Repeat Your Mantra, Watch it Evolve!

I'm revisiting a post that remains timeless for me, yet morphs even in a few months time.

History books have told us that Columbus discovered America, that Manifest Destiny was desirable means to an end, and the Civil War was about state’s rights.  Today we are at a crossroads where we can no longer justify the past vision of our history.  This is creating anxiety, anger, and denial from those who still cling to this old view of a country, they so want to believe, conceived in righteousness and purity.  How we embrace this new horizon of truth and discovery and bring everyone along for the ride is the question we must all ask ourselves.  

Correcting a path, balancing power, and repairing wrongs is the blueprint, with the details to be worked out along the way.  Uncertainty is a word we must accept as our collective reality for a very long time.  The response to uncertainty is not easy, especially when pride is so dominant in our culture.  Pride is great, but a beast unless humility is its counter balance.

Do we, as a nation, have the ability to do this?  That question will be answered very soon, because we are on a collision course with our future destiny.  Literally, this is the best of times, these are the worst of times!  I truly believe we have recently embraced the worst of times in handing our country over to people who can take advantage of our vulnerability and indecision.

I'm just like all of you, trying to do my best, and learn.  Here are my suggestions, please give me yours.

The options, if you choice to take them: 

     READ!  Find voices that are speaking truths and presenting options.  If you feel my views speak to you, I would be happy to give recommendations on many subject levels.  I'm well-read across many genres and will let you know if I don't have an answer.  I'm pretty good at finding those that do.  I'm an eternal student of history, philosophy, politics, and life.  But, it's easy these days to find anything on-line.  That is both good and bad as there is no meter to tell you what truth is and what is fiction/fabrication.  It's up to you to decide where your heart lies.

    Go to the library, lectures and book signing events!  Remember, news articles are the main source of information, be it on-line, or by subscription, BUT the majority of news is soundbites.  Very little depth of information is given; thus, one sidedness/black and white presentation is easiest.  This is old and antiquated!  With a bit of research, you can dig deep for truths, and many times the truth is mucky and hard to distinguish the more you dig.  But, today, dig you must!  It's much easier to sit in your comfy chair and tune out.  Please, don't.  We need you!  Even if it's for 30 minutes on the weekend.  There are many new on-line/print smaller magazines and journals out there with multi-dynamic prospective.  Again, if you’re overwhelmed where to start, just ask.

    Support intelligence!!  We are at a very high intellectual time.  Yes, we are!  There are more in-depth books, articles, pamphlets, websites, historians, philosophers, etc., producing amazing work than ever before.  THIS is why there is a backlash against critical thought.  There has been no greater time for scholars to question and obtain access to documents and research more easily than ever before.  My philanthropy, what I can afford, goes to supporting these people in every way I can.  They hold our prosperity in their hands and it's a HUGE responsibility.  Buy their books, read their social media posts, and go to lectures if you can.

    DISCUSS!  This is tough in this current climate!  I would say, pick your battles carefully, matter of fact, try to remember that just because someone says or believes something it doesn't mean it is true.  This is the hardest for me!  It's not my job to give them truth, it's my job to present questions that will make them evaluate their decisions and believes.  I fail miserably many times with those that are pure and simple “button pushers” that really take pride in not really caring, but riling. The best way is through example, which is the hardest because it takes loads of valuable time.  This last one here, is my most difficult to learn and practice.  I have a very hard time with this!

    Politicians say what they think you want to here!  Demand they tell you the truth or go away.  Educate yourself on topics and face off with them.  We must demand more from our taxpayer dollars.  They work for us, and we need to demand more of their attention.

Lastly, be passionate about what you believe in!  Yes!  Make sure you are versed in why you believe it, without relying on religious dogma.  You can be very religious, but "the bible" is not an answer and it's not critical thinking AND you can still believe in its value without using it as “the” answer to a discussion.  And, most importantly, we are not the greatest country...what?  We are a country that strives for great things, there lies the difference.  We don’t know it all, matter of fact, we are a very young country that is huge and clumsy.  Don’t be afraid of learning from other country’s expertise and experience. We did not, soley, save the world in WW II.  Countries worked together to accomplish a great defeat of totalitarian, fascist, racist tyranny. We are NOT that strong.  We cannot fix the world and the world cannot fix us. It’s the most difficult struggle always, to act in unity for the betterment of society across nations.  Is it possible?  I really don’t know, but I don’t mind trying to find out.

I know.... preachy...can't help it 1. I have passionate beliefs

                                                  2. I descend from several ministers with strong views😄😎😎😙

Guilt by Association according to Centrist Democrats

I wrote this today in haste, but it's a blog post with all the flaws, but I hope it helps someone out there.  I know I needed to get it off my chest.

The late eve of various election results last night, 8/7/18, and into the morning, even before definitive results were in, a blood bath on twitter began to stew from prominent centrist leaning democrats.  I apologize to those that feel they fall in this category, but do not agree with what has transpired.  What's happening?  Outrage at progressive voices of any kind, particularly Bernie Sanders...still,  Jill Stein...is she still around, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  But, let's recap their issues.

Well, I would say it's not really issues as much as it is a reconstruction of the past to fit a narrative that places their chosen one, Hillary Clinton, on a pedestal of flawless purity.  I understand...they feel she's been robbed.  It should have been a landslide, but it wasn't.  You can't ask that question of a centrist.

It's hard to go here because I'm constantly berated by centrist democrats if I mention any issues that came up for me, such as the DNC controlling of who would be the democratic candidate, wall street connections, etc.  Or, why Hillary chose a lame horse as a running mate, when she could have Bernie or Elizabeth Warren as a running mate, and unite the party, garner the youth vote across many spectrums.  These were and are legitimate concerns that only receive anger from centrist I have seen.  As a man, how dare I criticize a woman.  Uh....I get it.  There is a lot to be defensive about.  Women have been shafted for years, so have black people, so have gay people, so have trans people.  It's not a sole reason to elect someone, though.  "Ahh, see...YOU gave us Trump!"  Is the argument I hear ad nauseam.  There is never a debate.

They say Hillary was the chosen one and Bernie invaded the party.  They wanted him relegated to a 3rd party run, which they continue to denounce should ever be a 3rd party option, making us all scratch our heads.  Say what?  They ignore that Bernie Sanders tapped into what was the pulse of a movement that has now taken even further shape, they don't seem to care about other than winning at all costs.  Irregardless of what that movement has done to address issues, Hillary refused to give any credence to, matter of fact they deem silly to dare to hope for; such as a $15 minimum wage, dare to believe universal healthcare would ever happen (she said never, actually), dare to stand up for the Dakota pipeline protestors (this included Obama whom I loved for his progressive social issues, moderate thou they were, but not his fiscal/war issues).  Hillary, plainly, under estimated how devoted to causes the youth were, and Bernie and his grassroots methods tapped right into it.  There were many things in play, but the timing was everything.  But, all I hear is, "see..that gave us Trump!".  I don't ever think anything is that black and white.  Do you?

I could go on, but what they don't see while they express their anger  (these specific centrist) and distrust of progressive ideas is they can't stop it any more than Trump can.  They don't see their alignment with the same close-mindedness of Trumpeters, and that is frightening.  They use the same shaming, name calling tactics on progressives that Trump uses on democrats. They still see progressives as pollyanna's. They aren't even realist, they are defeatist.

Just vote blue, doesn't matter who.  Let's not hope for much, just vote for the bunch.

They are drawing the pitchforks for anyone outside the lines.  They have tried and persecuted Bernie Sanders for having Tad Devine on his team, and doing so by association alone.  Tad Devine is not on trial, nor is Bernie Sanders. "Sanders must be in collusion with the Russians!"  Where's Kevin Bacon?  We need to define how many degrees of separation here.

Guilt by association by the pitchfork brigade.  Condemn Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Walter Mondale, John Kerry, and Mike Dukakis as well because Devine has been a long time democrat strategist his entire life, a well respected one who also worked on many campaigns in the US and other countries that include the Ukraine, that one probably a bad decision on his part.  Evidence?  Don't need it!  Bernie is Frankenstein and he needs to burn!  Ugh...

What about the same guilt brigade for Hillary Clinton?  Bill and Hillary Clinton have been long time smoozers with the Trumps.  No guilt by association there?  How about Bill's "accidental" meeting with Loretta Lynch?  Or, his "accidental" violation of stepping into a voting precinct to shake hands in Massachusetts where Bernie was showing strength, blocking voters which is against Presidential policy (you know he and Hillary are lawyers, right?).  Maybe Trump has a "well Bill did what he wanted, so I can too" attitude.  I know, all of that seems trivial compared to Russia.  We can't be hypocrites here.  Obama met with Putin and Russian delegates as well, but the circumstances where within Presidential protocol.  Jill Stein ate dinner at a table with Putin and has consistently been forthright about it, but no one listens.  She is an ant compared to the giant monster that demands our focus. Why focus on the 1% vote when a huge majority don't vote?  Because you have an easy target and you're lazy.  

Can we prescribe a chill pill for the immature behavior of the centrist lot please?  I DON'T dislike Hillary Clinton!  I actually think in another time and place she would have won by a landslide, but NO ONE seems to want to look at the climate of the time and see history, see the voters screaming for progression, not regression.  I will vote blue as often as I can to get Trump out, but that is not what this is about. 

History, at peak strife, seems to go through a metamorphosis in time, and this is no different.  In the midst of the turmoil, which we are in, it's vital to see the past clearly.  It is also the most difficult time to do that because of societal ego and trauma.  The trauma is different and surprising for those that consider themselves educated, socially aware, and successful. It's different for those who are struggling to get by, and then for those who are losing the struggle. Historians are so vital now, and they must talk about what really happened, so we can go beyond the trauma and heal.  We must have debate, not condemnation and childish name calling, please.  

We all need to listen to each other to do this justice or we will finally get rid of Trump and have no leaders to move us forward after so much destruction.  THAT, my friends, is a ripe environment for chaos and weakened over throw of governments. We can't just focus on getting Trump out, there are many cells in place that will continue the mission.  We need leaders that are not from the old guard which doesn't mean the old guard needs to go, they just need to step back and support new energetic voices that have the drive, stamina, and passion to do the work without moneyed interest.  People won't vote if they think lobbyist will decide the outcome.  I know....centrist view: "that's pollyanna pie in the sky".  Aren't we tired of Chicken Little, folks.  Good people that I'm talking about.  We need to see the shades of gray in us all.  I clearly don't have all the answers, but I do have some damn good questions.

You can't go back to the past we constructed in our heads.  It didn't exist the way we thought.  Important!  This is the same problem the conservative right wing has, let's not do the same.  They want to go back to the 50's where white men could do anything, women would be there to serve them and they could say they weren't prejudice as long as black's knew their place, gays didn't exist (right?).  "What?  Homophobic?  I don't care, I just don't want to see it...or acknowledge it exists.  What's wrong with that?"

So, are centrist going to be "can't we just go back to the Clinton years?" where we weren't in debt to our eyeballs and people could make a living, unions were great, wasn't that the best of times?  That sounds nice, but it wasn't quite like that, was it.  Clinton gave us the huge conglomerates of today, NAFTA, failed to restructure Social Security and Medicare, incarceration doubled, sex scandals, yada, yada...  We have to see the good and the bad to learn and improve or we repeat and stay delusional.  THAT is pollyanna.

Squashing the progressive movement will only alienate the people who came out in the thousands to every event Bernie Sanders spoke.  You never acknowledge this fact. This happened despite efforts to squash it by the media, etc. Don't discount that something new is desired.  It doesn't have to be Bernie Sanders, nor at this point should it.  He's old and so is Joe Biden.  We should not be afraid of younger voices who will need the advice and support of someone more important than anyone, and that is Hillary Clinton, believe it or not (I know...you thought I hated her).

Hillary Clinton can help turn this movement into something really potent and vital, by backing and guiding young progressives.  Is she willing?  Have we asked?  So can Bernie, so can Joe Biden, so can Nancy Pelosi, so can John Lewis, so can Al Franken, so can so many democrats who have the experience to share.  It's time to pass the torch, and not only win the country back, but set our sights on improving the future with intelligent, thoughtful DEBATE.  Not, name calling ridicule.  It's gotten so dirty on the side I believed held our future.

If you demand there only be two parties, then there has to be room for progressives, democratic socialist, centrist, conservative democrats within the umbrella.  If not, we need other parties accepted by the DNC and the RNC.  I have a feeling the RNC would love to separate from the Tea Party, but I have no clue, at this point, what a Republican is.

So, centrist Democrats, if you can't play nice, I implore you to stop spending precious time insisting on a two party system for a country of such mammoth size.  Stop thinking that you have all the answers, look at the past with all of our personal flaws of fear within the democratic party, and let's fix this honestly moving forward, not just to get rid of Trump at any cost without a rutter to steer.  That will happen if we stop dividing, get candidates to declare intension to run as President and get this going.  Debate and work hard for our future?

Historical evaluations and answers if we chose to heed from European/Holocaust historian Timothy Snyder. This is not a sporting event, it is our sovereignty.  We need to learn to work together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJe4NlOjAJo

This message is brought to you by my own personal views and do not represent anyone but myself.