between liberals and conservatives in America today I felt it necessary to list a few of our major differences.  It hasn’t always been this way. Before America elected our first president of color, Obama, and before Russia helped elect our first president of ill-repute and ill-temper, Trump, those differences weren’t typically a catalyst for hate between the two political philosophies. But today sadly we are as divided as I’m sure they were back in April of 1861 when the Civil War started, and we may yet fight another civil war on American soil if something doesn’t give; if people don’t settle down, start to talk calmly, rationally and honestly LISTEN to each other.

The differences between all of us as individuals is far less than our similarities however it seems that the division between liberal and conservative indicates that even though we all share basic needs and desires that when it comes to politically we are as far apart as our sun is from the center of our galaxy; perhaps even further apart than that.

I know what I’m about to share will anger some but that’s not the point of it. The point of it is to get an overview, from a distance, of what exactly the people of this great country want in a country and in a society.

• ·      Liberals want total equality for all human beings; not only in the eyes of the law of the land but also in the hearts and minds of the people who share this land and in how we treat one another.
• ·     Conservatives want to say that there is equality but want to make sure that people with white skin have all the power, receive the most opportunities for improvement of their lives and appear to fear the idea that all men are created equal in a practical, everyday life kind of way.
• ·       Liberals will tend to ‘own’ their white privilege and have a desire to change the system so that white privilege is a thing of the past.
• ·    Conservatives are in complete and total denial that such a thing as white privilege exists, get  angry whenever it’s mentioned and behave as if to point white privilege out is to mount a campaign against them and all white people.
• ·      Liberals believe that our borders should be secure, but that we should always observe the tenets as laid out by our forefathers to continue to be the one safe place on earth where people can come to be free and to make their lives better; to become a part of what is America.  Liberals mostly agree that immigration laws need to be overhauled to make it easier, not harder, for honest, decent people from other countries to enter the country legally.
• ·    Conservatives choose to fear all ‘foreigners’, especially those who don’t speak English, don’t have white skin or don’t follow the same religion as they do (i.e. Christianity), and want to build walls around our country to keep new people out. It appears as if they have the attitude that now that their family is in America, after emigrating here from somewhere else, no more people should be allowed to come here.
• ·       Liberals want our taxes to fund programs that help ALL citizens have a healthier more productive life, while helping those in need have a better life and don’t mind paying a few dollars more in taxes to benefit from programs that benefit EVERYONE, not just people in need (i.e. Medicare for all). 
• ·    Conservatives want tax cuts and don’t want any of the taxes we pay to go to help people who are struggling to survive through ill health, a disability, a lost job or a bad economy; unless who needs help is them. For conservatives it’s every person for themselves, except themselves.
• ·   Liberals are for a strong military and don’t mind funding it, BUT require sensible distribution of funds that come from our taxes and accountability of the military when it comes to the spending of tax dollars.
• ·     Conservatives want to give most tax dollars collected to military because they are sure that most other countries are our enemy, are dangerous, and that we must have a strong military to defend ourselves against our enemies.
• ·       Liberals have a great deal of respect and love for our flag and for those who serve it be it in the military or as a political leader. But liberals understand that when the flag, a representation of everyone in America and American values, is not representing all Americans, isn’t representing justice for all and isn’t representing core human values that we, because of the First Amendment, have the right to refuse to acknowledge the flag until it once again flies for everyone equally and justice is served for everyone.
• ·     Conservatives say they have a great deal of respect for our flag and for those who serve it but use the flag and our military to sow discord and to measure the patriotism of others by. The flag for conservatives is more of a weapon to use against others than a unifying symbol of the core human values we have sworn to uphold and when necessary, to question.
• ·      Liberals, as a rule and usually in the majority, want to have civil discourse to bring out issues that relate to everyone so that both sides can be heard and hopefully a mutually beneficial and satisfying solution can be reached.
• ·     Conservatives, as a rule and usually in the majority, claim the right to be rude, insulting and hateful to those who don’t agree with them while demanding that all others who don’t agree with them show them the utmost respect and change their views.

I’m certain that the list is much longer and is full of many extremely important issues that concern people on both sides of the equation, however this is all I can think of now. Again, the list is not mean to divide, although in some ways it probably will, but is meant to be informative and hopefully a catalyst for civil discussion.

I’m also certain that I have some things wrong about both liberals and conservatives but I have only the experience of my personal interactions with people on both sides to go on. While some assumptions may be made, and may be incorrect, the list is based on issues and discussions I have personally had with many, many people on social media and face to face.

SEEING SKIN COLOR - THERE IS NO RACIST GENE

I used to think, and to believe, that not seeing the color of other people’s skin was a way to contribute to the growing number of people who are building bridges between their white selves and people of color in the ongoing effort to fix the racism issue; at least here in the states.  I really believed that by not seeing that someone else had different color skin I was being forward thinking, open minded and was showing that I was not among those who knowingly or not are racist. 

I really thought that this was how I could best be a soldier in the war against racism. I think now that I was wrong. I meant well, but I was dead wrong.

I say I was wrong because to choose not to see a person’s skin color at all was in a way an insult to who they are. Our skin color, which no one has by choice, is an integral part of who we are and how we move in the world. It’s an outward advertisement of our ancestry and what ethnic group we may belong to by virtue of our DNA.  I started to see how insulting it might be to a person of color to only see them without their skin color, as if it was something negative to be ignored. By doing that I would basically be saying to them that the color of their skin wasn’t good enough and if I see them as white like me or to have no skin color at all then I’ll better be able to connect with them and relate to them. 

I saw that this way of seeing things might be considered racist by those people on the receiving end of this philosophy and I decided that perhaps there is another way to show my desire to connect with and relate to people who are by virtue of their ethnicity different than myself.  Then it occurred to me that the best thing to do, for me personally at least, was to see their skin color and to appreciate it for its tone, its depth, its beauty and how it compliments who they are.  I have all my life said, who knows where I got this from other than inside my own head and heart, that in my opinion on the whole there were more truly strikingly beautiful black women than white women and I guess what I mean by that is that I’ve always been drawn to tribal, exotic people who were different than myself and most of those tribal exotic people have much darker skin than my own lily-white skin.

In any case, it is my philosophy and how I choose to be in the world to SEE other people’s skin color: not in a way to be set apart from them but to appreciate that aspect of their being in an effort to be a part of them, a part of this beautifully diverse group of beings we know as humanity.  A kinship perhaps where it's evident that one of us got dad's eyes and the other got mom's hair color but still related; an acknowledgment that we are ALL human and by virtue of our DNA are all related, all kin, all basically the same in so many ways that truly matter.

In closing I’d just like to share my dream for humanity. My dream for humanity, well one of my biggest dreams, is that at some point (hopefully in my lifetime) that skin color will not be an issue for anyone and most importantly won’t be an issue of shame or uneasiness for those people who aren’t white. The idea that white skin is the most desirable skin color is simply something that small minded white men who felt the need to be superior cooked up that planted the seed that became racism. White skin IS NOT the most desirable skin color but it is simply one skin tone/color among many, many, many that are all equally beautiful, all equally desirable and should be all equally accepted as ‘normal’ by human beings around the world. This division by skin color doesn’t exist absent the ideas and ideals of human beings. Despite the experts who claim that racism in a naturally occurring condition of the human race I believe that it is not natural in the very least and that when humanity chooses to stop judging others by their skin color or ethnicity and start judging them on their character that then and only then will we achieve a level of evolution that is long overdue.

There is NO racist gene. It’s a learned trait and even when someone has been taught to be racist they can stop being racist. Just because a thing has always been or is now doesn’t mean it always must be that way.  Let us begin, one by one, to BE the change we seek to find in the world by making the choice to not only see the color of other people’s skin but to embrace it wholly as a part of who they are and is one of the many things that makes them so beautiful.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS, WHO JUST HAPPEN TO BE BLACK

Dear Friends,

Ever since I saw the article on the newly opened National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery Alabama to memorialize all the African Americans that have been lynched I can't stop thinking about it. I've heard the 'protests' from white people in the south claiming that this memorial will only make things worse and dredges up old bad feelings from the past. I've heard people are denying that so many lynchings took place and I've heard them say that if the black people can have this then they should be able to have their Jim Crow era memorials to officers of the south during the Civil War.  

Personally I feel it's time we stopped behaving as if a segment of our country's history should be swept under the rug because it's uncomfortable for us white people.  It's my fervent belief, and it seems a tenet of life, that we can't change what we don't acknowledge and by acknowledging the crimes against black humanity of the past perhaps we can begin to change. Not only do we owe it to the black people in our country we really owe it to all people of color that the white European people who came here to find a new life have wronged, subjugated, robbed, raped, murdered and vilified over the last three centuries.  However, for the purpose of this 'rant' I will stick to African Americans and how I feel about the current situation in our country.

I have a feeling that most black people in this country truly feel as if they have no white allies or at least they have so very few as not to have any.  No one, especially in today's social climate, could blame people of color in this country for believing that they are still on their own after all this time. But they aren't. Just like most of us begin to feel as if only hateful and horrific things are happening in the world because of news media and what they choose to report on, I have no doubt that because of how strong and loud racial hatred is right now that many black people feel today as if all of white America hates them and wants to see them gone.  I'm here to say that this is simply not true. I feel very comfortable speaking for millions upon millions of white American's when I say that it's not true, that our fellow Americans who are black do have sincere and willing allies. I can at least speak for myself when I say that at least for me, it's simply not true and that I value you highly as a fellow human being.

I know that us white people don't always know the right thing to do or say to show our unwavering support of our black brothers and sisters. Sometimes no matter how much we want to show our support we fail miserably and I'm sure end up insulting black people as opposed to helping them feel that they have our support. I'm not asking for sympathy because it is our responsibility to learn how best to support and stand with black people. I will say however that for so many of us there's a learning curve and while we may not know how to best support and stand with people of color today, in the future we will get it; with the kindness, understanding, patience and tolerance of those who we want to exhibit our support for and full acceptance of.  But we need to understand that when we are trying and there is angst by those we seek to support in the black community that we must be patient as they may not be used to white people who are in full acceptance and support of them AND we may not be approaching it the best way possible in spite of our desire to be sincere and to be supportive. While the desire is there, sometimes the knowledge needed isn't. I'm not making excuses, but simply trying to relay to people of color that while we are imperfect we do want to be and do better.

I think what I'm trying to get at here is two-fold. First, that there are far, far, far, far more white people in this country who are understanding of  (or at least truly want to be understanding of) the prejudices, discrimination, dangers and obstacles that black people face on a daily basis and who truly do want to put an end to it than there aren't. That there are so many of us whites who sincerely do want total and truly equal equality for all peoples; socially, financially, educationally and opportunity-wise. That there are hordes of us who will treat you with respect as an equal human being. Second, that no matter how deep our desires to support and stand with people of color may be that we may fail at times and we may not seem to fully understand or be able to truly empathize with what it's like to be a black person in America today. For that we ask the African American community to have patience with us when it's obvious that we mean well, even if we aren't saying or doing things that appear to be helpful or supportive. I'm not asking for 'special treatment' or'privilege' but only for the understanding that we are here and we do want to include you in our society as true equals, as friends, as significant others, as valued co-workers, as neighbors, as fellow human beings of equal status and in high regard.

I know and understand that the African American community has been asked to be patient for over two hundred years. Wow, I can totally relate to how one might get really tired of and angry about being asked to be patient to get what all white people, privileged ONLY because our skin is white, get without asking for so damned long. I'm NOT asking anyone to be patient with having equal rights under the law and in society because no one has a right to ask you to be patient a single moment more. I guess what I'm saying is to please try to have patience with us white folks who see you as who you really are in all of your beautiful blackness and love what we see because you are other human beings who are deserving of love, respect, dignity, compassion, empathy and an equal place at the table AND that you are deserving of our voice to join with yours in the ongoing effort to achieve it all for yourselves.  We can, and we will, figure this thing out but the only way we will be able to figure it out is if we work together, if we choose to ally with anyone who sees us as equals and as valued beings in every way, shape and form.  

We got this, but we only have it if we work TOGETHER.

********************************************************************************************************

For those of you who are interested please find this link to the website for the National Memorial of Peace and Justice: https://eji.org/national-lynching-memorial .

BE AS WOLVES - RESIST

If you know anything about wolves, you’ll know that they are pack oriented animals. They have leaders in their pack and every member born into or accepted into the pack has a specific role to play for the pack to be successful, to thrive and to survive.

 

Like wolves we, The Resistance, must become a pack. We must select our leaders based on their ability to be calm, rational, strong, persistent, knowledgeable, com- mitted, fair, assertive and even a bit aggressive when the situation calls for it.  We must follow the rules of the wolf pack in that we mustn’t follow unstable leaders. Wolves will not follow an unstable leader; a leader who’s ‘energy’ is erratic, lacks in self-confidence, treats others unfairly or is aggressive when it’s not required and will typically choose a new/better leader of the pack and will expel or in extreme situations will kill an unstable pack leader.

Well, we wouldn’t go as far as to kill anyone but we’ve got to make sure that those we follow in The Resistance are stable leaders who will lead us with dedication, commitment, confidence and calm rationality.  As for us pack members who follow these stable leaders it behooves us to remain calm, to be rational and to accept our position in the pack so it can be healthy, we can thrive and meet our goals.  We can’t accept, like any wolf pack, unstable members who cause disharmony and who are more disruptive than helpful. 

We need to be all in or all out so we can successfully make the changes in our government, and therefore in our lives as Americans, that we seek to make. We need to be calm, rational and assertive to get what we want. Our anger is fierce and for some of us our hatred is strong but if we are to be successful we must use that anger and hatred to fuel our calm, rational and assertive words and behavior; otherwise we will fall apart. We must be organized, like a pack, to hunt down our prey, politicians who seek to use us to gain wealth and power, so we must use our anger and hatred as fuel but not as our tools.  Our tools are facts, common sense, commitment to one another and to the greater good, fairness, compassion, empathy and even love. Yes, love. If we aren’t fighting to end hatred and discrimination, the opposite of which is love and community, then we should just stop right now and accept our fate as a country.  Rather than fight over who’s ‘god’ is the true one we need to make love our god and seek to serve love at every turn in this endeavor and onward into the future for the sake of ourselves, our children, our children’s children and beyond.

The United States of America has been a beacon of hope for the world for so long but today our beacon is not as bright and is in danger of being snuffed out.  We are the guardians of that beacon, we are the hope for our nation, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for and it’s up to us to form a community of humans dedicated to not only returning to being a beacon of hope for the world but to cause our beacon to shine brighter; so brightly that it embraces and encircles the globe pushing out dictators, regimes and the hate of war, prejudice, suffering, poverty and hate everywhere.

We must hold each other up, support one another and work together as a healthy wolf pack does. We must call on all ethnicity's, all religions, all lifestyles to come join us leaving no one behind that wants to live in a country/world where everyone is equal in every way possible and everyone thrives. Let us be as wolves, let us be noble creatures dedicated to the pack and its success. Let us, The Resistance, march on together until we have overcome our prey and taken back our country from those who seek to be autocrats rather than, like in a wolf pack, stable, calm and rational leaders.

We can do this.

We will do this.

OPEN LETTER TO THE NRA

It's very likely that this isn't the first, and won't be the last, open letter you at the NRA are going to get but here goes.  

This letter is specifically addressed to Dana Loesch who seems to make her living schilling for the NRA and levying threats against nearly the entire country; at least against anyone who doesn't support the NRA's terrorist-like hold on some of our elected public servants.

Dear Dana,

I've seen your little videos and I've got to say that nothing you say in them puts you personally in a very positive light or communicates that you are someone who is the least bit likable.  I've seen you threaten the mainstream media, Hollywood, teenagers and non-gun owners telling us all that our time is almost up. To be clear here it is you and the NRA who's time is almost up.  We aren't afraid of you. We may have kowtowed to the NRA in the past, with most of us believing that you are a HUGE multi-million member majority of people who all have guns and are ready to use them on the rest of us, but no more. 

The gig is up. We are AWAKE, we American's, and we know now that your measly little five million or so members aren't but a drop in the bucket to the approximately 326,766,748 people who currently reside in this country and I'm going to assume that at least two thirds of those are adults. We also know that you get your money not from your few million members but from gun and ammunition manufacturer's who send you to Washington DC to lobby on their behalf; to boost their gun and ammo sales.  We see that you lobby against even the most sensible and reasonable gun controls laws while you spread the propaganda that even the most inconsequential gun control law is the first step to taking everyone's guns away to people who quite honestly don't get out much into the wide wide world and who trust you as an information source.  We see how you bully your opponents, throw your money from your benefactors around and how you buy politicians.  We see all of that and while in the past we may have been intimidated by you, believing that you are too big for us to fight, we have been woken by a small group of calm and rational teenagers who will not be denied their right to be heard and to shape new legislation that will be designed to keep not only kids safe but the general public as well. We are no longer afraid of you and we are coming for you, for the NRA, with our votes to vote out those politicians who take your money are are owned by you.

Here's the deal girlfriend. WE are not just people who don't own guns. WE are people who own guns, who enjoy target shooting, who enjoy hunting ethically, who believe that any adult who chooses to be responsible with guns has the right to own them. WE are gun owners, gun lovers, former military people, hunters, mothers, fathers and we will no longer be intimidated by you, by your threats, by your rhetoric, by your politicians, by your measly few supporters or by your propaganda.

Let US, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, make this perfectly clear. You can threaten us all you want but they are empty threats by people who are running scared and we KNOW IT NOW so it is YOU who needs to know that your time is up.

Sincerely, 

The United States of America who respects the 2nd amendment and will keep it but who understands that assault weapons do not need to be owned by the general public.

THE RIGHT THING TO DO

These days, since Trump was elected and the GOP is in the majority, I have neither the time nor the inclination to argue points with conservative people who support Trump and the GOP's policies and their goals for our country. 

I think enough time has passed, since the inauguration, for all of us to see exactly what kind of goals the new administration has set for our country and what kind of policies they plan to implement.  Enough has already happened in Washington DC so that all of us have seen what the GOP plans to do while they are in the majority and how low they will stoop in order to see their wishes and desires done.  We've seen also that they have no problem at all voting on issues/bills exactly the opposite that the vast majority of their constituents, and even their supporters, want to see done in Washington.  

It appears, based on hundreds if not thousands of interactions with those who still support Trump, his regime and the GOP, that the general sentiment today is that we don't need or want any government programs to exist or be implemented that help people live a decent life. The general consensus seems to be, among the conservatives I've interacted with, that if someone isn't wealthy, or at least living comfortably, then that's their problem and if whoever isn't wealthy would just get up off of their lazy (and usually 'brown') asses all of their problems would be solved. So, now the GOP with Trumps new tax 'reform' has gifted the most wealthy, the most fortunate, in our country and has left anyone making less than $100,000 a year on their own without any support or even a hand up from the government.  This of course includes their plan to begin work to destroy Medicaid and Social Security, viewing both as 'entitlements/charity' even though those who will benefit PAID INTO IT, so that they can take even more programs and support away from those less fortunate in our country.

The greed is palpable as Trump, the GOP and Trumps base insist that not a penny of their taxes go to help anyone but themselves individually.  We can argue with them but they aren't going to change their minds, at least not until a 'program' that they need has been grossly underfunded or even eliminated and they are left with no option except to live in the streets. At that time, should it come, we can expect them to blame Obama, Clinton or all liberals as the cause for their misfortune. While for me, as a caring compassionate human being, I wouldn't wish homelessness even on those who would gladly take my Social Security and Medicaid from me in my future.

So based on my personal experience with most conservative people out there I understand that appealing to their better humanity won't work and only serves to make them even more hateful toward anyone who would remind them that having programs that help struggling people get on their feet, that help people with disabilities to live a decent life, that provide healthcare insurance to millions of children, that help people get a higher education, that act as a safety net to millions of people who would find themselves in the streets otherwise are NOT charity, are NOT making people lazy, are NOT coddling the weaker among us but are positively, absolutely the RIGHT THING TO DO as human beings.

In the end I sincerely hope that sooner or later those who today insist that their tax dollars are not to be used to help anyone with brown skin, anyone who isn't as well off as they are or anyone who needs a hand up to survive one day find within themselves that spark of humanity that today they seem to be ignoring. It's there. It's within each and every one of us. It doesn't some from god or some deity, it comes from being a human being and we all have it within ourselves.

I'M FREAKING TERRIFIED - SHOULD I BE???

I’m 63 years old. I was born smack dab in the middle of the ‘cold war’ between Russia and the U.S.  I grew up attending schools that held routine bomb drills suggesting that hiding under our desks would keep us safe should there be a nuclear attack which always seemed to be looming, imminent and inevitable.  Even though I was just a kid and grew up in an environment of ‘there might be a nuclear war any moment’ I don’t ever recall feeling afraid. It simply was what it was. It was normal to me and I don’t ever recall in my entire life feeling fearful about the impending doom of nuclear war. It would stand to reason that children raised in that environment would end up being paranoid types and just maybe that’s what happened to some people from my generation, but somehow it never happened to me.  Maybe those who support Trump are the remnants of those kids that did feel fearful about the impending nuclear attack by the Russians.  But somehow, they don’t seem to be afraid of the Russians anymore. The new boogeyman is Muslims; not just Muslim terrorists but it seems all Muslims are now the threat against our freedom, our way of life and our very lives. Oh, and the other boogeymen are Mexicans. Yes, the illegal ones but it seems as though the main point is that they are Mexican, they are here and some people don't want them here.

So, Trump was able to tap into that fear that may have been left over from the cold war and he gained support from people who truly believe that the Muslims are out to end our way of life while completely ignoring the FACT that the Russians waged a war against our democracy and looks like is winning that war without firing a single shot.  The very same people who as children feared Russia, the USSR, and nuclear attack today don’t seem to care what Russia does to us, the level of influence they have on our leaders or that they blatantly interfered not only with our election but may be in control of the president that didn’t win the popular vote but won the electoral college (and we really aren't sure to what extent the Russian's interfered or had influence in the election).

In addition, today we have the threat of North Korea which if Trump has his way will be in a war with us any day now. Today’s speech by Trump at the United Nations made it perfectly clear what his thought process on the situation is and what his intentions are. I am very hopeful that there are enough strong Americans in our military and who run the military to stand up to Trump and say, 'OH HELL NO!!!' when he demands that we attack North Korea.  Apparently, Trump is unable to understand that nuclear weapons are involved and that threatening to obliterate a nation that has nuclear weapons and is run by a dictator that appears to be somewhat mentally imbalanced (yes I'm talking about North Korea's leader here, not Trump) is not only risky it’s completely and totally reckless and foolhardy.  I don’t suppose Trump understands, or is even interested in, the fact that North Korea could fire missiles armed with nuclear warheads directly at us and could potentially strike in not at least Hawaii but the west coast of this country  BEFORE we ever get a single shot off. BUT something tells me that Trump would not only be willing to sacrifice the people in Hawaii and on the west coast but would be more than happy to rid himself of all of us ‘liberals’ who seem to be the only ones interested in keeping this country a democracy rather than allowing Trump to turn it into a dictatorship.

In the end, I have to say that being a person who grew up under the constant threat of nuclear war didn’t make me fearful then and didn’t turn me into a paranoid person expecting the worst from other countries around the world.  BUT today I can honestly say that for the very first time in my life I am afraid. I want to live. I want my children and their children to live. I want all of the people I love to live. I even want all of those who hate liberals and hate me because I’m a liberal to live. Believe it or not I even want all of the people who voted for Trump to live and yes even Trump too. 

I am afraid. I am afraid that something will happen, that North Korea will call Trumps bluff and that there won’t be enough sane people in Washington DC or at the Pentagon to stop Trump from killing all of us.  I sincerely hope that those who support Trumps approach to North Korea and who are now applauding his saber rattling and threatening rhetoric will remember that nuclear bombs don’t keep their radiation in one place and that they will not be safe from the fallout of a nuclear attack no matter where they may live.  I hope that they realize that Trump will be safe underground somewhere living in the lap of luxury compared to the rest of us who will have to survive out here. I sincerely hope that they are ready to die for their conservatism because it is going to kill us all if something or someone doesn’t do something about it and NOW.