Category: Political

Posted in Political

Flags of Insurrection….

Posted on by simplebender

Reflect for a moment on the flags and banners shown proudly flying in the hollowed halls of our Nation’s Capital during the insurrection and attempted coup.  We all saw the flag of the Confederacy, ‘Trump 2020’, ‘Jesus 2020’, the flag of South Vietnam, the flag of Christianity, and ‘Q’.  At best, only one of those may have some contribution in ever ‘Making America Great Again’.  What was represented were failed, defeated, and debunked causes, and corrupt regimes.  The banners of a cult not the banners of a proud representative republic.  So, as we watch the collapse of a once grand old party let us hope we aren’t also witnessing the rise of an unrestrained cult.  A cult without moral guiderails or a grand vision, just corruption and power. 

To those who follow this blog; thank you…to those who have stumbled upon it, please consider following….And please share with a friend or two……

Stay well.

#NeverFeartheDream, #BigLie, #Jan6

Posted in Political

Be very careful what you ask for…..

Posted on by simplebender

The calls for Trump’s resignation, impeachment, and maybe eventual trial and incarceration may not be what you really want because what you might get you really don’t want.

You do not have to be much of a student of history to recognize a dangerous pattern.  Imprisonment and exile of charismatic, cult, leaders has not proven to be successful means of silencing them or their supporters.  A few examples which come to mind include Stalin, Hitler, and Napoleon.  In these cases, the imprisonment only made them, and their followers, more radical and extreme.  Too many in the ‘establishment’ stood idly by, in their own political miscalculations, and did not act upon the reemergence which climaxed in the succession to absolute power.

Think this through carefully.  Recognize the anger.  Position yourself to be prepared to stand fast because the next wave will be more fanatical and less restrained.

If the goal of impeachment is removing him from office, then at this juncture, it is more political theater than substantive.  If the goal is to banish him from future political office; then, the impeachment conviction must include clear language which forbids him from holding office again.  If it does not, we will probably be repeating this cycle with a more radical perspective.  Be prepared……

To those who follow this blog; thank you…to those who have stumbled upon it, please consider following….Stay well.

#NeverFeartheDream, #BigLIe, #Jan6

Posted in Philosophy, Political

The Thucydides’s Trap of our own making

Posted on by simplebender

Thucydides, the ancient Athenian historian and general, claims the fifth-century BC Sparta and Athens war was inevitable because of “the rise of Athens and fear that this instilled in Sparta.”  More simply, war is a likely outcome as tensions increase between rising powers and those who are currently ruling and in power.  Are we on the precipice of our own Thucydides Trap and is it one of our own making?

Our trap has taken generations to build.  A failed and misdirected reconstruction, Jim Crow Laws, congressional district jerrymandering, ongoing voter suppression efforts, the Civil Right Act, and the Black Live Matter movement have collectively shored the frame of the trap.  The Republican party controls both the executive and legislative branch in twenty-four states and legislative control in thirty-one; clearly distinguishing it as the ruling party.  And yet we are a country divided.  The past Presidential election and the slim majorities held by opposite parties in the U.S. House and Senate are manifestations of our divide.  The open hostility based only upon race, gender, and /or sexual orientation is played out in the news, and our streets every day.  We, collectively, find ourselves struggling with how we got here and how we get out.

Some of the more significant findings of the 2020 American Values Survey by PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute, https://www.prri.org/research/amid-multiple-crises-trump-and-biden-supporters-see-different-realities-and-futures-for-the-nation/) sheds insight and may clearly imply we are stepping on our own Thucydides Trap.  It shows Republicans are the only political organization which believes whites and Christians are being discriminated against more than any other ethnic or racial group.  More granularly, out of nine groups comprising multiple religious and racial affiliations, only white evangelical Protestants, shockingly, maintain whites and Christians are more discriminated against than Blacks, Hispanics, or Asians.  And then, not surprisingly, the white evangelical Protestants maintain the Confederate flag and monuments are symbols of Southern pride and not symbols of racism. Those currently ruling feel they, and their beliefs, are under siege.  The spring of the trap is being pulled taunt and the trigger about to be set.

The corollary from the survey is that in total, Americans, collectively by a large margin, believe Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are discriminated against on a daily and systematic manner.  Americans believe Whites and Christians are the least discriminated against and the symbols of the Confederacy are racist.

We can escape the Thucydides Trap of our own making by strongly standing together as Americans rather than subsets of the whole.  The country’s direction has never been straight and true.  We have grown, matured, and changed with the times.  We should not feel threatened by change but embrace it and help mold it to benefit the majority of us.  The political tents have to be big enough for all of us.  The trap is built.  The spring is taunt.  The trigger set and probably tripped unless we, collectively, decide to recognize the trap for what it is, step away and have the faith and strength of character to determine the best way to dismantle it and do so.           #NeverFeartheDream

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#BigLie, #Jan6

Posted in Political

Football Politics….

Posted on by simplebender

Today’s political theater is replicating a bad football game.  Every time there is an apparent fumble both teams pile on and scrum for the ball, all the while everyone else stands around clueless pointing in the opposite directions.  Countless replays are broadcast to no avail. The refs dive in and must figure out who has made the recovery.  Just like several states in our last election.  Everyone claims victory and the clueless point in their direction making things up along the way.  The judges have leaned in and called the winner.  Coaches have objected to the call and again more video replays confirm the refs and judges call.

Every score reviewed and confirmed. The game is over.  The final score posted for everyone to see and yet the teams refuse to leave. They choose to swarm the field and continue the fight.  The refs avoid the mayhem and let the coaches try to bring about resolution.

The people have voted, all the votes counted, the courts have ruled on the challenges, the electoral college has voted; and now, like the Tulsa-Mississippi State bowl game, a new fight is about to commence. 

It is time to move on and let the winners celebrate a hard-fought victory and respect their challengers.  It is good that the stands were empty, or the brawl would have been worse.  Let us press the leadership to keep the crowds out of the political brawl and celebrate our long stand tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.  #NeverFeartheDream

Posted in Political

When is it Discrimination?

Posted on by simplebender

We hear this question a lot these days.  Most of us struggle with the difference between what we think is fact and what is offensive.  What is ‘politically correct’ juxtaposed to hate speech?  This country, and our state, wrestles with how we communicate with each other to progress, or truncate, ideas and opinions.  It would appear the distinguished senator from Utah has given us a clear marker to judge by.

On December 10th, Sen. M. Lee (R-Utah) blocked new national museums for Latinos and Women.  His shallow argument centered upon the ‘last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation’.  That, these museums would ‘weaponize diversity’ and ‘especially at the end of such a fraying and fracturing year, Congress should not splinter one of the national institutional cornerstones of our distinct national identity’.

‘Our distinct national identity’ used to be the proud idea that this country welcomed all and was the ‘great melting pot’ of cultures and nationalities.  It would distinctly appear Sen. Lee considers or ‘national identity’ as white and male, with a strong hint of religious singularity as well.

Let us just brush aside the fact we are celebrating women’s suffrage 100th anniversary.  Let us look past that the Latino community represents over 18% of our nation’s population.  Let us try not to consider the historic contributions women and Latino’s have made, in the arts, culture, public service and science.  These, unheralded contributions ensure our country is better and stronger.  Let us just put all those aside.

Apparently, the best way for this country to heal its frayed, and fractured condition is to either avoid recognizing our differences or to only recognize those who are like Sen. Lee.  If we simply do not acknowledge these groups maybe, just maybe, they will go back to the fields and/or stay in the kitchen.  With these sentiments it is no wonder the Equal Rights Amendment has never passed and is not part of the Constitution.  It is no wonder our racial and gender tensions are so extreme.

Why can’t the national dialog be on inclusion, acceptance, and respect?  If we are free-thinking individuals, none of us can ever totally believe as anyone else.  Our experiences, observations, and interpretation of events are all unique.  Down deep we know we all think differently.  We are not clones, or sheep.  We should not act as if we are.  Group think, tribes, and mob mentality are extremely dangerous for our representative republic and civil dialog.  It’s alright, in fact it’s great, to disagree.  Have a civil dialog and discourse.  It is alright to argue passionately for your convictions.  But just as you demand that right so does everyone else.

How about a different approach?  How about recognizing everyone as you would want to be recognized.  Not by your race, gender, or religion; but by who you are, what you can do, what you have done, and the potential of what you will do.  If you feel like you are losing your power maybe you did not earn it but gained through privilege.

When is it discrimination?  If you had to face the same conditions you would not be asking the question.  The answer would be self-evident.                              #NeverFeartheDream

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)