All of your ideas are big and bold, and a challenge to accomplish. Let’s add Number 11: Pass a law to get rid of Citizens United. Corporations are NOT people and should have no way to influence elections. Russ Feingold and John McCain tried to get the moneyed interests out of politics and came close to succeeding. Number 12: (Another small but important act.) Reinstate the Voting Rights Act, including the Amendments to it, to end voter suppression and punish those who try to do it. Also, I fully agree it is essential to greatly improve education. Taxpayers need to fully fund public education, not try to support private (exclusive and subversive) schools through vouchers. Every kid deserves a great school. Finally, and my pet peeve, let’s have Medicare for all. Get rid of for-profit, private “Disadvantage Plans” that prey on the less savvy elderly, helping pay for cheap glasses but denying life-saving treatments.
Great article. I've been making people uncomfortable long before I realized I was a liberal feminist. It pisses my parents off that I've rejected organized religion, but I'm so sick of so-called Christians for using their religious beliefs as a justification for hate of anyone not white and straight. And I still (amd will forever) call out sexual predators out for the slimey dog shit that they are. Thank you for your writing!
There should be nothing wrong with having tough conversations about the way organized religion has failed us. If we censor history to hide the crimes of religion, we're doing a disservice to our children. When we start to recognize that as a society, we'll be making progress towards a better world. Thanks for your kind comment!
As a young man I wondered how the Germans could have fallen for such an insufferable demigod as Hitler. I, and probably many others, felt there must be something wrong with the German citizen.
Well, German citizens, I apologize. It turns out American citizens are not any different.
Yes to all that😳It’s always baffling to me that Americans believe all that shining light on a hill bullshit😂While where I live (NZ)is in NO way perfect a creature like Trump would never get elected as the local dog catcher let alone head of state .
I suppose it is worthwhile to look a little deeper into what happened in Germany - and we will have to go back before WWI.
Germany was catching up industrially at a pace that made the English afraid they'd lose the world dominance, at least on the seas, if not in other areas as well (steel, ...). Then in 1914 WWI came - and it was the Austrian-Hungarian Empire that started it. At the end of WWI England saw a great opportunity to put the strong competitor in its place, for decades to come - hence the unbelievable conditions of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany with its reperation payments (where were the repurcussions to Austria?). Five years later, 1923, inflation in Germany - imagine people filling a wheelbarrow with ($) 1,000,000.00 bills to stop at the baker and paying with it for a loaf of bread. Thanks to US American greed (makes one winder what improvements were made in the last 100 years in that area there), Black Friday in 1929 hit across the Atlantic as well. And now you have millions of people who have no job, no income, no food on the table for their family, clothing,.... And then someone comes along, and promises these masses (estimates range between 10-15% of the total population), that "he" has a plan and will provide work, income, plus reinstilling pride in a beaten down people - which "he" eventually did, indeed (without any sharp minded people asking the question who is, and how, going to pay for all these programs. As we have learned, there is apparently only one way - you will have to take it from others - be that the jewish population, or the resources from other countries (ie Russia, with the wheat and oil fiellds).
I would put corporate media at the very top of the list. Since there are no formal institutions available to break them up, we are left to taking a wrecking ball to them organically. History casts doubt on the success of this.
Sadly,, a place like Substack, as healthy as it is for becoming one of those organic entities that can smash corporate media, has its own limits.
The only people who can join every substack they enjoy as paid subscribers are generally within the income levels that most of us think aren't doing their fair share. There are exceptions, of course, and some of those are substackers, but as a general statement, this holds.
So most of us here struggle to earn money with paid subscriptions, which means most of us will eventually fold our tents and seek other ways to earn money as writers, or look for another line of work entirely (WalMart greeters probably earn more than most writers here do).
Many of the "superstar" writers on Substack come from.. guess where? Corporate media. Some of them are rebels who left because of clear philosophical differences, but many simply left because their company, like all corporations, shat on them, and so they are here to try to wrestle money away from subscribers just like other substack writers.
Is this a sustainable model for overthrowing our corporate overlords? I kind of doubt it. And I don't say all this from the perspective of a frustrated substacker. I've only been truly active here for a couple months. I have no idea how or if it will work out for me.
But from a meta standpoint, it doesn't matter how ***I*** do. Most substacks will fail eventually. The reason is that it is impossible to compete with a corporate media that sucks in trillions of advertising dollars.
This brings me to what should truly be Number One on your list, but isn't listed at all:
1. Modern capitalism: the ultimate destroyer of souls.
My nephew once admired my sneakers and responded to the photo "10 x fresh." This post is also, 10 x fresh. But, my time is limited, so I'll weigh in on one item only, and invite you to read my own blog in that regard; and I provide some reading (which I'm sure you've done) that explains in some measure how the Democratic Party stopped being democratic after the defeat of Walter Mondale in 1984. That's how long it's taken to come to the realisations that you expound on in your piece. And that's how long it will take to get back out of the mess we're in. 40 years.
Christianity is belief in Christ. It's not a movement and it's not even a church. It is a belief that Jesus was the son of God and was sent by Him to dwell with Man and bring a message of eternal life. It is a message that has, over 2,000 years, been embraced and believed by millions and whether any of it is true or not, not a single one of them is here to attest to. The temporal and spiritual links that churches contend exist between God and Man are worthy of note (the apostolic succession of the Popes, for instance), but proof there is none. None that would withstand scrutiny in a court of law, and whether that is a test that we particularly want for a question of belief is really the 64,000 dollar question.
It is in any case a test that the world of politics would certainly eschew. What politics very quickly found was that, once Jesus was dead, His resistance to applying the word of God to the political battles of his fellow countrymen died with Him and allowed free rein among those who so wished to adopt the message He had brought as a rallying banner: movements whose main purpose is not to unite peoples under the word of God, but to particularise the word of God and weaponise it against non-believers. Very quickly, it ceases to matter whether those who parade under its banner ever themselves truly believed: it simply becomes one side of a line drawn in the sand.
By all accounts, early Christians suffered persecution. We have the striking images of Andrew on his saltire cross, Peter crucified upside-down, Catherine on her wheel, Sebastian pierced with multiple arrows, the flight to Ethiopia - the first Christian nation on Earth. Belief is like love, hatred, hope, fear: it is visceral and arises from the heart, and not the head. You cannot reason yourself into belief: it is an epiphany that dawns upon you and, in civilised society, he who does not believe from his heart can nonetheless supress his cycnism (for want of proof) of those who do profess belief just as he can suppress his hatred of those against whom he cannot prove his accusations as grounds for his hatred. You can lead evidence in court for an act impelled by belief, but you cannot prove in a court of law the belief itself. Belief rests in the individual's, let's us call it "sixth sense". Evidence will be accepted in a court based on perceptions witnessed through any of the other five senses: what we see, hear, feel or touch, smell, and taste. These are the fundaments fo all judicial evidence. But no court will lend credence to anything that is "sixth-sensed" even though there is multiple evidence of its existence: it remains apocryphal.
What men and women of politics do is pick up this insubstantiality and turn it to their account. They use belief as a means of banding together in order to conduct battle. They thereby pervert the very message that Jesus brought to mankind. A perversion sounds like a complete opposite of what is intended and yet it rarely so: a perversion is - there is another word for it - a twist. The picture is not inverted, but it is twisted out of focus. The focus is directed elsewhere. The movement, the belief, the apocryphal story, is hijacked for ulterior ends.
A religion is like a guided tour of a strange place. Up front in the bus is a guide who explains all you need to know to be able, upon conclusion of the tour, to explore the city yourself and find more personal experiences. You must of course have faith that the guide is honest, and truthful, and that his tips and tricks are worth the listening. For, if he misguides you, you will never have the opportunity to truly discover the place you wanted to learn about. It is of course possible to venture forth without a tour bus and guide, and take with you just the guide book. It is harder, and you will make more mistakes, because your path will be directed not by a pre-arranged guide but simply by your own faith.
Spiritualists, finally, have no bus, no guide, no guidebook. They search, sometimes erringly and sometimes unerringly, for the truth that underpins their faith. They are susceptible to no movement, to no party, to no banner, they simply search for unity. And, as I say, whether they ever find it is known only at a time when it is too late for either the believer or the sceptic to say, "I told you so."
Thanks Graham, there's a lot to chew on in that comment. My approach to contemplating Jesus is different than others. I have the notes on an article that I've been meaning to publish. Maybe I'll move that up my to-do list. Thanks again!
A good starting point would be if we were merely allowed to offer valid criticisms of religion. I didn't know that "mensch" was a positive word, thanks for sharing that.
Right, Walter, and first, we need to get past the swearing-in of President Harris. I might exhale. After that, I can pull up your list of 10 and put a shoulder to it for the next 8 years. It will take a lot of resources to clean up this mess. We know what to do with natural disasters and those take years to clean up and rebuild. This artificial and contrived disaster Trump and his enablers pushed upon us every damn day, year after year, is a lot to deal with and there's no handbook for how to dig out of it. Just think ...the Amerian Red Cross has more than 100 years of experience, training, and success in handling natural disasters. We're in entirely new recovery zones in your list of 10.
I agree, except we'll be doing it for the rest of our lives. We might as well resign ourselves to that fact right now. At least it gives us purpose! Thanks for the comment!
Just yesterday I visited an army surplus store to sell off three tubs of army clothes. The elderly gentleman at the counter said they hadn’t accepted clothes since Covid. Then he thought it was ok to tell me that Dr. Faucci was the second Dr. Joseph Mengele. You know, the Nazi doctor who was responsible for performing “medical experiments” on Jews who was nicknamed the “Angel of Death”. Maybe he thought that because I’m former military I believe insane bullshit. But I was shocked. I just gave him a dirty look, guffawed, shook my head and walked off. Maybe I should’ve said something. But I just wanted to get away. Sort of how you feel when you hear Trump’s voice. It’s repulsive. But my reaction was still an act of resistance. And resisting and confronting this hate, lies, propaganda, and bigotry in any way is still a positive action.
I personally think that we need to burn it all down. Rip up the Constitution. We need to build not only better but all new. I never want to hear another political candidate say how great America is, how it that it is the greatest country that ever was and I don’t want to hear. God bless America from them. I am a religious person, not horribly religious and I’m not a Christian, I’m Jewish. I follow some of the holiday traditions and such and I do say certain blessings. But I save them for myself. I say them privately or with my family. But I feel like since I. remember watching a president or a political candidate speak they’ve always sent these things. Trump started with the make America great again, but he got that from somewhere because he liked the rest of us had always been told it was great that it was the greatest. And I think this is where some of the brainwashing of us started from both sides of the political spectrum. From as far left as you can get to as far right as you can get. I do not believe any candidate can get nominated or elected without saying things like this. And I want to stop. I am an American citizen, but I have also had the privilege of living outside of the US for well over 20 years. I met a Swede and we married and we live here so I left for love not for any political reasons. The Swedes that I know all love their country and probably think it’s the greatest country. My boss is from Finland. I know he loves Finland and probably feels the same about Finland. With the job that I have I have a number of colleagues living here in Sweden that are from other places. My company is actually French owned and has offices in Belgium and the Netherlands and Germany and Denmark. And all of the people I meet and all these countries I’ve been to, I see the love people have for their country. And yes, unfortunately, in a few of these countries there have been some also concerning shifts to the far right. But in all of these places, while I can see the people loving their country I do not see the same need to constantly and repeatedly state this out loud for everyone. And I think it’s some thing that we’ve done in the US that has become dangerous. So maybe my opinion about thinking it needs to just be burnt down and rebuilt new is even more extreme than yours Walter, I don’t know, but I’m I’m not advocating for a Civil War or anything like that, but I think it would be wonderful to elect Harris and see this rebuilding start. Because I honestly don’t believe that we can fix the systemic races and then all of those kind of problems. I think we have to break it down and start over. Sometimes a country isn’t that different from a house. Sometimes something happens to your house and you can start to repair it and fix it bit by bit. But sometimes that sucker just needs to be ripped down and built new. And I kind of believe that’s what we need..
You're very right, the commercialization of religion is a very American thing, and it's distasteful. Yes, there are certainly flaws with the founding document written by slave holding rich guys. I'm hopeful that a couple changes (like the voting rights act) will bring about transformative change. Your comment is interesting though, thanks for giving me something to ponder.
Hi Walter, your points are tough but carry lots of truth. One thing, do you give yourself any down time? I hope when you are not writing you take refuge in your family, in fulfilling activities and friends. I fear for your heart and blood pressure, your very viability if you have no relief from this struggle on behalf of the rest of us. Daniel
That’s a very kind comment Daniel, thank you for your concern. Actually, writing these things helps me relieve my stress. It helps me get the thoughts out of my mind so I don’t dwell on them. I have also been going to the gym more regularly and expect to continue that through the election. I do long bicycle rides, long walks with the dog, and I help out coaching my daughter’s basketball team. Yes, what you’re saying is very true, we need to give ourselves a break. I’m very grateful to my family for providing me with the support I need, and to kind readers like you!
That is a big relief. I want you to be able to continue your activism and writing. I am glad for those time off adventures you describe; they sound fun. Daniel
Add- unwavering support for dictatorial and repressive regimes abroad along with overthrowing democratically elected leaders abroad, such as Mossadeq in Iran in 1953 (that came back to bite us, bigtime) and Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973.
It is all recognized world religions, though, to a greater or lesser degree, depending upon which one it is. All. A good reason to step away from each and every one.
Excellent piece! All of these institutions have collectively contributed to the state of a nation where nearly half of the population seeks to re-elect a grifting con man.
Moderate Dems aren't Republican-lite. Our party has not gone to extremes, like republicans have. The GOP has to move to the left, Dems must not move to the right. We haven't moved to the right, but because they're so far to the right, to them Dems look far left. They're the ones that need to get their perspective checked, not us. The far-left in the U.S. is less than 5%, yet the far-right is much bigger & much more THE problem at 25-35%. Their extremist agenda started with Reagan & continued to devolve where their Speaker Newt Gingrich literally tried to take over the Clinton Administration. That's when Rove & Newt started "schooling" their followers to hate Dems & think of them as "the enemy". The GOP announced how their goal was to be a one-rule party, but that is NOT how our American system was designed. It was there in the early 90's that the Republican party began it's dark dive towards fascism. They are now today, a fascist party with no perspective, morals, decency, or perspective. They are only representing the richest 2% & looking for ways to destroy, hurt, or eliminate the rest of us.
No. The record & their platform prove that is incorrect. The media make that claim sometimes, wrongly. All you have to do is look at the accomplishments of Pres. Biden to realize that.
Based on what...some internet chart claiming who's a centrist, moderate, conservative, etc..? They have that wrong on a lot of people. One of the ways they get it wrong is they judge if someone is liberal, moderate, whatever based on what they say. Then they'll judge the next person on what they did. It's extremely biased.
All of your ideas are big and bold, and a challenge to accomplish. Let’s add Number 11: Pass a law to get rid of Citizens United. Corporations are NOT people and should have no way to influence elections. Russ Feingold and John McCain tried to get the moneyed interests out of politics and came close to succeeding. Number 12: (Another small but important act.) Reinstate the Voting Rights Act, including the Amendments to it, to end voter suppression and punish those who try to do it. Also, I fully agree it is essential to greatly improve education. Taxpayers need to fully fund public education, not try to support private (exclusive and subversive) schools through vouchers. Every kid deserves a great school. Finally, and my pet peeve, let’s have Medicare for all. Get rid of for-profit, private “Disadvantage Plans” that prey on the less savvy elderly, helping pay for cheap glasses but denying life-saving treatments.
Citizens United has got to go.
Great article. I've been making people uncomfortable long before I realized I was a liberal feminist. It pisses my parents off that I've rejected organized religion, but I'm so sick of so-called Christians for using their religious beliefs as a justification for hate of anyone not white and straight. And I still (amd will forever) call out sexual predators out for the slimey dog shit that they are. Thank you for your writing!
There should be nothing wrong with having tough conversations about the way organized religion has failed us. If we censor history to hide the crimes of religion, we're doing a disservice to our children. When we start to recognize that as a society, we'll be making progress towards a better world. Thanks for your kind comment!
As a young man I wondered how the Germans could have fallen for such an insufferable demigod as Hitler. I, and probably many others, felt there must be something wrong with the German citizen.
Well, German citizens, I apologize. It turns out American citizens are not any different.
People are basically the same everywhere, Good Samaritans, mixed with bad actors and the apathetic.
Yes to all that😳It’s always baffling to me that Americans believe all that shining light on a hill bullshit😂While where I live (NZ)is in NO way perfect a creature like Trump would never get elected as the local dog catcher let alone head of state .
Given the appropriate circumstances, it can happen anywhere.
I suppose it is worthwhile to look a little deeper into what happened in Germany - and we will have to go back before WWI.
Germany was catching up industrially at a pace that made the English afraid they'd lose the world dominance, at least on the seas, if not in other areas as well (steel, ...). Then in 1914 WWI came - and it was the Austrian-Hungarian Empire that started it. At the end of WWI England saw a great opportunity to put the strong competitor in its place, for decades to come - hence the unbelievable conditions of the Treaty of Versailles for Germany with its reperation payments (where were the repurcussions to Austria?). Five years later, 1923, inflation in Germany - imagine people filling a wheelbarrow with ($) 1,000,000.00 bills to stop at the baker and paying with it for a loaf of bread. Thanks to US American greed (makes one winder what improvements were made in the last 100 years in that area there), Black Friday in 1929 hit across the Atlantic as well. And now you have millions of people who have no job, no income, no food on the table for their family, clothing,.... And then someone comes along, and promises these masses (estimates range between 10-15% of the total population), that "he" has a plan and will provide work, income, plus reinstilling pride in a beaten down people - which "he" eventually did, indeed (without any sharp minded people asking the question who is, and how, going to pay for all these programs. As we have learned, there is apparently only one way - you will have to take it from others - be that the jewish population, or the resources from other countries (ie Russia, with the wheat and oil fiellds).
I thought the exact same thing.
I would put corporate media at the very top of the list. Since there are no formal institutions available to break them up, we are left to taking a wrecking ball to them organically. History casts doubt on the success of this.
Sadly,, a place like Substack, as healthy as it is for becoming one of those organic entities that can smash corporate media, has its own limits.
The only people who can join every substack they enjoy as paid subscribers are generally within the income levels that most of us think aren't doing their fair share. There are exceptions, of course, and some of those are substackers, but as a general statement, this holds.
So most of us here struggle to earn money with paid subscriptions, which means most of us will eventually fold our tents and seek other ways to earn money as writers, or look for another line of work entirely (WalMart greeters probably earn more than most writers here do).
Many of the "superstar" writers on Substack come from.. guess where? Corporate media. Some of them are rebels who left because of clear philosophical differences, but many simply left because their company, like all corporations, shat on them, and so they are here to try to wrestle money away from subscribers just like other substack writers.
Is this a sustainable model for overthrowing our corporate overlords? I kind of doubt it. And I don't say all this from the perspective of a frustrated substacker. I've only been truly active here for a couple months. I have no idea how or if it will work out for me.
But from a meta standpoint, it doesn't matter how ***I*** do. Most substacks will fail eventually. The reason is that it is impossible to compete with a corporate media that sucks in trillions of advertising dollars.
This brings me to what should truly be Number One on your list, but isn't listed at all:
1. Modern capitalism: the ultimate destroyer of souls.
My nephew once admired my sneakers and responded to the photo "10 x fresh." This post is also, 10 x fresh. But, my time is limited, so I'll weigh in on one item only, and invite you to read my own blog in that regard; and I provide some reading (which I'm sure you've done) that explains in some measure how the Democratic Party stopped being democratic after the defeat of Walter Mondale in 1984. That's how long it's taken to come to the realisations that you expound on in your piece. And that's how long it will take to get back out of the mess we're in. 40 years.
Christianity is belief in Christ. It's not a movement and it's not even a church. It is a belief that Jesus was the son of God and was sent by Him to dwell with Man and bring a message of eternal life. It is a message that has, over 2,000 years, been embraced and believed by millions and whether any of it is true or not, not a single one of them is here to attest to. The temporal and spiritual links that churches contend exist between God and Man are worthy of note (the apostolic succession of the Popes, for instance), but proof there is none. None that would withstand scrutiny in a court of law, and whether that is a test that we particularly want for a question of belief is really the 64,000 dollar question.
It is in any case a test that the world of politics would certainly eschew. What politics very quickly found was that, once Jesus was dead, His resistance to applying the word of God to the political battles of his fellow countrymen died with Him and allowed free rein among those who so wished to adopt the message He had brought as a rallying banner: movements whose main purpose is not to unite peoples under the word of God, but to particularise the word of God and weaponise it against non-believers. Very quickly, it ceases to matter whether those who parade under its banner ever themselves truly believed: it simply becomes one side of a line drawn in the sand.
By all accounts, early Christians suffered persecution. We have the striking images of Andrew on his saltire cross, Peter crucified upside-down, Catherine on her wheel, Sebastian pierced with multiple arrows, the flight to Ethiopia - the first Christian nation on Earth. Belief is like love, hatred, hope, fear: it is visceral and arises from the heart, and not the head. You cannot reason yourself into belief: it is an epiphany that dawns upon you and, in civilised society, he who does not believe from his heart can nonetheless supress his cycnism (for want of proof) of those who do profess belief just as he can suppress his hatred of those against whom he cannot prove his accusations as grounds for his hatred. You can lead evidence in court for an act impelled by belief, but you cannot prove in a court of law the belief itself. Belief rests in the individual's, let's us call it "sixth sense". Evidence will be accepted in a court based on perceptions witnessed through any of the other five senses: what we see, hear, feel or touch, smell, and taste. These are the fundaments fo all judicial evidence. But no court will lend credence to anything that is "sixth-sensed" even though there is multiple evidence of its existence: it remains apocryphal.
What men and women of politics do is pick up this insubstantiality and turn it to their account. They use belief as a means of banding together in order to conduct battle. They thereby pervert the very message that Jesus brought to mankind. A perversion sounds like a complete opposite of what is intended and yet it rarely so: a perversion is - there is another word for it - a twist. The picture is not inverted, but it is twisted out of focus. The focus is directed elsewhere. The movement, the belief, the apocryphal story, is hijacked for ulterior ends.
A religion is like a guided tour of a strange place. Up front in the bus is a guide who explains all you need to know to be able, upon conclusion of the tour, to explore the city yourself and find more personal experiences. You must of course have faith that the guide is honest, and truthful, and that his tips and tricks are worth the listening. For, if he misguides you, you will never have the opportunity to truly discover the place you wanted to learn about. It is of course possible to venture forth without a tour bus and guide, and take with you just the guide book. It is harder, and you will make more mistakes, because your path will be directed not by a pre-arranged guide but simply by your own faith.
Spiritualists, finally, have no bus, no guide, no guidebook. They search, sometimes erringly and sometimes unerringly, for the truth that underpins their faith. They are susceptible to no movement, to no party, to no banner, they simply search for unity. And, as I say, whether they ever find it is known only at a time when it is too late for either the believer or the sceptic to say, "I told you so."
Here's the history of the demise of the Democratic Party: https://jacobin.com/2024/03/democrats-dealignment-progressive-economic-policy-neoliberalism
Here's a start on my own writings: https://endlesschain.substack.com/p/why-does-god-allow-disasters
Thanks Graham, there's a lot to chew on in that comment. My approach to contemplating Jesus is different than others. I have the notes on an article that I've been meaning to publish. Maybe I'll move that up my to-do list. Thanks again!
A good starting point would be if we were merely allowed to offer valid criticisms of religion. I didn't know that "mensch" was a positive word, thanks for sharing that.
Right, Walter, and first, we need to get past the swearing-in of President Harris. I might exhale. After that, I can pull up your list of 10 and put a shoulder to it for the next 8 years. It will take a lot of resources to clean up this mess. We know what to do with natural disasters and those take years to clean up and rebuild. This artificial and contrived disaster Trump and his enablers pushed upon us every damn day, year after year, is a lot to deal with and there's no handbook for how to dig out of it. Just think ...the Amerian Red Cross has more than 100 years of experience, training, and success in handling natural disasters. We're in entirely new recovery zones in your list of 10.
I agree, except we'll be doing it for the rest of our lives. We might as well resign ourselves to that fact right now. At least it gives us purpose! Thanks for the comment!
Hear hear.
Thank you Kirsten!
We really need to do that! I am tired of the white supremacy bullshit!
I am tired, exhausted, really, of the male supremacy bullshit.
The rich white billionaire supremacy. They’re morons led by their dicks and belief in their own infallible wisdom.
Just yesterday I visited an army surplus store to sell off three tubs of army clothes. The elderly gentleman at the counter said they hadn’t accepted clothes since Covid. Then he thought it was ok to tell me that Dr. Faucci was the second Dr. Joseph Mengele. You know, the Nazi doctor who was responsible for performing “medical experiments” on Jews who was nicknamed the “Angel of Death”. Maybe he thought that because I’m former military I believe insane bullshit. But I was shocked. I just gave him a dirty look, guffawed, shook my head and walked off. Maybe I should’ve said something. But I just wanted to get away. Sort of how you feel when you hear Trump’s voice. It’s repulsive. But my reaction was still an act of resistance. And resisting and confronting this hate, lies, propaganda, and bigotry in any way is still a positive action.
The best response is to laugh at them. Ha ha ha, that’s funny. Oh, you weren’t joking? dripping with heavy sarcasm.
We need to practice more effective responses to shit like that. I’m always dumbfounded, at a loss for words.
I personally think that we need to burn it all down. Rip up the Constitution. We need to build not only better but all new. I never want to hear another political candidate say how great America is, how it that it is the greatest country that ever was and I don’t want to hear. God bless America from them. I am a religious person, not horribly religious and I’m not a Christian, I’m Jewish. I follow some of the holiday traditions and such and I do say certain blessings. But I save them for myself. I say them privately or with my family. But I feel like since I. remember watching a president or a political candidate speak they’ve always sent these things. Trump started with the make America great again, but he got that from somewhere because he liked the rest of us had always been told it was great that it was the greatest. And I think this is where some of the brainwashing of us started from both sides of the political spectrum. From as far left as you can get to as far right as you can get. I do not believe any candidate can get nominated or elected without saying things like this. And I want to stop. I am an American citizen, but I have also had the privilege of living outside of the US for well over 20 years. I met a Swede and we married and we live here so I left for love not for any political reasons. The Swedes that I know all love their country and probably think it’s the greatest country. My boss is from Finland. I know he loves Finland and probably feels the same about Finland. With the job that I have I have a number of colleagues living here in Sweden that are from other places. My company is actually French owned and has offices in Belgium and the Netherlands and Germany and Denmark. And all of the people I meet and all these countries I’ve been to, I see the love people have for their country. And yes, unfortunately, in a few of these countries there have been some also concerning shifts to the far right. But in all of these places, while I can see the people loving their country I do not see the same need to constantly and repeatedly state this out loud for everyone. And I think it’s some thing that we’ve done in the US that has become dangerous. So maybe my opinion about thinking it needs to just be burnt down and rebuilt new is even more extreme than yours Walter, I don’t know, but I’m I’m not advocating for a Civil War or anything like that, but I think it would be wonderful to elect Harris and see this rebuilding start. Because I honestly don’t believe that we can fix the systemic races and then all of those kind of problems. I think we have to break it down and start over. Sometimes a country isn’t that different from a house. Sometimes something happens to your house and you can start to repair it and fix it bit by bit. But sometimes that sucker just needs to be ripped down and built new. And I kind of believe that’s what we need..
You're very right, the commercialization of religion is a very American thing, and it's distasteful. Yes, there are certainly flaws with the founding document written by slave holding rich guys. I'm hopeful that a couple changes (like the voting rights act) will bring about transformative change. Your comment is interesting though, thanks for giving me something to ponder.
Hi Walter, your points are tough but carry lots of truth. One thing, do you give yourself any down time? I hope when you are not writing you take refuge in your family, in fulfilling activities and friends. I fear for your heart and blood pressure, your very viability if you have no relief from this struggle on behalf of the rest of us. Daniel
That’s a very kind comment Daniel, thank you for your concern. Actually, writing these things helps me relieve my stress. It helps me get the thoughts out of my mind so I don’t dwell on them. I have also been going to the gym more regularly and expect to continue that through the election. I do long bicycle rides, long walks with the dog, and I help out coaching my daughter’s basketball team. Yes, what you’re saying is very true, we need to give ourselves a break. I’m very grateful to my family for providing me with the support I need, and to kind readers like you!
That is a big relief. I want you to be able to continue your activism and writing. I am glad for those time off adventures you describe; they sound fun. Daniel
Add- unwavering support for dictatorial and repressive regimes abroad along with overthrowing democratically elected leaders abroad, such as Mossadeq in Iran in 1953 (that came back to bite us, bigtime) and Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973.
It is all recognized world religions, though, to a greater or lesser degree, depending upon which one it is. All. A good reason to step away from each and every one.
Excellent piece! All of these institutions have collectively contributed to the state of a nation where nearly half of the population seeks to re-elect a grifting con man.
Agree completely
Moderate Dems aren't Republican-lite. Our party has not gone to extremes, like republicans have. The GOP has to move to the left, Dems must not move to the right. We haven't moved to the right, but because they're so far to the right, to them Dems look far left. They're the ones that need to get their perspective checked, not us. The far-left in the U.S. is less than 5%, yet the far-right is much bigger & much more THE problem at 25-35%. Their extremist agenda started with Reagan & continued to devolve where their Speaker Newt Gingrich literally tried to take over the Clinton Administration. That's when Rove & Newt started "schooling" their followers to hate Dems & think of them as "the enemy". The GOP announced how their goal was to be a one-rule party, but that is NOT how our American system was designed. It was there in the early 90's that the Republican party began it's dark dive towards fascism. They are now today, a fascist party with no perspective, morals, decency, or perspective. They are only representing the richest 2% & looking for ways to destroy, hurt, or eliminate the rest of us.
The dems have moved to the right
No. The record & their platform prove that is incorrect. The media make that claim sometimes, wrongly. All you have to do is look at the accomplishments of Pres. Biden to realize that.
Nope, it's a fact.
Based on what...some internet chart claiming who's a centrist, moderate, conservative, etc..? They have that wrong on a lot of people. One of the ways they get it wrong is they judge if someone is liberal, moderate, whatever based on what they say. Then they'll judge the next person on what they did. It's extremely biased.