Author: simplebender

The primaries are almost over. The November ballots are almost set. Now the independent and non-affiliated voters get a chance to express their preferences. There’s only one thing worse than a non-voter; an uninformed voter. Take your time, study the issues, ask the candidates the hard questions and don’t accept the cheap throw away rhetoric.

Free speech: Ask what is the difference between protesting discrimination in a park versus storming the Capital and are both really ‘legitimate political discourse’? Ask what part of book banning is acceptable in defense of free speech? And ask how voting restrictions fits within promoting free speech?

Critical race or replacement theory: Ask if schools should teach unvarnished history or nostalgia. One is what really happened, the full story, and the other a fantasy with selective facts in order not disturb our fragile feelings. If they choose real history, they are likely critical thinkers, if not maybe they should be replaced, especially if they are an incumbent.

Pro-life or pro-choice: Ask, if they profess pro-life, what government infant/childcare, adoption programs, and medical subsidy programs for the fetal deformed are they proposing? If there aren’t any, they really aren’t problem solvers. To the contrary. They are simply pandering for right wing votes without consideration of consequences.

Immigration: Ask if they support immigration policies which promote legal entry and paths to citizenship or blind isolationism? Recognizing this is a country of immigrants and some are only a generation or two from their fore parents coming here.

Climate change: Ask if they have considered the socio-economic impacts of both continued development and dependence of fossil fuel as well as renewable energy? Have them articulate the impacts and their mitigation plans.

Federal Transfer Spending: Ask them what their plan is to control federal transfer spending, which is now more than 70% of the federal budget. Ask them between these federal transfer programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Student Assistance, Civil Service retirement, Veteran’s compensation, supplemental nutrition assistance program, and Hospital and medical care for veterans would they cut and why?

Rule of Law: Ask them if anyone is above the law and if so, why? Ask if they support justice inequality if it reduces crime? Ask if they support law enforcement ‘qualified immunity’ and then ask how they intend to hold rogue police and departments accountable? And really press when you ask them what their plan is to stop mass shootings and let’s hope it’s more than an elevator speech on mental health. Ask why we can ban alcohol sales to those under 21 but not gun sales? Ask, how many innocent children must lay down their lives to protect twenty-seven words?

However, before you ask any of these questions; maybe, you should ask them of yourself. Don’t be skittish. Ask yourself the hard questions. Challenge everything you’ve thought you always knew. Challenge yourself to articulate the opposing positions. Engage in dialog with people and groups who espouse contrary positions. Study and read. Venture out and absorb media news which opposes your norm.

Please don’t get your guidance from your religious leader or your drinking buddy. Be independent. Please don’t be a single-issue voter. Reach out to the League of Women Voters and study the Voter Information Guide.

There is only one thing worse than a nonvoter and that’s an uninformed voter. A voter who votes based on ignorance. This Republic was based on the electorate to be knowledgeable, inquisitive, and challenging. Ask the hard questions and if you don’t know; don’t vote your ignorance. If your candidate didn’t win, you get a do-over. Be open to the idea the best candidate may be from the ‘other’ party. #NeverFeartheDream

What would you do if everything you see around you points to the degradation and dissolution of principles you were taught? You believe the moral fiber of your life is being threatened and challenged. You believe the social system you’ve come to rely upon is being torn apart and there seems to be so little you can do.

What would you do if the media you rely upon repeatedly tells you exactly what you have come to believe? In-fact, the only news you see and hear tells you it’s worse, much worse, than you ever imagined. They espouse there are forces working every day to undermine the social order. They proclaim those forces are deeply embedded in the fabric of the government and constantly working to undermine and change history.

What would you do if the social media you follow is deluged by your online friends, those people you’ve never met all over the country, advocating the same rhetoric? A country wide collection of groupthinks. All forwarding more links to corroborating websites promoting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and dark projections of your and the country’s future.

What would you do if the leaders whom you trust and adore, as if they were bigger than life, re-enforce everything you’ve seen, read, heard, and now completely believe? They tell you the fate of life and social order as you know it is at a dire tipping point. You are told, repeatedly, the fate of everything you believe in is at risk and it is up to you to rise up. They feed your fear and champion a calling for your action. Claiming it to be a calling only true believers can understand and follow.

What would you do if your religious leaders and teachers told you every time you entered the house of worship the moral fabric of the country is under attack? If you were told by your faith leader every moral fiber and the soul of your country and religion was under attack by the great Satan.

What would you do? Would you become flagrantly intolerant of anyone not believing like you? Would you become reclusive? Would you pick up arms and seek others like yourself? Would you become radicalized and become a jihadist, Antifa, or storm the Capital? Would you plot, with your brothers, an insurrection to defend your country and religion beliefs? What would you do? What will you allow yourself to become? This is us. This is where we are. This is where the world is to a greater or lesser degree. We see it play out across the world. No place is immune.

Or, would you pause for a few moments and ask yourself, challenge yourself, to look critically and dispassionately at everything you’ve seen or have been told? Would you question and seek alternatives? Would you just for a moment, consider maybe just maybe, you might not be completely correct, and other’s might be just as correct, and wrong, as you? Would you consider, just for a fleeting moment, another person’s perspective might have as much legitimacy as yours? Would you, could you, because you certainly should.   #NeverFeartheDream

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The greatest threat to American Democracy is angry, right wing, white men. They are no longer just angry but also mad and acting upon their frustration and fear. Anger is a state of mind.  An emotion we choose. It is a weakness; one we accept, give in to and act upon. Mad is an out-of-control reaction.

They are angry because they no longer hold a place of superiority. Angry their inherited privilege is being slowly eroded. Angry that women, LGBQT, racial, and religious minorities are being recognized and treated as equals, rather than subservient members of society. Gnashing their teeth about how things have changed as they look through the narrow distorted rearview mirror of American history. Angry they must share power, jobs, and educational opportunities. Incensed their children are exposed to Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American History months. And angry about the rise of alternate religions and cultures, fearing the loss of prestige in Christianity and lashing out against others, especially those of Islamic and Jewish faith.

Anger now manifested in acts of mad rage. PRRI 2021 American Values Survey: 30% Republicans and 26% white evangelical protestants believe: ‘True American patriots may have to resort to violence if that’s what it takes to save the country.’ We’ve gone from ‘What Would Jesus Do’, to ‘What Keeps Us In Power’.  They are yelling and threating local elected officials from school boards to city/county councils.  They are armed and staging protests inside state legislative buildings. Wondering through the halls brazenly attempting to bully and intimidate law makers. They dominated the January 6^th insurrection and invasion of our Nation’s Capital. Their madness has spilled into the streets as they carry torches through Charleston, ramming crowds with cars, and white nationalist marching on the Lincoln Memorial.  School shootings are almost the sole domain of white men with almost 70% of mass shootings by white males (Statistica 2021). 

They have been consumed by the power of the mob and can no longer think as individuals.  What was once their greatest asset has been self-surrendered out of anger. They are a threat to our democracy because they think and act with the emotion of a mob because mobs have no intelligence.

Terrified their dominate position of power is so sufficiently eroded they will never be able to recover without threating, bullying, and restricting the voting rights of others. Their anger is the fuel of those who want to manipulate and stay in power. ‘We’re (GOP) not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business (power) for the long term’ (Sen L. Graham R-SC, 2012). They have been targeted, prodded and are now the willing gullible patsies of conspiracy theories and any charlatans claiming they will protect, defend, and restore their predominance in society. The lack of interest in the truth and honesty is shocking as their leaders unabashedly lie and twist the truth.

Democracy requires all voices to be heard. Not just those brandishing guns and yelling. The Truth is an amalgamation of everyone’s perspectives. Truth is forged by the relentless pounding of facts between the unyielding anvil of history and the merciless, endless swings of the hammer of investigation. There must be a thirst for honesty and integrity in a democracy. In 1787 John Adams wrote; ‘,…if the common people in America lose their integrity, they will soon set up tyrants of their own’.  Tyrants only protect you if it benefits them, and not a second longer. As of now there seems to be no appetite for the truth. These are America’s radicalized jihadists and zealots and are a clear threat to democracy. They are on the wrong side of history, just as the Nazi brownshirts were.  Let me just ask; what would we collectively say if these acts were perpetrated by Black Muslims?  #NeverFeartheDream

The inconvenient truth is we will live with COVID-19 and its many devilish variants for the rest of our lives.  As the nation approaches 80% with at least one dose, the kids can now get the vaccine, and a pill may be soon available.  Maybe it’s time for a less polarizing discussion of COVID-19, the vaccine, and the mandates.

Government has multiple roles which at times of crisis are likely juxtapose and in conflict.  On one hand they are responsible for setting and enforcing policies which protect the population in total.  On the other they are the ardent protector of civil and individual liberties.  Private citizens are also faced with similar conflicts.  In a civil society we try to support and aid those most needy in our community while we also are passionate about our individual rights.  We might be willing to, temporarily, yield our rights to help those in need.

The obligation to protect the general public and those most needy versus the rights of individuals to choose clouds the issues surrounding the pandemic.  We, within reason, reluctantly support the social distancing and masks.  We generally support the vaccine and its distribution.  However, the imposition of government dictated mandates, to many, crosses the line of individual rights.  Is it at all possible for both positions to be reasonably satisfied?  Maybe, but the discussion needs to be open and without rancor.

What would be so wrong with both camps stepping back from the line of confrontation and agree on some common goals.  Such as, individual rights must be respected and acknowledging there must be individual accountability.  The government has the obligation of promoting and defending the greater public welfare by what means necessary, until the crisis is abated.

Therefore, indue consideration, let business set their own standards and policies.  Let the government, at all levels, as a major employer, set its policies as it deems necessary and stay out of the private sector decisions. Each company, government included, might consider a decision tree approach to this issue and let the employees decide their own fate.  Corporate policy should be to require vaccination but allow for an alternative.  Employees who are vaccinated are within compliance of the highest standard.  Employees who decide not to be vaccinated should be required to have a weekly test, at their cost, and their insurance rates should be increased commensurate with their probability of elevated medical costs.  There shouldn’t be any reason why the taxpayers, or fellow employees, should be paying for, or subsidizing, any testing of those who choose this path.  Their rights their responsibility, their accountability.  The third branch of the tree is, if the employee chooses not to be vaccinated or tested then they should be terminated.  Again, their choice, their accountability.  In addition, companies should be allowed to require proof of vaccination or proof of negative test, as well as masks for entry, if they so choose.  If a company wants to exclude those with masks or those vaccinated that’s alright as well, it’s their shop.  Furthermore, those who knowingly expose others should be held accountable.

Each of us are responsible for ourselves and must be respectful of others.  Yet, your rights, and evaluation of risk, should not place others and their families at risks which they deem unacceptable.  We must live with this for the rest of our lives; but we don’t have to make it so darn hard.  #NeverFeartheDream