Category: Political

Posted in Political

Beyond Tokenism, Tribalism, and Wokeism

Posted on by simplebender

The issues and consternation we face with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility aren’t new. Humanity is predisposed to tribalism and discrimination. We like to be around those who are like us….whether race, gender, creed, hobby, or sports team. This country has had an issue with DEIA from its start. The idea that someone gets something to fill a quota rather than being the most qualified just isn’t American.

We stand on a merit-based system. As a country, we have struggled with DEIA laws thrust upon us since post-Civil War reconstruction and especially since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We reject the concept of merit and privilege being replaced with legislation trying to eliminate discrimination because the result is systematic alienization and reverse discrimination.

Diversity is not just a preference; it’s a necessity in business, sports, education, social interaction, and life. The ideas, experiences, prowess, and insights of other nationalities, races, genders, and creeds enrich our lives and country. It’s a vibrant aspect of our nation—a nation of immigrants.

Equity is not equality. It’s about ensuring everyone is on an equal footing. The privileged should not be treated any better or worse than the impoverished, and the rich should not have any more access to political officials than the hoi polloi. The challenge is: How can you ensure equity when the playing field has never been level? None of us start with the same privileges or handicaps. Treating everyone equally only perpetuates and extends inequities. And if you believe the education system and/or medical care in this country is equal for all, you’ll struggle to understand any of this.

We stand on a merit-based system. We reject the idea of nepotism and ‘pay to play’ influence. Right? Yet, we all know the person who got the job because their parent knew someone, had money, or owned the company. We stand on merit, right? I understand the frustration with DEI. I was once told I would hire a specific person for an open, publicly posted position. The job description was unambiguous. Looking at the resume, the new hire didn’t appear to be a good match, but that didn’t matter. Quickly checking my DEI card, I recognized there was, in fact, justification for the hire, regardless of qualification. The new employee was part of an exclusive minority. With a little extra time, patience, and training, the company finally had a good employee. The child of a sitting U.S. Senator allowed us to check a box and have an amazingly unique perspective at break time. Merit didn’t matter then; to some, it doesn’t matter now. Of course, the good-ole-boy, nepotistic system was always so much better in so many ways, right?

Remember that DEI never intended to mean ‘Don’t Ever Integrate.’ It was meant to be a way to give opportunities to all people, not just those with connections. Is the current direction and directives about merit or returning to our country’s quasi-legal racial segregation state? As cop killers and killing cops are pardoned, the answer may already be self-evident. Courage and Be Bold   

#NeverFearTheDream   simplebender.com @simplebender.bsky.social

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This was first printed in the Bend Bulletin 1/30/25 titled: Measuring merit and diversity

Posted in NeverFeartheDream, Political

Never Fear The Dream….

Posted on by simplebender

Leaders must have character, not merely be characters. The seducer and seduced share a symbiotic relationship—each supporting and needing the other. We all play both roles when our turn comes. But authentic leadership leaves no room for doubt: lead for the betterment of all, for the greater good, not just for those you’ve won over, seduced, bought, and/or suckered. 25.031

#NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com

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Posted in Political

The Intoxicating Mirage of American Greatness

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We are no better than Don Quixote as he chased the demons he saw in windmills as we become drunk on the hysteria and mirage of American greatness. While he blamed magicians for his confusion and failure, we blame minorities and immigrants. We are no different; only our delusion is different.

Neither the Constitution nor the Preamble ever professes any illusion of aspiring to greatness. The Founding Fathers’ writings in the Federalist Papers are silent on any desire for national greatness. These men, willing to risk everything openly professed a desire for an independent nation. A nation recognized and respected as an equal by all the world’s other nations. They weren’t so egotistical to wave the vain flag of greatness or superiority.

Yet today, we insanely strive to regain something we never had, were, or will be. We are drunk on our delusions and egos. Being ‘great’ is a fixation of one’s ego. It isn’t real. It is your fantasized view of yourself. Something which, when unachieved or perceived to be lost, we blame everyone, anyone, but ourselves. Like Don Quixote blaming mystics and magicians, we lash out at everyone but ourselves. Ironically, we blame them for something that never was and can never be.

We are a country with many admirable traits and traditions and rich in resources and intellect. We are like almost every other country in the world. We all have our national pride, but our national ego is more of a liability than an asset. When working internationally, the first and biggest hurdle to overcome is not being the ‘arrogant, ugly American’ as we are known worldwide.

How do you determine ‘greatness?’ Is our historic and persistent racism a measure of greatness? As a country of immigrants, whose foundational economy was built on the backs of slaves, should our measure of greatness be the number of immigrant families we disjoined and caged or how we showed compassion? Is our historic and persistent racism a criterion of greatness? Is the denigration of minorities and the perpetuation of our domestic caste system our yardstick? Is the benchmark the number of citizens in the wealthiest Causation country suffering in poverty? Is it the number of books and ideas we can ban or sequester? Is the measure the need for a nanny state because we don’t trust half of the population to make their own decisions on healthcare? Or maybe it is our growing affinity to authoritarians and dictators rather than democracies? Democracy isn’t dead but authoritarianism a growing plague. Democracy conquered communism and now seems focused on conquering itself. A country boasting about greatness should have addressed and resolved these inequities decades ago. However, what we have shown incredible greatness in is our ability to deflect, ignore, and our propensity to find a scapegoat for our failures.

While we are a blessed nation, no country is great at everything. They all have strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. The pragmatic salient question might be, ‘Should America strive to be average or average at all things?’ If we are average, we acknowledge there are those better than us in some things, and we are better in others. By being average at all things, we surrender those areas in which we can be superior.

Our desire and aspiration to be Great should not cloud the realization that we are just one among many in this world. Our founders knew this, and they promoted internationalism, not isolation, to gain acceptance and influence. They didn’t strive for dominance but for mutually beneficial relationships. In our drunken, intoxicated state of euphoria, touting our Greatness, let’s hope we ultimately don’t drive ourselves to Mediocrity.

Maybe our Greatness is our ability to cast an eye over our shoulder to see how far we’ve come, accept where we are, and then turn to look forward and have a vision of where we should be. Sober love of country over drunken delusions. NeverFearTheDream……simplebender.com

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This was first published in the Bend Bulletin 11/20/24

Posted in Political

It is Election Season: Time to Sharpen Your Occam’s Razor

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It is time to sharpen your personal Occam’s Razor. It is time for you to be able to thinly slice and dissect the information you see and hear and decide reality from fantasy. Your ability to differentiate between these two will determine your level of sensibility versus gullibility. All this as we prepare to cast our ballots.

Assessing the spin when listening to stories and news headlines is increasingly difficult. These are written by highly skilled and well-paid scriptwriters whose role is to take a little truth and to create a tale for the most significant impact. It is a tale with just enough truth to shield the whole story from excessive scrutiny. They play with words to spin the facts to twist your mind. This is why you need to sharpen your Occam’s Razor. This requires us to accept that the one solution to a problem is the one with the smallest possible complexities or has the fewest assumptions. While deciphering the spin of misinformation it is a method which allows you to ask: ‘Does that really make sense?’ and/or ‘If there is underlying truth, what is it and how much?’ Another way to understand is ‘The simplest explanation is usually the best.’

During this election cycle, like the last, there is a plethora of bogus stories being created to try and make a point or generate fanatical reactions. When candidates purposely espouse unverifiable comments, look behind their intent. They aren’t trying to set or defend policy. They are shifting the discussion and casting it in such a light to cause anxiety and social division. They want to avoid the rare moment of candor when admitting it is acceptable to create stories for a campaign or candidate’s benefit. Simply put, they want you to believe it is all right for candidates to tell lies and continue to tell them in an unadulterated attempt to energize support. In our elections, dabbling in fantastical make-believe shouldn’t be acceptable to garnish support. It shows weakness of position and is insulting to the voters. Does it really make sense to claim one political party can control the weather and the other not? Is it really likely one political party would sponsor attempted assassinations and recruit inexperienced snipers? Is it really likely one candidate wants to be dictator for only one day? Do you really believe a vice-presidential candidate is plotting an Article 25 coup after inauguration? Did you really believe foreign corporations will pay tariffs or domestic consumers? Do you really believe any individual candidate can reduce inflation? And, do you really think those military personnel who have died, injured, or were captured are losers and suckers; really?

Sharpen your Occam’s Razor. Guard yourself against the frauds, lies, and spin. Question everything and everyone. Think critically. Ask yourself if something said makes basic common sense or if it is just too fantastical or complicated to be real and true. Is it simply a cooked-up story, a lie with a smidgen of truth, or a repeated lie which now seems true because it has been told so many times? The problem is these concocted fantasies seduce millions. It seems America’s standard of greatness is now based on lies, deception, and disparaging others while pandering to the gullible. There is value in credibility and believability, or at least there used to be.

The one thing salacious, rancorous, weak candidates do not want is a thinking, analytical voter. Candidates want the easily swayed and unsuspecting. They play with their fears and not their common sense. They weaponize fear, anxiety, disinformation, and hate fueled by lies to seduce you and secure your vote. This year, every year, disappoint them. Think for yourself and break away from the clutches of someone else’s twisted reality, which holds you captive. Listen, study, ask critical questions, and don’t be a single-issue voter. Exercise your Occam’s Razor and then vote accordingly, country before party.  #NeverFearTheDream    simplebender.com

A version of this article was first published in the Bend Bulletin 10/18/24

Posted in Political

Escape America’s Scaphism—WE CAN

Posted on by simplebender

America is suffering its own self-inflicted Scaphism torture. The body America is restrained and sandwiched between unyielding aspects of our political system. Our head, arms, and legs extended out of our encasement as misinformation is feed to us like milk and honey. We eagerly engorge ourselves on unfiltered and uncorroborated statements and political propaganda vilifying our opponents without ever clearly stating our own direction. As we, the body America are trapped, encased in our vessel the maggots, flies and birds begin to find our filth inviting and our defenselessness exciting. We, the greater populous are trapped and dying because of special self-interests, single issues, and greed.

This is an unusually cruel form of torture, humiliation, and death. The greater body trapped, unable to move as our extremities flail. Slowly succumbing to the attacks from the vermin outside and knowing it is our own fault that we cannot escape. Our enemies celebrate and make wagers on how long we can survive. Our allies look on as our great democratic republic, once the envy of the world, is reduced to a heap of rotting flesh. Able only to scream, curse, and cast blame on everyone else. It’s the extreme right, the progressives, the immigrants, it’s misinformation, it’s the mainstream media; it’s everything’s fault but ours. In factuality, we are the problem and our own cause for our pain and demise.

We listen to the attacks on our national institutions and the steady drumbeat of lies, steals, dishonor, witch-hunts, scapegoats, all of those believing they are being persecuted, and all the victims. Lies and propaganda are espoused to deflect blame and avoid accountability and responsibility. The once moral majority has lost its moral compass. Our elected representatives succumb to the threats of violence and the greed of self-interest for re-election. We have allowed ourselves to be imprisoned in our own horrific Scaphism.

Can we escape our own torture? Yes, we can. We must be willing to work toward the greater good and move forward not backwards. A nation of sons and daughters of immigrants shouldn’t belittle and vilify new immigrants, regardless of skin tone or religious background. Our religious communities should follow their own teachings and be accepting and supportive of those who are different and downtrodden. We should, without hesitation, embrace our unvarnished national history and acknowledge what we did right and what we’ve done wrong. We need to be unabashedly proud and uncomfortably ashamed at the same time.  We should welcome challenging ideas and ideals while respecting our neighbor’s individual preferences and orientations just like you want yours respected. Check and double check everything we see, read, and/or hear on the internet or media.

We don’t have to live in an all or nothing social and political system. If we don’t start listening and understanding all perspectives and compromising; our representative democratic republic we will perish a very public, humiliating, painfully slow, grotesque death and fall into a tyrannical autocracy. Unfortunately, there are a lot among us those who want nothing more. #NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com

This article was first published in the Bend Bulletin 1/24/24

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Posted in Political

Scapegoat Politics: Clear Sign of Shallow Policy

Posted on by simplebender

Scapegoat politics is a clear sign there is no positive, problem-solving agenda associated with the candidate or party. It is a simple means of distraction and diversion. Propagation of blame, fear, hate, and misinformation. Casting blame is an insidious, malicious, and effective way to avoid confronting today’s real systemic problems. Politicians, leaders, candidates, and people in general who practice it aren’t worthy of our support. They are either afraid to confront critical issues or don’t have any idea how to address them, without risking the rath of their cult like followers. Simply, they follow the practice of:  if you can’t solve it find someone to blame and be relentless in the accusations.

Scapegoating isn’t new. It’s been hyper-weaponized courtesy of the many mass media venues. Hitler had the Jews. He had no idea how to solve Germany’s hyperinflation and the crumbling living standards. But he had the Jews to blame for all of it. Syria’s Assad and Turkey’s Erdogan both have the Kurds, poor Kurds, to blame all their domestic calamities upon. They have suffered brutal consequences as a result.

Domestically, we are no different and our critical issues receive scant lip service. The Conservatives deride wokeness, China, and liberal ‘fake news’. Progressives blame ills on police unions, the 1%ers, and corporate greed. Florida’s Governor vilifies the LGBTQ’s and immigrants. The past executive energized hate toward the immigrants, even though he himself is one generation away. And today, he is scapegoating the DOJ while narcissistically playing the victim while fleecing his flock. Whining about unsupported claims of the past to shield to deflect against his own actions, indictments, and convictions.

You cannot solve problems by blaming others. It demonstrates a leadership devoid of forward thought, problem-solving, and critical thinking. We need to identify and address the real problems. We should seriously confront and address systematic, institutionalized, racism. Where’s the action toward eliminating mass shooting and gun violence? All the ‘thoughts and prayers’, shallowly offered, are falling on deaf and dead ears. Addiction and death related to illicit fentanyl and prescription opioids is killing us. Where is the hard look at why so many of our neighbors are addicted and abusing drugs? Rather than focus on the problem, it is easier to blame and demonize southern immigrants. Forget the fact most of them are escaping violence and terror and only a scant few are smugglers.

The scapegoat du jour is the LGBTQ community. Attacking a group because they aren’t like you and you don’t understand them. Blaming and viciously attacking them on embellished accusations of child grooming and abuse. If legislators really want to address this issue, they could start by focusing on the authoritarian leadership of the Catholic and Southern Baptists. These have a long well documented history of child molestation and abuse. This would require extreme courage and risk of losing political power. So, don’t expect anything but more Gay Bashing and book banning. It’s so much easier and politically safe.

Political failure and shallow policy making can be measured by increasing authoritarianism, and scapegoating. Used to mobilize the uninformed and easily manipulated. Stop blaming and start addressing critical issues. Take responsibility, be accountable, and confront serious issues sans scapegoating. Those political figures who won’t stop blaming others and using them as diversions don’t deserve our support; none of them. #NeverFearTheDream

Posted in Political

Two Who Took Secrets: Tale of Two Indictments

Posted on by simplebender

It’s not whether there is a best or worst of times when it comes to indictments, especially recent espionage cases. But now we have two indictments for the same crimes against the state in a matter of a few months. Don’t make this about who they are, make it about what they’ve done and whom they’ve harmed.

In one we have a socially immature government employee who had access to, and allegedly took, confidential national documents. He took them because he wanted to bolster his ego and status within his circle of supporters. He needs to feel important. He shows off his trophies and brags about how important they are and by implication how important he is.

In the second case, ironically, we have almost an identical situation. A former government employee with larger delusional ego issues. He too took secret material for his personal use, to show off his trophies and brag. He too needs to feel important.

In the first, the perpetrator was apprehended by armed FBI agents and SWAT. He was immediately incarcerated, without bail, even before being indicted. The conservative right wing was appalled at how long it took the DOJ to apprehend the accused and of course there shouldn’t be any bail. He was clearly a threat to the country by showing off his trophies.

By contrast, in a clear demonstration of DOJ bias, the search warrant for the second was actioned while the suspect was out of town to avoid any embarrassing situation. It took well on six to eight months for the second to be indicted all the while being free and available to the press. In even another example of DOJ bias, this suspect wasn’t incarcerated even after indictment. The first indicted on six charges, the second on only thirty-seven. One is free, the other is not, guess which.

The conservative right wing screaming about a two-tier system, and they are correct. If the second had been named Smith, what are the odds of such preferential treatment. Both cases will be heard by a jury, that’s how our system of justice works. It will be interesting to see if there is any subtle jury tampering or judicial prejudice by and for the second. He is the only one who is free, speaking volumes, with the means to accomplish acquittal by influence. And yes, if you take national secrets, you should be prosecuted; no matter who you are. These are demure men striving for attention. Keep it about what they’ve done, not who they are or want to be. Through it all, sadly, the country loses. #NeverFearTheDream

Posted in Political

In our changing society, some who feel like victims are not victims

Posted on by simplebender

Things you never had are the subject of your dreams. Things you choose to let go of are soon forgotten. But those things taken from you; those are the things you miss the most.

Imagine for a moment how intense the loss must be when you believe everything you and your forefathers had worked for was taken from you. Taken away by the vote and choice of the electorate; your neighbors. Slowly, piece by piece, your rights and opportunities taken and distributed to others. Your world slowly dismantled. You would be frustrated. You would be angry. But know, anger is an exhibit of weakness and lack of self-control not strength and composure.

For these disgruntled neighbors the perceived loss is more complicated and to them very real. Complicated because now ‘their’ rights and privileges are diluted. Those rights are enjoyed by others. Others who never had them before but should have. It is now a conflict. Those who have lost try in vain to recollect and those who now have refusing to return what they now enjoy. It’s women refusing to yield control over their own bodies and health. It’s minorities refusing to yield voting rights, employment, and education opportunities. It’s those who celebrate a different sexual orientation refusing to be demonized, scapegoated, and losing medical rights and acceptance. And why should any of them not defend the rights and privileges they have.

For a moment, consider those who have ‘lost’ are not radical or racially motivated. They are those who feel they are truly victims. Victims of a changing society in which they no longer reign supreme. Their racial, religious, and gender privileges all in the past. A group who passionately wants the country to return to a time when their existence and influence hadn’t been marginalized and brought into balance with others. An America where racial and religious minorities and women could be teased, harassed, and scapegoated with impunity. The sooner these new ‘victims’ recognize they aren’t victims and what they ‘lost’ cannot be reclaimed the sooner they can accept the current state of society. They can recognize and maybe accept they remain valuable assets, just like everyone else. No better and no worse, every step closer to equal. The sooner they do, all of us will start healing.

I understand the difference between the two; I’ve been visually impaired most of my life and don’t know the difference. I’ve been hearing impaired for the last twenty years and I know what I’ve lost. Listening to a flock of singing birds, with my hearing aids, I recognize how much I’ve missed the subtle sounds of nature. Hearing what I can, only because of augmentation, reminds me of all the sounds taken away from me. I mourn my loss but absorbed what I can as best I can. I appreciate the moments I have rather than wallowing in pity over what I’ve lost.

Societies and cultures move forward, they change and evolve. The path isn’t always smooth, and change can be hard. Especially hard to accept if you feel what you’ve lost was taken from you. But you can’t take it away from others just because you want it back.  #NeverFearTheDream

Posted in Political

‘The Ultimate Cancel Act’ (Florida SB 1248): Beware of Unintended Consequences

Posted on by simplebender

Florida SB 1248 was filed and now referred to five committees. The current bill calls for the termination of any political party which ‘previously advocated for, or been in support of, slavery or involuntary servitude.’

What happens, presuming it passes and in the next session the Christian National Party (CNP) combines with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The SBC was founded in 1845 to support the cause of slavery and gave it ‘biblical’ credibility. It took 173 years before the SBC softened its position. In keeping with SB 1248 the CNP and the SBC could be on a termination list.

What happens if the statue is amended to include non-political organizations. Would the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy be at risk of termination? What about the monuments, statutes, and memorials which they sponsored, or which glorify the Confederacy? Wouldn’t they too be at risk?

What if in the preparation of statue regulations, or amendments, companies which benefited from Jim Crow Laws were included? The list of those whose founders supported or benefited from slavery or involuntary servitude could be extensive.

And as to involuntary servitude; what if the recent interpretation, by several Federal Judges, that forced continued pregnancy is in fact ‘involuntary servitude’ is upheld? Wouldn’t every anti-abortion organization and even churches be on the ever expanding list of organizations required to be terminated?

Good legislation is hard to craft and administer. Even the best risk their original intent being misinterpreted, modified, altered, or amended. But partisan legislation, passed in the heat of the moment or whimsically is ripe for abuse. Good legislation has a dual role. First, to support a positive change in society while simultaneously protecting the rights of all affected. All legislation has some degree of unintended consequences. This piece of partisan legislation is ripe for abuse, now and in the future. Let’s be careful what we ask for in all legislation and be ready for the inevitable unintended consequences.

#NeverFearTheDream

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