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
Voice
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
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
The Auctioning of America
America’s government is now less “proficient” due to a malignant “growth”. Representatives voted that should have recused themselves, as the corruption of our system erodes the education department. When those elected no longer listen to their constituents they cease to be public servants or officials. When they vote for somone who was/is a donor they then become paid sponsors and puppets to the highest bidder.
Unanswered questions
I admit it….the past few days I’ve been angry, overwhelmed, disappointed, and concerned. The world is shifting towards a time that has past and the is not a positive thing. Have we learned nothing from our sordid history? The Super Bowl ads made me question all of this more. What was it about the Budweiser’s immigration ad that would have made someone want to boycott the company? What is wrong with the Airbnb commercial that was insensitive or offensive? What was the message from Coke that made your hairs prickle in anger? Why was the 84 Lumber commercial not allowed to be shown in its entirety? All of these commercials touched upon the best of humanity to me, and provided a sense of unity.
I am confused because I hear Christians touting and praising Trump for his actions with immigration, but it seems to be at odds with what Jesus would have done or would condone. The justification makes even less sense to me as people proclaim that it is the same as locking your doors at night to keep criminals out of your home? How is that the same? Is this an attempt to ease your conscience so you can sleep at night as you quiet the cognitive dissonance? It seems a more fitting anology would be that people who are proper, resemble you, and share common interests come to the door and you invite them in for tea, while others show up covered in the dust of a 3000 mile journey, tattered and bruised from the horrors they’ve faced, and are told that they must go back to the land from which they seek asylum and await… for we are afraid. You cannot justify your actions by saying that people from these countries are more likely to atrack us, because we kill more of each other here each year without any help from those on the outside. Do terrorists exist? Of course they do, but we can be vigilant in our vetting, as we have been since 9/11, and prevent as many of the attacks as we can. They will not go away, and the exclusion and exile of a group will only breed more hostility and hate.
The fervor against immigrants has risen to a deafening clamor and we must reset our thinking to remove the unfounded fears that the nationalists and extremists are touting.
The other argument I often hear is that immigrants are welcome, as long as they go through the proper channels. That is incredibly easy for us to say, as we eat our dinners, lounge in our recliners and sleep in beds without ever hearing a bomb go off in the not so distant town next to us. It is easy for us to turn away those that we don’t give a face to. It is easy to make generalizations about those we don’t try to know. People don’t leave their homes and try to escape persecution without a cause. People fear for their lives and their children’s lives, as well as for their loved one’s lives. If we turn away the ones that seek refuge more desparetly than anyone, what does that say about us?
We were fortunate enough to either be born into this country, or to be offered citizenship through another means. This doesn’t means that we are better than anyone else or that “God” loves us more. Have your mission trips taken you to the places you are most afraid, or do you go to the areas that are poor, but safe? Do you think your God would approve of you denying access to families from the most war-torn countries because you are afraid? Do you think that loving everyone only applies to some of humanity?
I also hear people claiming that the immigrants are taking “our” jobs. This is far from the truth and unemployment is lower than it has been in years. Immigrants take the jobs that few are willing to do here and they often work longer at these jobs because they are appreciative and thankful to have them…not entitled by thinking they are “their” jobs. We are all immigrants in some form or fashion and the jobs offered here were created by immigrants, so to whom do those jobs belong?
I want to try to understand your perspective, but it doesn’t make sense to me. That is why I’m asking the questions throughout because I can’t find a reasonable explanation that isn’t a canned response, or one that is rooted in superiority and judgment.
I love this country, but that is because of how far we have come and everything we have overcome. I don’t want to revert back to a time where we praised isolationism and nationalism. I don’t want to devolve into a time where discrimination, racism, and sexism was acceptable and rampant. I want to progress…to move forward…to evolve…to be kind…to remain free.
Limerick of Lament
I see more divisiveness than ever before
It is the making of another Civil War
Which seems counterintuitive and quite ironic
Because people have been so accusitory and the air is less that harmonic
As ‘civil’ity has dissolved at its core.
Political word power play
Apparently I’m an “enemy”
Since I disagree
I’m a “bleeding heart liberal”
That likes to hug trees
I “grandstand” and I’m “entitled”
Because I march with cause
But you wouldn’t understand
As you haven’t any flaws
I am a “no-brained” leftist
A fucking “socialist”
I have no purpose or focus
As I am a “nit-wit idealist”
You think our jobs are threatened
And our borders are at stake
So you refuse to give an inch
Because its easier to take
You think religious freedom
Means devout Christianity
But what about all the others
As they pray down on their knees
You turn an eye and a cheek
Deny access to families
While those amongst us plead
And whisper profanities
About the injustices we face
And our civil liberties
That vanish with the swish of his pen
Creating more inequalities
Between the rich and the poor,
The left and the right,
Its even coming to a climax
Between the blacks and the whites.
Take your fascist ideology
And move to a new land
Where it can be what you want
As I am taking am stand.
I may be sensitive and fragile
Just like a unique “snowflake”
While I’m just a human
A blizzard I can make
So prepare yourselves for a long winter
And cozy up with your guns
Because I refuse to allow
My country to be overrun.
By a dictator with his ego
Or his minions close in tow
We don’t need brute force
Because power is in the know.
(Disclaimer: I am actually an independent/moderate with some libertarian and some slightly left leaning tendencies on social issues, but the political climate has created a line which doesn’t seem to allow anyone to cross or fall in the midde; although that is where most of us are.)
Hungerstruck
The extremists and conservatives were famished and now I am consumed, as democracy is being swallowed whole.
Trump-et-tears (Trump & Tears) 