Sunday, July 19, 2020

Where Do I Stand Socio-Politics 2020

Where do I stand? 

[As if anybody cared. (As if I should even care!)]


In this year of our Lord 2020, after what's coming on to be the first full term of the now President Donald J. Trump, for me — in a survey of one, I can't speak for others — I have completely and utterly lost confidence, faith, and trust in the voices of the so-called left. Including that once party of the people, the democrats. Notice I have not given that party name the honor of initial capitalization. A bunch of petty, self serving, virtue signalling, empty gesturing, political propagandists they are. Deserving no credibility.

Since Mr. Trump was sworn in we've seen a constant and multi-front 24/7/12/365 barrage of negative criticisms, complaints, overwhelmingly impeachable evidence, assertions, conjectures, opinions, suppositions, dire predictions, hypotheticals, innuendo ... all negative. For what? To remove him from his high post to replace him with the party of the opposition, which we can assume has only the best intentions and patriotic zeal to make things right as rain. We can all move Jesus to the side ... What Would Hillary Do? Let's all get behind Maxine Waters. Avuncular Joe. Adam Schiff, the exemplar of unimpeachability. That's the ticket. Even Kanye our last best hope has folded — or has he?.

If I ever hear a politician invoke the pandering "I trust the American people", I dismiss them outright. Doesn't matter who is making that claim; from either side. Fake. Fake. Fake. After all the propagandizing to the public as if we are a bunch of idiots to be manipulated with crafty wording and just barely factual reporting, now you want to turn around and say that those who you've duped are to be trusted? Really! Shame on you! Don't you ever trust one who utters that "noble" phrase. Can I trust you to do that?

Concerning it is how making that point and criticizing the critics makes me a supporter of the current President. Not necessarily. Now the logic is that giving him any credit makes me a racist. Least worst, that by criticizing the critics I'm advancing support for The Donald and his ilk by virtue of taking the focus off the dastardly, dastard himself.



Per Chelsea Handler — who is a celebrity so she should unequivocally know what's she's talking about — "If you want your beans without a side of racism, try other brands. I am."

Talk about idiots. I challenged the notion that the CEO of Goya Foods is racist for praising the President. Just don't get the connection. I drew the logic out and posited that Ben Carson works for Trump and has praised him ... what should we do with him? Can you be Black and a racist at the same time? A friend on Facebook just threw up her hands at my analogy. As if I am beyond redemption. Oh, to stand on such righteous high ground that anyone with an opposite view can just be dismissed. Social media. Ugh! Don't look for truth or light there.

All this doesn't make me want to vote a second term for Mr. Trump. I does make me want to vote for the opposite candidate less.  Some choice ... who's the less worst.

In response to some of comments I've made on social media about my observations on the political zeitgeist I have been accused to be a Trump supporter. At least that's how it was put to me. [This just in, now I'm hearing just the opposite from a Trump supporter.] I don't know if "accused" [to be a supporter] would be the word the millions who voted for 45 would choose. 

We seem to be living in times when there is a loud and intolerant gaggle on the left who take anything critical of them as proof of support of the opposition; in this case Donald the Potus and his Republican cronies. Excuse me if it doesn't bother me to hold a more than a few contradictory ideas in my head at the same time.

Up until recently I've been a lifelong Democrat. Actually, better to say, liberal and progressive. 

As a kid I was enlisted to pass out flyers on election day near a poling site for a Democratic candidate for State Representative. He sent me a Christmas card every year since. Politically astute. He got my vote.

In my first English class in college I wrote an extensive essay entitled, "The Inevitability of Democratic Socialism". My sense of it then, and still now, is that its the right thing to do to keep the playing field level, root out/prevent corruption in government, and to make sure everyone gets a reasonable portion of the pie. By that I mean some assured base line standard of living no matter what. You shouldn't be denied health care for not being able to afford it. Or, are you one of those who see success in material terms as evidence of God's favor for your hard work and smarts? God rewards hard work and smarts. My problem with God is that the Almighty doesn't seem to prevent the smart ones from duping and outwitting the less so. Smart is just another word for tricky. That God seems to reward the tricksters. Suck on that you God-is-on-our-side proto-Calvinists. 

The dems of late seem to have gone off the rails. Policy wise [I'd mention some, but then all the Kool Aid drinkers would pile on and accuse me of colluding with the enemy.], and the constant 24/7/12/365 onslaught of  attacks on the current Potus no matter what he does or says. Nothing good about the man. 

I'm just a little more that fed up with the rather commonly seen practice of seeing assumptions and opinions presented as facts. Might as well include the broadcast news media since that bunch seems to have dug in opposing trenches each favoring and even promoting their preferred candidate or proposal. And, as I've previously wrote on it, how a thin "we've heard" becomes the foundation of make a case against someone or some or other thing. Oh, yes, there's the tried and true "as if". If it's true then let me go on at length about how dastardly he is, and go on and on so long that you'll forget that I'm just laying out a conjecture, but you'll take is fact.

How many times have we heard the Mr. Trump is a racist. So many times I believe that many have taken it as a fact for the sheer repetition. Oh, there's plenty of argument to support that judgement. The Donald has a way of speaking which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. My point is not to prove or disprove the racist thing, just that people seem to hold to things like that simply because it's been repeated so much. 

Trust the American people, the American voter? With what. Swallowing your propaganda and following you in lockstep toward you own winning goals?  

No comments:

On Forgiveness ...

"Forgiveness." It's one of those words we use rather too casually. We're assuming everyone has the same take. Assuming als...