Daily Prompt: The Paradox of Hesitation

Hesitation is a duplicitous creature that lends itelf well to critical thinking, but it can also imply consent if we wait in silence too long. via Daily Prompt: Hesitate

A sheep in wolf’s clothing

Snake oil salesmen only became successful after learning they couldn’t sell snakes. Words are empty when actions have proven differently. I gave “him a chance” and I was hopeful he would prove my intuition wrong, but fool me once… how many chances should I continue to give before I find myself a fool. Unfortunately he divided the country swiftly and deeply, and after such he wants “unity”.  If further proof is needed, watch the audience tonight as half of them smile, clap, and stand, while the other half sits solemnly, displaying just how alienated they feel during his short reign. The elected officials (including the president) have an obligation to represent all of their constituents and not just those that fall within the same party. While I know both sides are guilty of this, the problem is that we have forgotten how to compromise. That is the only path to unity. Until he and the members of Congress are willing to sit down and work out a solution that is considerate to both sides, we will forever run in this vicious circle going from left to right and back again until all of our heads are spun around so much that we fall from dizziness.

The problem began because he has refused to acknowledge those in opposition and dissent by dismissing their concerns; he has made derogatory comments about those that are minorities; he has tried to discredit the press and has prevented free access to information (if it had been 1 agency it could have been a mistake, but since it was several there is no doubt it was vindictive) which sent a clear and dictatorial message; he has been slow to acknowledge hate crimes and quick to report falsities that were created to instill fear and cause alarm; he has made examples of those that fit his agenda and confirm his own bias.

I heard praise for his speech tonight, which felt similar to how abuse victims forgive their abusers. His speech still held all the hallmarks of nationalism, but he struck a different tone by approaching it from a protagonist point of view, rather than his typical antagonist rhetoric. He mentioned that the “tens of millions of people” were all united and turned out to “make America great again”, but he forgot about the other half of those tens of millions that showed up and that he has neglected since his inauguration. His words were more flowery and optimistic, but that does not negate all of the hate and narcissism and lies he has instigated and spread over the past year. He has created chaos to provide distractions from his questionable ties in both the business world and those of international affairs. He wants us only to watch his right hand, so we won’t know what the left hand is doing.

Tonight he tried to appeal to our vunerabilities by speaking to the disenfranchised, poor, and middle class. He not so subtly mentioned: the coal mines, inner cities, veterans, women, the Jewish community. His speech still held all the alarmist hightlighted tactics, except they were slightly more polished and covert than the outright fearmongering escapades we have heard him espouse in the past. He mentioned national pride, crime reduction (without any substantiating or measurable metrics on how this would occur), inner cities will have a rebirth supposedly, but would that be through gentrification that edges out those that are less than desirable to him? Have all of the companies he mentioned created these jobs in the U.S. because of him, or are those as empty and mostly fictional just as his affect on the $12 billion decrease in our national debt? Also, while I’m not a huge proponent of regulations, it has been proven that there are some things that states are unable to control, thus the creation of the regulations initially (i.e., the EPA, the regulations imposed in the housing and banking industries). I’m from a town that relied heavily upon the coal mines, but I also saw the damage from coal ash and sludge, and the devastating impact of mountaintop mining. There is a compromise where both parties can benefit but also concede somewhat on the issue.

He mentioned immigration reform and terror attacks as reasons to bolster border security and our vetting process, yet there are perpetrators of horrendous acts born in every country, and many are born here as well.

It is late, but I will continue this blog tomorrow but meanwhile, stay vigilant and demand true and effective change that will benefit humanity.

Carnival of Corruption

Your slurs have the lines blurred
Between what we are willing to accept
And that which is unacceptable
Are you blind to the horrors and atrocities
Or is it all just smoke and mirrors
To distract what the right hand is doing
In the middle of the night, while we sleep tight in our beds made up of satin sheets
And down feathered pillows
Nothing to see here, move on
And only let the willows weep
For those that are under-served and oppressed, in a state of distress
While some resort to repress themselves in the shadows
Where you too reside to prevent being exposed by those who oppose your flagrant and outlandish proposals that make us recompose ourselves daily
While you keep the sheep fed with forbidden fruit and lies
Contunually spouting red herrings to divide us further
Conquering the masses in your dereliction and disruption
That feeds upon the distortion of truth
To serve you further in your gain
That will eventually be torn down by your avarice, arrogance, and lost youth.

via Daily Prompt: Slur

Political Poetry Slam

(To be read in a slam poetry style)

First we resisted
Then she persisted
Because ignorance existed
That only consisted
Of fear that was twisted
Originally told when Schindler listed
…Still, hatred subsisted
But you must of missed it
Due to corruption that was assisted
It isnt too late for you to become unlisted
Please don’t dismiss it
Disegage from the enlisted
At the risk of being blacklisted
Our destiny is not predetermined nor has it preexisted
Because now we will have insisted
On free will
On coexistence
On hope
On tolerance
On education
On information
On diversity
On truth
On acceptance
On freedom
On democracy
On love
On goodness
On humanity

A Brave, New Resistance

I will not sit in silence any longer because the noise of your fear is deafening, as you shirk your responsibility to humanity.

I will not accept edicts that are issued without oversight, as that is reserved for kings, dictators, and tyrants.

I will not trust anyone that denies and censors scientific evidence, as that is how you end up in the dark ages.

I will not offer unity unless you unplug your ears and listen without preconceived answers, as that isn’t a conversation nor is it productive.

I will not say ” God bless America”, because if he exists he should bless all, as the former mantra insinuates that we have some unique relationship that isn’t extended to other countries or people.

I will not “just leave”  or “get out of” the country because I don’t like how it is going, as that would be careless and disrespectful to those who have fought so that I can stay and have my voice heard. (Perhaps if you prefer a dictatorship or monarchy you should seek a country where the voice of opposition is stifled, rather than celebrated.)

I will not watch the country I love devolve into a Stone Age mentality without opposition, as that would be apathetic and reckless.

I will not allow our pristine National Parks to be ripped apart and sold off for profit, as that destructive and averistic.

I will not try to make America great again, as that implies that it not great already and I think that it is and I hope it remains such.

I will think critically about policies with which I disagree and form an opinion, as that is democracy and American.

I will voice my opinion and express my concern over issues that infringe upon core values and human rights, as that is democracy and American.

I will speak for those that don’t have a voice and for the under-served, as that is democracy and American.

I will fight against oppression, discrimination, racism, hatred, as that is democracy and American.

I will stand with our veterans and push for improved healthcare and better training, as that is democracy and American.

I will push to keep church and state separate, (otherwise freedom of religion is inhibited; though all have the right to teach children as they see fit at home), as that is democracy and American.

I will provide research and factual information to mitigate the fear of those that only look to items that confirm their belief, as that is democracy and American.

I will try to understand your side and work toward compromise if you will be considerate and respectful of my side, as that is democracy and American.

I will work to keep America great, as that is democracy and American.