Psycho Circus

It's October 4th, 2020. Trump got the virus three weeks before the Election. Welcome to the psycho circus [coincidentally also a great song and video by the rock band Kiss]. 

There's so much division and hate these days. And the 24/7 news cycle added with social media is not helping us, its hurting us as a people, all across the nation. The more people look at a screen the more their brain becomes deficient. My much younger friend, he's about 24, and I'm 31, told me today that he's Republican, and that it shouldn't matter what political affiliation he is, or who he's voting for, and that the world would be a much better place if everybody sat in a circle and hugged each other. Very much a hippie. I was shocked that he was Republican but of course it doesn't change anything to me. But for many other Democrats, it would become a symbol of contempt. 

It's easy to see why someone would dislike somebody for voting for Trump. It's much harder to actually defend Trump and defend the so-called "good," that he's done for the country. But my friend tried. He said he's a Republican because it's been that way in his family a long time. And that he likes Republican economic policies, and that Trump's done well with his economic policies. Oh boy, here we go. 

Instead of arguing I let him speak. It is what it is. He's a soft spoken, kind, caring man who unbeknownst to him has a way with women but the political spectrum he chooses is one that shows disregard for the other; the less fortunate, the poor, the black and brown peoples, the LGBT community, anyone who isn't white and Republican. It's very telling, revealing but I can look past it because he's a genuine great person. 

What I've come to learn is that Biden can't change the hearts and minds of these type of voters. As they say, Republicans fall in line and Democrats fall in love. He loves Kennedy, which was pretty cool, but who doesn't like Kennedy? Trump will get these voters because they're already Republican, probably their whole lives, even if the economic policies that they say are so great, is really nothing but redistribution of wealth from the poor to the richest, leading the richest people not to create jobs, but play the stock market for fun and make even more money. 

So no, Biden won't get these diehard Republican voters and he has a hell of a fight for this upcoming election. Trump is playing on the sympathy of the entire country to his benefit, even though the whole reason why so many Republicans have COVID right now is because of him and that Rose-bowl speech. Trump is also the reason why over 200,000 Americans have died due to COVID. We didn't have a smart plan. Trump botched it. If not because of the fact that he's a white supremacist and won't renounce white supremacy or even the Proud Boys [which should be an automatic disqualification for President by the way], or the fact that he said and did nothing when George Floyd was murdered for the entire world to see [a real leader would have condemned the cop], the fact that Trump got over 200,000 Americans killed because of a failed COVID plan should result in a loss of power and possible jail crimes for undermining American democracy [among other things]. 

So Trump got COVID. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. The clown show is over. Maybe RBG gets the last laugh in the Great Afterward. I share her mirth.

Birthday Op-Ed

So my birthday is tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to enjoy the next three days off work, relaxing with family and friends. I wanted to jot down some thoughts about today, this year, this birthday, and what it means for me, and consequently for all.

Today a cop was ONLY charged for misfire shots, NOT for the death of Breonna Taylor. Although the family has been paid off some $12 million, the fact that the cop or cops in question weren't charged for manslaughter is an unforced error. Consequently, the streets of Kentucky are running hot, because as the hardcore BLM people say, "No Justice, No Peace." It's a dishonor to her memory. She was a front line health worker. The law in Kentucky has been written in a way that does not help black people, and it could be argued that it is written in a way to hurt them, as what happened in this situation. The disregard of black life animates much of life in America these days.

This goes into the question; what kind of country do we want to be? For the police and county and Kentucky not to have charged at least one cop for the death of Taylor is an unforced error. They couldn't at least have charged one cop for manslaughter? That's ridiculous. Instead they charged one cop for misfiring. That's just stupid. They might as well have not charged any cops with anything, that's what that charge was good for.

Now, I'm not a conspiratorial man. I leave that to the Socialist Leftists and the Far Right Trump Supporters. BUT...I also believe that this plays right into the hands of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Bare with me. Kentucky is Mitch's state and if protests break into violence and deaths then this is the perfect scenario for McConnell and Trump to say, "Look! All these blacks are acting out.  They're dangerous. They're going to come to your cities and burn everything to the ground. Keep Mitch in power, he will protect you in Kentucky. Keep me as President, I will quell the chaos." That's pretty much exactly how I see the scenario playing out. Consequently, Trump's numbers will go up and he could even be reelected.

Now we get to the crux of the matter, the Tolstoyian question; who are we? What kind of country have we become, and what kind of country will we choose to be? I believe this is the most important year in my life, given everything that's happened [dismantling of American democracy, COVID, stagnant wages, unemployment, 200,000 American deaths, and this is just the beginning], and with that being said, this is the most important election of my lifetime thus far, probably the most important election of this country [ever]. 

Because you see that whatever direction we go in this election year will determine the fate of America. If we choose Trump then we will have chosen evil. We will go down the continued path of dismantling American democracy and fanning the flames of racism, bigotry, and hatred for anybody who isn't white. If we choose Biden/Harris then we will have seen the ultimate errors of our ways and try to find a way to go back to the way things were before [which will take years because Trump has already done so much damage]; human decency and respect for your fellow man [and woman]. 

There's no easy way to say this but I'm afraid that America will choose the wrong path, the Trumpian way, and delve deep into a ever evolving fascist system. More Americans will die, probably much faster because Trump will continue to botch COVID if reelected. More black Americans will be shot by policemen, provoking the black community to protest [and maybe some will riot], enabling Trump to fan the flames of racism, and allow him to say, "I will keep your cities safe from them." Unemployment will continue to be at its high peaks and the only jobs available will be low end minimum wage. College degrees will hardly be worth the tuition because families will not only not be able to afford it but they won't want to send their kids to school during COVID. 

Imagine if I were 20 instead of 31. This all would not only be very overwhelming to me, it would penetrate the fiber of my being. However, because I'm already an adult, and have lived a fairly privileged life, I feel the weight of this moment more powerfully than ever. I know that nothing is more important than the history that is happening now. I quit playing video games and find the internet to be not very worthy of my time. I live my life to the fullest everyday and love all the people in my life. This younger generation is going to have a much harder time than I did. College won't save them from COVID and Donald Trump. Let's pray the voters make the right choice. 

Biden/Harris 2020 

Politics in 2019

"If Trump turns progressives into intolerant agents of incivility, then we have lost our souls."

That line got me thinking a lot about politics in America circa 2019. The op-ed was written by a NYTimes columnist and can be viewed here.

There is definitely a giant gaping divide between the Democrats these days. Of course I identify as a Democrat and in the past [and now] I've supported socialist policies [and still do], things like social security [it should be increased every so years imo], abortion rights for women, same-sex rights for LGBTQ community, anti-war stance, anti-trade war, anti-tariff, cheaper college, cheaper housing, and better opportunities for poor/working class communities. But I am most definitely not a flaming liberal or progressive. 

Progressives of my father's era [he came to America from China during the Eisenhower administration] are more old school progressives. Fairly accepting and respectful of other people who don't happen to agree with them. The NYTimes op-ed that inspired me to write this blog mentions that the old school progressives follow Voltaire's quote for the most part.

Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” 

However, the millennial progressives of today are different. For young progressives, the priority is to stand up against racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, and bigotry. It can be a real in-your-face-affair but they get their point across. The main conflict here is how to live life with liberal values in an illiberal age. 

It is almost impossible to balance because it requires intellectual humility. Something most people lack severely. Especially with the liberals and conservatives that I run into daily at work and online. One of the problems is that liberals are quick to embrace anyone that doesn't look like them but only if they think like them too. We progressives should have the intellectual curiosity to read, review, and better understand conservative policy and values. Do you, as a progressive and/or democrat really understand how Trump won the 2016 election? Do you understand real conservatives? Real Republicans?  Do you read conservative news outlets to better understand their views? 

The bottom line is that we have to stop the hate. Sometimes conservatives are right on certain issues [secure borders, defense budget] and sometimes Democrats are more right on certain issues [all the things I mentioned above]. As I come to understand conservative ideology through alternate news outlets I can understand why some people voted Trump in 2016 and will vote for him again in 2020. The turning point for me when I realized, "I disagree with these conservatives but I don't have to dislike or hate them." And I realized that when I saw how there were 20 Democrats running for President I got super excited. Anyone of them could realistically demolish Trump in 2020 easily. But I also listen to them talk about their alternative paths to fix/change what Trump has done and it's very half-assed. They say all the right things to the right people but realistically they've run out of steam. Their ideas just don't have that much meat or potatoes to it. Progressives say college should be free for everyone. With what money? They want to fix immigration and get kids out of cages. How are they going to do that? Are they going to hire more staff to work at these facilities? Create more facilities? They don't have it figured out. They want to be more anti-war and save money on the defense budget. But how are we going to tackle the ongoing threat of nation-wide terrorism and nuclearization if we spend less on our military budget? I don't want hippies running the government. 

If you can't understand the opposing party then you have no business trying to belittle your political enemy because you don't know what you're talking about. On the other side, nobody should feel they have to defend themselves to the death just because they disagree with somebody politically. 

At the end of the day, we are all Americans. The extremists aren't the only problem. It's also the collective hivemind itself, picking off anyone that doesn't fit into their mold. The only way we're going to make it through this era alive [politically] is if we realize that winning debates won't bring Americans together. Stop the hate. Understand your enemies. You might realize that you have a lot more in common than you think. The American dream is at stake right now.  And it's not just Republicans that are holding it ransom. I'm looking at you too, Democrats.

Love and peace! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjFIR5AZL8