The Terrible Price we could pay for our Selfishness....

 As I have read various articles, or watched offerings on t-v, a theme has started to emerge.  The essence of it is that younger, but not exclusively, potential voters are making their decisions about whom to support according to how they believe any particular candidate will meet their own needs.  Of course, this is only to be expected; certainly it  seems an outgrowth of 'human nature'.  

But, we are not living in times that even come close to being 'normal'.  We  have a mentally-ill narcissist with fascist ambitions who is positioned to become president for the second time. This has never before occurred in the history of our country, but, now it is a simple reality. If voters continue to decide who to vote for according to how it might serve their personal needs, ambitions, and goals, it is very possible that this very sick man could re-gain the Oval Office.

In his inauguration speech, JFK offered the following guidance: "And, so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This one sentence has taken on almost mythical status, is easily among the greatest utterances of American presidents. The reason for this is simple: it's a fundamental truth about what it takes to have a functional democracy, replete with fairness, equal opportunity, and even the compassion that is needed to care for the least fortunate with whom we share this society.

It is extremely troubling that the so-called 'mainstream media', the primary means of keeping Americans up to speed on the news, has decided that they will minimize the obvious danger and endless problems that are posed by the Orange Idiot becoming president again.  They are failing in their responsibility to keep us informed of the pitfalls and crises that this dire possibility carries with it.

Perhaps we are witnessing the result of a society that has become more about the 'self' and acquiring what one desires, than maintaining harmony and fairness....not to mention compassion. A fair and thorough reporting of the clear intentions of the Idiot might make these companies seem 'unfair or unbalanced'....and that is also perhaps what the truly BIG money behind them wants.  

If you have seen it in the last few days, there are reports that Trump has made a despicable and lethal deal with 'Big Oil'.  In return for a billion dollars, he will eliminate any and all climate regulations that impinge on their ability to continue making trillions, despite the destructive, even cataclysmic effect that will have on the climate. It has been evident that these 'captains of industry' that we have so exalted for so many generations....are willing to DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT  if it means their profits continue to proliferate. 

Unless you have been living in a cave for a long time now, it should be absolutely obvious that the climate has entered a new and terrifying phase of its culmination.  Climate change is not only here, it is getting worse all the time.  Have you seen the calamitous damage from hundreds of tornadoes in mostly the mid-west?  Whole towns are being rendered piles of debris. Drone footage looks like a scene from Mariupol, or name your Ukrainian city that the Russians have destroyed.  This is not even including the effects of the wild-fires, drought and flooding.  

Climate disaster is upon us.  It is here and it's going to get worse, much worse.  And big business seems quite aloof from taking any responsibility for their central role in bringing it to this point in history. 

So, deciding to elect this insane idiot again....would be a form of suicide for our society.  Look at the facts.  Don't think the big news channels are telling you the way things really are.  They are not.  And, the oligarchs who own them are fine with that, in fact, insist on it.

Perhaps too many of the people who think Trump is a plausible alternative to Joe Biden, just don't realize what Fascism is and what it would be like to live in a Fascist society. Because I have been fascinated by history, particularly of  the modern era, i.e. the period since the dawn of the 20th century, I haven't stopped to realize how little most people know about, "....whence we came" to the present times.  It's only when I have seen people...mostly younger college age kids....interviewed on the street that I have been aware of this failing in our education system.

One young woman, was asked about what vehicle was very important in winning the Second World War.....well, she was pretty sure it was the Ford F-150. They showed her a brief video of a Jeep climbing the steps of the Capitol...a  publicity stunt put on by Willys.  But, the Jeep and it's central role in the Allied forces mobility wasn't on her radar. Understandable I suppose, but many of the queries of sidewalk innocents have been more rudimentary, like: "Who fought in the Civil War?"  Now, there's a stumper, eh.

So, perhaps it's asking too much for these young folks to really understand what is at stake in the coming election.  But, it will be their lives that are impacted, and in ways they have not imagined.

They were just visiting, taking the tour.....

Pay Attention America......if you don't want to live in hell.

Well....I had to do something to get your attention, because we are in the gravest danger our republic has been in since the Civil War. This is not hyperbole; it's simply TRUE. And, that's a big part of the problem, right out of the gate: people are getting lied to and manipulated by the media....to the point that they really don't know who or what to trust. 

 

So, now what?  First, let's take a brief overview look at what we're facing.  For starters, I acknowledge that I have a strong 'liberal' bias.  If you want ' both-sidesism' you've come to the wrong place.  Both sides in the political arena are struggling to come out of this election year with majority political power.  But, if we take a look at what they each want, it's like night and day...almost literally.

Is this really the Second Jesus.....are you shitting me?

Let's remind ourselves of something that has been proven, again and again: Donald J. Trump is a 'deeply flawed' human-being. He's done so much over the last decades that proves this, that it's a wonder that the MAGAs can't see how evil the man really is.  He wants.  That sums him up precisely;  he just WANTS....all of it.  He feels he should be a world-class power leader--read 'dictator'--like Putin or Xi, Or any of the lesser 'pocket' dictators who have their knees on the necks of various countries.  Just the idea that you can rule by fiat is like apple-blossoms to bees.  You can...like dear old Vlad...order your opponents killed with zero consequences.  You can dominate a country with your desire to become even more powerful.  It's like magic....sort of....just a little bloodier, because people like Putin and Xi have the rarely challenged--never successfully--ability to destroy anybody who opposes them, and not have to answer for it.  Trump would just love to be in this kind of situation. Apparently a large number of MAGAs already think he has been sent by God to save us (from what isn't exactly clear)...from ourselves perhaps?

The Orange Idiot has already announced what he intends to do.  I recently mentioned his plans, i.e. Project 2025, 47, and others.  Steve Bannon is hopefully headed to jail after his latest delaying tactic failed.  But, he is just one of Trump's evil cabal who plan to destroy democracy, methodically and completely.  They plan to create a Christian White Supremacist society and fairness, rights and all that....don't even enter into the equation.  It won't be about the people having a thing to say about it; it WILL be about either falling into line and doing what you're told....or suffering whatever consequences the dominators wish for you.  Could be concentration camps (yes, just like the ones we built for Japanese Americans in 1942) or it could be un-named 'Gitmo's, camps where what goes on is no longer subject to any kind of scrutiny, justice or even a smidgen of human kindness.  No!  Gone!

You needn't believe me. You can easily do your own research in this age of information.  But, you need to cultivate the ability to spot bullshit when you see/smell it.  One of the side-effects of living in this time is the loss of any firm moral compass. True, some can hold onto theirs with a white-knuckle death grip....but, for most Americans, the 'truth' has become elusive and when it is potentially identified, it's no longer the bed-rock we once believed we could fall back on for a sense of stability and harmony.  Now, it's necessary for people to put energy into 'discernment'.  Say wha?   That is the ability to see a situation from an overview and to also analyze it's component parts....and come away with a sense of what the source of this 'truth' is really trying to do.  What do they want, really?

Well, if you stop and look closely at the political right, especially including the 'far' right, you will see that what they really do desire...in their wee coal-black hearts....is to be in power and to force anybody beneath their boot-heels to comply with their directives and to cower before them. This is not speculation on my part, or on the part of commentators....like Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Nicolle Wallace, Jen Psaki, Katie Phang...and so many more, who are devoting their energy to trying to make those who haven't already swallowed the Kool-Aid, realize how precarious, downright nightmarish, our situation really is.

This isn't the moment to go further into just what a second Trump term would look like.  We'll do that in the near future in another piece.

But, what I pray you will come to understand is that this is Freedom's Last Stand.  If we lay down in front of the tanks that are coming....and, yes, I mean that metaphorically....they won't even try to avoid rolling right over us.  All the rumblings about a second Civil War, will become actual armed confrontations and it will be a deeply tragic day for America.