Category: Political

Posted in Political

‘Retribution’ : A Sword which Cuts Deep both ways

Posted on by simplebender

What an interesting America we currently live in.  An America where a hoax virus has infected over eight million citizens, killed over 220,000 and adding to the score over 700 a day.  An America where ‘the truth isn’t the truth’ (R. Giuliani 8/18) and the President cannot bring himself to denounce racism, white supremacy, or the radical conspiracy theory of ‘Q’.  An America where the killing of unarmed, and subdued, black citizens is called justified and police unions defend their right of ‘qualified immunity’.  An America where white supremacists are filmed driving through otherwise civil demonstrations brandishing loaded firearms and shooting paintballs at the demonstrators.  And we then wonder why the gatherings become violent and result in death and destruction.  And now, an America where the death of the alleged shooter of a MAGA leader in Oregon, during a counter demonstration, by U.S. Marshals is called ‘retribution’ by the President (Trump 9/20).  We have degraded into tribal warfare.  So here we are, a member of the MAGA tribe is injured therefore we must retaliate; we must have retribution.

What ever happened to the America which stood on the rule of law and which the basis of a democracy was founded on the open exchange of ideas and the power of the electorate?  And why, has America collectively lost its sense of humor?

Retribution, retaliation, and revenge are actions which will result in an inequal and opposite reaction.  Hitler authorized Nazi troops to enact retribution on towns and villages for the killing of single Nazi officers, e.g. Lidice Massacre (Czechoslovakia, 7/42).  Italy’s Mussolini used the same tactics to quell unrest and ‘dissidents’.  Post WWII the reverse retribution on Nazi sympathizers and to Mussolini himself was swift and brutal.  Retribution is a sword which cuts deep both ways.  Sometimes it just takes a while, but the resulting backswing can be vicious.

Can we, as a country and as individuals, pause for just a moment and take stock of where we are and where we are going?  The strength of this country is its people, their diversity, courage, and independence.  Not all things are not right with America.  Unfortunately, we no longer want to discuss them, find consensus, and together chart a path forward.  We act as if when someone is ‘wrong’ they have personally wronged us; maybe, just maybe we think too highly of ourselves and our opinions.

Maybe former Sec. R. Perry (11/19) was correct when he pronounced Trump was God’s ‘chosen one’ to be President.  Maybe the Almighty has become weary of us not treating each other with respect, fairness, and equality.  Maybe we needed a polarizing catalyst to force the facade to be violently ripped back for us to see our hypocrisy, laid bare before us and the world.  Although painful and uncomfortable, maybe we can stop and regroup as a country to rectify the now glaring issues in-front of us.  Maybe the extremist, in every tribe, can be controlled by the majority of those within who are now disenfranchised and forgotten.  Maybe those moderates can reach across tribe lines and find common ground and cast off the paradigm of extremism.  Maybe, just maybe, this country’s best days are ahead of us.  Maybe, but only if we stand together against those who see the path forward as their path and no other.  #NeverFearTheDream

Posted in Political

Land of the Free….What’s Missing

Posted on by simplebender

Our country proudly sings, brags, and pontificates on being the Land of the Free, and our foundation upon Liberty.  However, our stance on Equality is revoltingly absent from anything we cherish.  The concept of citizen equality is all but missing from the documents which founded the country.  It is not mentioned in the Bill of Rights, the Pledge of Allegiance, or the National Anthem.  It is only once mentioned in the Constitution and in the Declaration of Independence.  The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees Equal Protection and the Declaration of Independence erroneously postulates ‘all men are created equal’; which we inherently know is not true.  Perhaps, just perhaps, if the concept of citizen Equality were so important it would be more prominently mentioned.  Perhaps, just perhaps, the Equal Rights Amendment would have been ratified soon after Congressional authorization in 1972. 

This country used to pride itself on being the Great Experiment, The Great Melting Pot.  The Statue of Liberty used to proudly symbolize a young county’s eagerness to embrace peoples from all countries, ethnicities, and religions.  To some, The Great Melting Pot only works if only the thick rich white cream is allowed to rise to the surface and keep the other ingredients stifled underneath.  The cauldron has been stirred only a few times.  The Civil War churned it well, and then forced settling by Jim Crow laws regained the majorities chosen equilibrium.  Women’s suffrage and the Voting Rights Act (1964) thinned and diluted the integrity of the thick white cream.  The Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 tried to stir the pot, but to really no avail.  And today, to the horror of the thinning white cream plurality, the cauldron is again being stirred by those, across the country, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.  This will be an uphill struggle.  Denial of inequality is a clear form of bias and racism and racism is deeply rooted in our culture making equality an after, after, thought in our conscious.  There is some hope, in 2018 the Southern Baptist Convention formally renounced its 1845 foundations of supporting slavery: only 153 years after the end of the Civil War.

The concept of Equality has two aspects:  Treatment and Opportunity.  Until those who feel there is no inequality begin to think, maybe, just maybe those who live with inequality might have a voice which should be heard; simple equal treatment will not happen.  Without equal treatment, equal opportunity will never happen.  Without equal treatment and opportunity, the country will never achieve its greatest potential gained through a homogenous blend of the skills, talents, and wisdom of all our citizens.  We instinctively know people are not equal; but they should be treated equally and have an equal opportunity to achieve their aspirations.

Perhaps, just perhaps,  Article 1 of the Equal Rights Amendment should read “All Citizens of the United States Women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to it’s jurisdiction.  Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex without exception or clarification.”  I sadly ponder how long, if ever, such a change would be passed by Congress and ratified by the States.  If after thirty-eight years we cannot ratify an amendment requiring sexual equality what are the odds of one requiring equal treatment for all of us?  We must stand tall, grab your biggest spoon, and vigorously stir the pot.  #NeverFearTheDream

Posted in Political

Can WE….Make America Equal?

Posted on by simplebender

Freedom, in our representative republic, is never pretty.  It is dirty, ugly, ever changing, and very much worth standing for.  The louder the yelling the harder it is hear.  We have the right to yell and an obligation to listen, no matter how loud.  The past weeks have again ripped at our cultural fabric and that is ok.  This country was created by those fighting for their rights and equality from tyranny; and the fight continues, and our republic grows stronger with diversity.

There are unique differences between the riots spawned from M. L. King’s assassination (1968) and Rodney King’s beating (1991).  Today’s marches and demonstrations are not monochrome.    The demonstrations are racially, generationally, gender, and culturally diverse.  Aspects of our country are coming together with a resounding rejection of racism and racial targeted abuse.  Unfortunately, their voices are being drowned out by those willing to tear down and loot rather than march for change.  Will we stand in front of our neighbor’s stores and shops and protect them from looters and vandals?  Or will we allow the lowest among us to steal our opportunity to make real and substantive changes to our republic. We hear: ‘the killing was terrible, the looting MUST stop’; we should hear: ‘the looting is terrible, the killing MUST stop’.  What if the looting is the manifestation of pent up anger and frustration because of the killing?

Ordering federal troops ‘to restore order’ is a sign of failure.  The Insurrection Act was intended to ensure Federal law was being upheld in the States.  The act was used by Lincoln to establish the legal basis for the Civil War and by Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, who in defiance of the State governors of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, deployed troops to ensure federal desegregation laws were enforced.  The threat to invoke the Act to quell people exercising their rights juxtaposed to the past actions is a sad statement of leadership.  Maybe the potential of marshalling of troops against citizens is why our founders included the Second Amendment.  They lived with and fought foreign tyranny and feared domestic tyranny would be a death blow to the fundamental freedoms they sought.

Sadly ironic, the one thing law enforcement officers and minorities have in common is the fear of not knowing if they will return safely home as they leave every morning.  It is poor statement of a civil society when this is an aspect of equality.  Sunset the legal doctrine of Qualified Immunity and have law enforcement be held to the same standards as all citizens.  In some circles that would be called equality.

Ultimately it comes down to each one of us, individually.  Looking deep within ourselves, rather than looking at others.  Regardless of your race, like it or not, there is a little bit of Amy Cooper and Dereck Chauvin in all of us.  We all have some fear, uncertainty, mistrust, cynicism, and skepticism.  We were not born with them, we grew-up with them and learned them.  They are an undeniable part of us which we must un-learn.  We have seen in the last few days the dark shadows these can cast.  We have also seen the bright light of cross racial solidarity and compassion. 

Just because you think you treated someone fairly, does not mean you treated them with equality.  You can also commit injustice by doing nothing.  Let’s commit to do something we’ve never done before:  Make America Equal.     #NeverFearTheDream #BlackLivesMatter

Posted in Political

Solving Immigration Requires Multi-Partisan Leadership

Posted on by simplebender

The world continues to face the challenges of immigration.  Something feared, relied upon, misunderstood, and something we all struggle to manage.  The answer isn’t open or close the border, or simply build barriers.  This quandary is more complex.  Campaign sound bites and tweets won’t solve anything, they just inflame.  Defining and solving this conundrum will require compassion, toughness, common sense, economic principles, and multi-partisan leadership.

Ever wonder what you would do if your family was under constant threat of violence and torture?  What would you do if the only way to protect and care for them was to leave your homeland?  Our forefathers migrated due to religious persecution, famine, and wars. Fear is inversely proportional to the proximity of the danger.  As we see snapshots of the events in Central America and Middle East, we have no sense of their fear.  A person is brave and honorable in proportion to the personal risk taken for their opinions and actions.  The fear which would drive you to travel across several countries isn’t a hoax; it’s real.  The courage to make the journey is astonishing.  So, if you’re tired of pulling bodies out of the river, go up stream and find out why they’re jumping in.  If you want to stem immigration focus on demigration. Create an environment in their home country which encourages them to stay.  Cutting off aid and influence just perpetuates the intolerable conditions which already exist.

Intertwined and mutual dependent economies require a clear minded approach toward immigration.  According to the Texas Comptroller (2015), the 29 Texas ports of entry support an estimated 1.6 million Texas jobs and annually adds $224.3 Billion to the states GSP.  The El Paso ports of entry alone account for $72 Billion in trade, and annually adds $18.4 Billion to the state’s GSP.  These are daunting figures of economic reality, which don’t include the ports of entry of the other southern border states which can’t be underestimated.

Immigration isn’t only about the unskilled and untrained.  The high-tech industry has a different perspective on immigration than does the unskilled labor markets.  If we focus only on the issues and concerns of the unskilled, the high-tech industry will be inappropriately impacted.  I wonder, how many unemployed American’s would be willing to relocate and work the fields or manual labor jobs as the immigrants do?

However, a country without a secure border isn’t really a country.  Porous borders have created significant security issues in the European Union and Central America. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard, rather than the opposite.  The path to citizenship isn’t easy or inexpensive.  Thus, undocumented immigration is the preferred option and establishing sanctuaries only exasperates the problem.  Citizenship should be encouraged, all the while enforcing our laws.  The Dreamers need a clear path to citizenship as do all other immigrants.  The laws should be clear, firm, balanced and apply equally to all, regardless of education, religion, or country of origin.  We have the room for those who want to assimilate into our multicultural, multiracial, and religiously diverse community.  For those who don’t, we should hold them accountable.

Immigration can be managed if we are willing to clearly understand the intertwined issues and recognize we can not solve just one at a time.  A fact based holistic approach is needed.  One which is clearly articulated with a multi-partisan consensus and then actioned consistently across the country.  Maybe we should first face our unwillingness to work together to solve anything anymore.

(#NeverFearTheDream)

 

Posted in Philosophy, Political

1619: We’re Better Now, Right?

Posted on by simplebender

1619:  Twenty score years ago the first African slaves came to America. Twelve score years of slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation and a country torn apart.  Four score and ten years of Jim Crow Laws, three score more of separate but equal.  Five score and nine years from Emancipation to the Equal Rights Amendment.  And yet still we have a racial divide which seems to be growing not healing.  We’re better now, right?

Shamefully, slavery was a globally accepted and biblically supported practice.  A global industry with Arabs and Africans capturing and shipping other Africans around the world.  Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right.  But today’s ‘right’ can’t be the benchmark for the past or the future.  Those time-frames have their own standards for right and wrong.  Yet, those past practices set the stage for today and should be forcing us to ponder; how many generations does it take to transition from being property to being a person?  If all your life, and all your forefathers lives you were told you were inferior; how much internal strength does it take to stand up and declare you are not? How long would it take you to overcome the constant, unrelenting, message that you are less and unworthy? Is an apology needed, or wanted?  You can’t really apologize for what your forefathers did, you can only apologize for what you do.

Have the federal projects and affirmative action programs created an environment of reverse discrimination and resentment?    If so, just know it’s a slippery slope from resentment to racism.  Those of ‘privilege’ will never be able to empathize until they have lived what others have endured.  The few incidents where they feel they have ‘suffered’ will never compare with the score of years others really have.

A keystone of this country is ‘majority rules, minority rights.’  We are far from this tenant.  As efforts increase to ensure the rights of the minorities are respected there is a false perception that these directly result in the demise of the historic privileges of the majority.   And worse, the more vocal the minority the more resentful the majority. When will we decide to choose to accept and give an opportunity for respect? A few quirks about respect.  It’s not a right or a privilege. It must be earned and cannot be demanded.  It’s easily lost and hard to regain, a lot like trust.

All we are owed is to be accepted, an opportunity to show we should be respected, and freedom to pursue your dreams; but not at the detriment of others.  We may be a long way from “I want no negro government; I want no Mongolian government; I want the government of the white man which our fathers incorporated.” (Sen. G. Davis D-Kentucky, 1866). However, we might be just as far from the dream of “not being judged by the color of our skin” (religion, gender, or orientation) (Rev. M. King, 1963).  Discrimination persists, against racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, women, and LGBQ because we allow it and silently condone it.  Those who stand firmly on ‘majority rule’ should consider someday you will be the minority and will want all your rights protected. We would do well by remembering the thoughts of Jesuit monk, Fr. A. DeMello, the three hardest intellectual things to do are, 1) returning love for hate, 2) including the excluded, and 3) admitting you are wrong?

We’re better now, right? Right? (#NeverFearTheDream)

Posted in Political

Thank you, Mr. President……

Posted on by simplebender

Thank you, Mr. President, over the last two years of your unique, unconventional, administration there are many things to thank you for.

Only you, and you alone, could have propelled the interest in political activism as is now being shown by millennials, extremists, and minorities.  It is truly amazing.  This country hasn’t ever seen this level of extreme activism and division.  You’ve made political awareness something everyone wants to be a part of and mix it up; say anything, do anything, just as long as their side wins.  Thanks to your superior leadership and focus on our future, you ensured the 2018 Blue Tsunami yielded a balanced government with all the trappings of conflict and investigations.  No one really wanted the same old boring single party-controlled Congress, did they?  Knowing we all like a good witch hunt, to fan the flames of mistrust, we can now look forward to more misinformation and political spin.  Thank you for Making Congress Balanced Again.

You’ve been able to clearly define the differences between us as citizens of this country as no one ever has before; thank you.  It’s always good to drive wedges and build walls between families and neighbors.  To feed fears with anger, scapegoats, and name calling.  Unify the tribes and let the strongest, loudest, most bombastic one win.  Who needs healing, compassion, and unification that’s for the meek and the clergy.

Thank you, Mr. President, for clarifying the inscription on the Statue of Liberty; “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door”.  Just like in a contract there’s always fine print. You’ve made clear the fine print; this message only applies to European Judeo-Christian and not to Latin Americans or Muslims.  It would be unfortunate for the great American experiment of a representative republic and melting pot of cultures to be inappropriately and disproportionately contaminated with those who aren’t like us.

Thank you, Mr. President, for showing what good business, national and personal, it is to have close and cozy relations with Russia.  For showing how, after all these years, it’s really the war-mongering, wolves in sheep’s clothing socialistic liberals who are warier of our former foe than the peace and love, capital at any cost, right wing conservatives.  Without your guidance this reversal of historic paradigm would have continued to the detriment of national security and individual wealth.  Such misunderstood wisdom; keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.   NATO and our former European allies should take note and trust Putin and love of Kim as you do.

And finally, thank you, Mr. President, for demonstrating once and for all that words don’t matter.  As your counsel so clearly articulated, “truth isn’t truth”.  You have unshackled us from the painful and laborious effort of needing to be honest, forthcoming, and succinct in our written and spoken words.  We no longer must worry about those pesky facts, they just get in the way of a good crisis, and we never want to waste a good crisis.  We no longer must consider whose checking their fact checkers, because facts don’t matter.  You’ve liberated us from having to tell the truth about lies, lying about the truth, and lying about a lie, because if truth isn’t truth then lies aren’t lies.  Thank you for simplifying our lives, we no longer must decipher objective from subjective truth, or hard versus soft truth.  There is no inconvenient truth; it’s all a little white lie, or a little black truth

So many things to say thank you for Mr. President, please keep up the name calling and the tweets, even though they’re becoming boring, they make me feel like a kid again watching the playground.

#NeverFearTheDream

Posted in Current Events, Philosophy, Political

Who Represents the Folks in the Middle?

Posted on by simplebender

The mid-terms and the delayed State of the Union are over, and we really need to ask; is there no middle ground? The far left and right are controlling their party’s. Extremism, unrelenting and unwavering, has crippled a divided country and our legislative bodies.  There isn’t any effort to compromise for fear of alienating ‘the base’. Our discourse is based on misinformation and fear with little or no supporting facts.  They have become elevated shouting monologs.  Who represents the folks in the middle?

The inconvenient truth is:  It’s our own fault.  We’ve let it happen.  We’ve disenfranchised ourselves.  We surround ourselves with those who think, sound, and act like ourselves.  We are comfortable being with ourselves and very uncomfortable with being with someone different.  We like our tribe.  We have become voters who focus on singular issues and will support whoever promotes that special interest. Because of single issue extremism we now vote against, rather than for, someone.  It no longer matters there are no fact-based debates and ‘facts’ are made up and unchecked.  This type of support blinds us to all other aspects of the person.  It’s now acceptable to lie to the public on a wide range of issues, as long as the special interest is supported.  It’s alright to harass, bully, and ridicule people, publicly and privately, who don’t agree with you.  We have turned a blind eye to and given tacit approval for unacceptable behavior.  We now live by the standard: ‘the means justify the end’; it doesn’t matter whose hurt if we win.

We, the folks in the middle, want someone who understands that centralism is needed to govern.  We need representatives who understand and encourage differences of opinion and the calm civil debate of all those positions.  We must support civility, honesty, and disagreement.  We want statesmen rather than politicians.  People with whom we may honestly disagree with on some issues as well as agree on others; but on balance believe the person wants to make this country and state better for the whole not just the fringe.

We need leaders and representatives who build collaborative alliances, not defensive bastions, to advance solutions for the population at large.   Statesmen who believe in and practice principle centered leadership.  Who aren’t afraid of not being re-elected, but willing to do what’s right. They should stop encouraging public chastisement of people.  They should aggressively, and publicly, reject any and all forms of discrimination and ridicule.  All sides matter in these discussions of our future, not just the loud ones and/or the ones from their base.  They should listen and propose legislation which is balanced and for the common good.

We are diverse population and are stronger by embracing our diversity.  Growing because of our diversity, not in-spite it.  We in the middle understand change and respect are necessary to move forward, as individuals, as a state, as a nation.   We know you can’t move forward if you can’t let go of the past.  We are the majority and yet our voices are shouted down, and opinions summarily dismissed.  This representative republic can do better.  We must not sit idly by while the country is bisected.  We must do better if we want someone to represent us.  It’s up to us.  Let’s first represent ourselves better and stop condoning unacceptable behavior.  #NeverFearTheDream

 

 

Posted in Political

Below Average Performance

Posted on by simplebender

In the spirit of my last article…the new revelations concerning Facebook tracking texts, phone calls,  and emails has shown their performance is ‘below average’.

This will be my last post linked to via Facebook.  If you have enjoyed,  been challenged, or even vehemently disagreed with my comments and wish to continue to be so; please consider following me at https://simplebender.wordpress.com for future posts.  Please tell your friends…

Thanks…..

#NeverFearTheDream #deleteFacebook #dumbFacebook #WatchoutForTheCrazies #MakeItGreat

Posted in Political

Amerihypocrism…

Posted on by simplebender

amerihyp

The outrage, the unbelievable, the unimaginable;  a foreign nation interfering with another’s national elections and governmental process. The audacity of disclosing emails; the horror. Marshall the members of the Senate and the House.  Form special committees, investigate and retaliate… but, but, wait; take a deep breath….
Let’s look at ourselves in this process.  We, the United States, have sponsored, promoted, and engaged in overt and covert regime change actions as a standard practice.  Since the end of WWII Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been a, not so subtle, influencing tool we’ve employed to spread our version of the truth to destabilize the communist east.  We double downed and added Radio Free China and Radio Free Cuba, along with others as well.  We’ve spied upon and hacked our allies’ networks; as they no doubt have done to ours. We’ve participated in and sponsored ‘justified’ attempts at regime change, which were ‘in our country’s best interest’.  We were there in Chile ’73, Nicaragua ’82-’89, Panama ’89, Haiti ’91, Iraq ’94-’96,  Iran ’03 & ’05, Libya ’11,  and Syria ’05-’16.  
And now we’re incensed over the exposure of emails during our Presidential election.  We should be more incensed over the DNC favoritism and manipulation during the primaries.  More frustrated by the arrogance of candidates who put themselves above the law and common sense for convenience. More disappointed by the pandering and policy statements in private fund-raising and speaking engagements which were found to be in direct conflict with what was being declared publicly. 
Maybe it does matter how we found out about these travesties.  But maybe, just maybe, it matters more that they took place than were disclosed.  Whether it was Assange, Wikileaks, Russia, Putin, or that guy in Jersey, we found our system is not pure and clean.  Something we already knew, Bernie told us, but who listened? 
Before we get too carried away with our outrage let’s take a real hard look in the mirror and reassess our efforts in regime influencing and change.    This year, the choice between a bombastic, insulting chauvinist and an arrogant, deceitful elitist left us to wallow in a cesspool of our own making.  Our system works best with an educated, informed electorate and candidates who are willing to engage in thoughtful policy debate. The principles of our system are strong, but let’s recognize other nation’s will also do ‘what’s in the best interest of their country’ just as we have repeatedly done for ours, and will undoubtedly continue to do.
#NeverFearTheDream
Posted in Political

Electoral Sports

Posted on by simplebender

score

After this election, as many are thinking about dumping the Electoral College, we should reassess and change how the victor of our favorite sports are declared.  If we are willing to accept the nation’s highest office be determined by the major population centers, the states of New York and California, and a few counties in Florida; then we should be demanding a change in sports as well.

We shouldn’t accept football scores as the way to determine the winner.  The victor should be based on total yardage.  After all it’s more exciting to see a lot of offense, and who really cares about those few yards in the Red Zone.  Winners in basketball and hockey, well of course, should be based on shots on goal.  Counting if they made their mark is silly, just keep shooting that’s what’s fun.  Baseball, clearly should be based on the the number of hits.  After all, getting a hit is the hardest thing to do in sports.  Tennis, well surely, most hits on ball; because what the hell is a love game anyway? And my favorite, being a fiscal conservative social liberal; golf.  With the cost of green fees; without question, golf should be based on number of swings.  It’s silly to win with the lowest number of strokes.  After all, I get more swings per buck than anyone I know.  And my passion, triathlons; well, just finish, uninjured, and you’re a winner.

The presidential race, well, it wasn’t as close as it might seem.  Ok; one candidate, did get  more individual votes.  Maybe about 1% of all votes cast.  Let’s look a little deeper.  The ultimate winner won 31 states to 19; a 62% win margin.  On the Electoral College front, needing 270 votes, one received 306 the other 228; a 57% win margin.  Geographically, by county results, the winner took over 80%.  There aren’t many ways one can make the outcome any different and still be representative.

But hey, I’m gonna continue to lobby for my swings per buck trophy and just keep finishing those tri’s.

#NeverFeartheDream