January 16 and 17, 2017



“THE CULTURE WAR” FROM BACON’S REBELLION TO TRUMP’S FOLLOWERS

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/14/americans-overwhelmingly-support-bernie-sanders-economic-policies-so-howd-we-end-up-here/

Americans overwhelmingly support Bernie Sanders’ economic policies — so how’d we end up here?
CONOR LYNCH
SATURDAY, JAN 14, 2017 06:00 AM EST

Most Americans want single-payer health care, economic justice and action on climate change. That day will come

Photograph -- Bernie Sanders (Credit: AP/John Minchillo)
VIDEO -- TRUMP'S CABINET CONTRADICTIONS, Duration Time 2:07


During a CNN town hall held by Sen. Bernie Sanders last Monday, the Vermont senator and progressive icon tried to drive home a point that he has frequently made in the past: There is widespread support for most of the economic policies that he ran on, even if they were often portrayed as radical and divisive by the media.

“The overwhelming majority of the American people — including many people who voted for Mr. Trump — support the ideas that we’re talking about,” insisted Sanders. “On many economic issues you would be surprised at how many Americans hold the same views. Very few people believe what the Republican leadership believes now: tax breaks for billionaires and cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”

Public polling tends to support his claim. A Gallup survey from last May, for example, revealed that a majority of Americans (58 percent) support the idea of replacing the Affordable Care Act with a federally funded health care system (including four in 10 Republicans!), while only 22 percent of Americans say they want Obamacare repealed and don’t want to replace it with a single-payer system. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from last year had similar results: Almost two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) had a positive reaction to “Medicare-for-all,” while only a small minority (13 percent) supported repealing the ACA and replacing it with a Republican alternative. These are surprising numbers when you consider how the Sanders campaign’s “Medicare-for-all” plan was written off by critics as being too extreme.

On other issues, a similar story presents itself. Public Policy Polling (PPP) has found that the vast majority (88 percent) of voters in Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — four crucial swing states, three of which went to Trump this fall — oppose cutting Social Security benefits, while a majority (68 percent) oppose privatizing Social Security. Similarly, 67 percent of Americans support requiring high-income earners to pay the payroll tax for all of their income (the cap is currently $118,500), according to a Gallup poll. America’s two other major social programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are also widely supported by Americans, and the vast majority oppose any spending cuts to either. In fact, more Americans support cutting the national defense budget than Medicare or Medicaid.

It goes on and on. A majority of Americans, 61 percent, believe that upper-income earners pay too little in taxes. A majority of 64 percent believe that corporations don’t pay their fair share in taxes. Significant majorities believe that wealth distribution is unfair in America, support raising the minimum wage (though perhaps not as high as Sanders would like), and say they are worried about climate change.

So a consistent majority of Americans would seem to agree almost across the board with a self-proclaimed democratic socialist and object to the reactionary agenda of congressional Republicans. How, then, did we end up with a Republican-controlled Congress that is dead set on repealing the ACA without a viable replacement (let alone a single-payer type of system supported by the majority); cutting and possibly privatizing Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid; slashing taxes for the wealthiest Americans; and ignoring climate change?

One answer that usually comes to mind is the culture war. The modern political era can be traced back to the 1960s, when various liberation movements — from Civil Rights and gay liberation to second-wave feminism and the anti-war movement — emerged to combat different injustices, including white supremacy, gender inequality, homophobia and American imperialism. These progressive movements rapidly changed America’s cultural and political landscape, and triggered a reactionary movement that author Thomas Frank called “the great backlash” in his 2004 book “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”.

The Republican Party exploited reactionary sentiments that had surged in response to the tumultuous ’60s, and a great backlash ensued. The GOP appealed to racist and resentful whites in the South, who felt persecuted by the civil-rights legislation that had finally brought legal equality to African-Americans. (This is a good example of the popular maxim: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”) The so-called Southern strategy was set in motion by Richard Nixon and perfected some years later by Ronald Reagan, and this precipitated a complete political realignment that saw the South go from being solidly Democratic to solidly Republican.

Since this realignment, the culture wars have steadily taken over American politics, and the reactionaries have invariably lost ground as social and moral values have evolved and Americans have become increasingly tolerant. Consider LGBT relations: In 2000, only 40 percent of Americans found gay or lesbian relations morally acceptable, according to Gallup; by 2015 that number had increased to 63 percent.

Ironically, this has actually benefited many right-wing culture warriors, who have taken up increasingly frivolous issues over the years for political gain (like the “War on Christmas,” for instance). As Thomas Frank observed in his aforementioned book: “As culture war, the backlash was born to lose. Its goal is not to win cultural battles but to take offense, conspicuously, vocally, even flamboyantly. Indignation is the great aesthetic principle of backlash culture.”

For the economic and political elite, of course, trivializing the culture wars and inventing fictitious issues like the “War on Christmas” has always been the aim, because it divides the public and diverts attention from other issues — especially fundamental questions of economic and foreign policy. It is no coincidence, then, that economic policy has been drawn inexorably to the right over the past several decades as the populace has become increasingly divided over cultural disputes, even though the majority of Americans support progressive economic policies.

This is only part of the story, of course. While a culturally divided populace has no doubt benefited America’s power elite, the rightward economic shift was primarily a result of corporate America and other monied interests successfully infiltrating Washington with an army of lobbyists and flooding the political system with big money (an interesting backstory to this is told in the book “Winner-Take-All Politics”).

A 2014 Princeton University study conducted by professors Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page confirmed this phenomenon, and illustrated that modern America is more of an oligarchy than a democracy. “When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites or with organized interests, they generally lose,” write the researchers. This largely explains why a majority of Americans can support the economic policies advocated by Sanders, yet mainstream critics can decry his platform as “pie-in-the-sky” idealism.

The goal of Sanders’ presidential campaign was not only to take on the economic elite in America, but to promote solidarity among divided working-class and middle-class Americans and, eventually, to smash the plutocracy. This led many critics to accuse him of disregarding important cultural and social issues in favor of economic ones.

“If we broke up the big banks tomorrow,” asked Hillary Clinton during the primaries, “would that end racism? Would that end sexism? Would that end discrimination against the LGBT community?” It was a specious argument, of course, and one would be hard pressed to find any reasonable person who has suggested that economic reforms would suddenly cure all social ills or eliminate something as entrenched as racism. But economic and social issues tend to be interconnected. Racism against African-Americans, for example, was largely a product of landowning elites in the colonial era seeking to divide poor whites and black slaves after Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676. As Michelle Alexander documented in her influential book, “The New Jim Crow”:

Deliberately and strategically, the planter class extended special privileges to poor whites in an effort to drive a wedge between them and black slaves … These measures effectively eliminated the risk of future alliances between black slaves and poor whites. Poor whites suddenly had a direct, personal stake in the existence of a race-based system of slavery. Their own plight had not improved by much, but at least they were not slaves. Once the planter elite split the labor force, poor whites responded to the logic of their situation and sought ways to expand their racially privileged position.

The point Sanders has attempted to make over the past two years, it seems, is that class can help transcend other social and cultural divisions and promote an economic solidarity that would go a long way toward overcoming deeply entrenched parochial beliefs and attitudes.

Of course, after the election of Trump — a politician who epitomizes “backlash culture” — the idea of overcoming things like racism and sexism in the near future seems far-fetched. But a different kind of backlash will ensue, perhaps, once the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress start enacting their widely unpopular economic agenda.

Conor Lynch is a writer and journalist living in New York City. His work has appeared on Salon, AlterNet, Counterpunch and openDemocracy. Follow him on Twitter: @dilgentbureauct.



EXCERPT – “As Thomas Frank observed in his aforementioned book: “As culture war, the backlash was born to lose. Its goal is not to win cultural battles but to take offense, conspicuously, vocally, even flamboyantly. Indignation is the great aesthetic principle of backlash culture.”


THAT STATEMENT EXACTLY DESCRIBES THE TRUMPITES WHOM I HAVE SEEN “ACTING OUT” OR READ ABOUT ON THE NEWS. THEY ARE LARGELY (BUT NOT ALL) IGNORANT PEOPLE DUE TO THEIR HOLDING AN ABSOLUTE AVERSION TO WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE A GOOD BASIC EDUCATION AS A SOCIETAL TOOL TOWARD REARING BETTER PEOPLE RATHER THAN MERELY RICHER PEOPLE. I THINK THAT A GREAT DEAL OF THE PROBLEM THEY FACE IS THAT BY THE TIME THEY PUT IN 15 HOURS A DAY ON TWO PART TIME JOBS WITH NO SECURITY OR BENEFITS, THEY ARE SIMPLY TOO FATIGUED MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY TO STUDY ANYTHING, UNLESS THEY ARE OF THE GROUP OR PEOPLE FOR WHOM LEARNING IS A GOAL IN ITSELF. IF UNDERSTANDING WRITTEN MATERIAL IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE, THAT IS REALLY DISCOURAGING. EVEN SO, IN A COUNTRY LIKE OURS, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO MAKE ANY IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR LIVES – EXCEPT OF COURSE FOR THE MANY ILLEGAL WAYS TO GET AHEAD.

THAT IS USUALLY BECAUSE NOBODY THEY KNOW VERY WELL AND TRUST WENT TO COLLEGE; THEIR LIFE IS TRULY DEPRIVED, SO THEY WANT MONEY (SECURITY) AS MUCH AS THEY WANT SOMETHING ESOTERIC LIKE AN EDUCATION THAT “IMPROVES” THE INNER PERSON. THEY THINK THEY NEED JEWELRY AND BIG CARS INSTEAD. THEY AS INDIVIDUALS OFTEN GOT BEHIND IN THEIR READING SKILLS AROUND THE SECOND GRADE AND NEVER CAUGHT UP, SO THEY HAVE BECOME VERY DISCOURAGED AND RESENTFUL; AND BECAUSE THEY FEEL “CHEATED,” SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED, OR IN THEIR VIEWPOINT, SIMPLY “DISSED,” THEY HAVE A “RIGHT” TO BE ABUSIVE TO ANY OTHERS WHO ARE UNABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. IT’S THE OLD “WINNERS VERSUS LOSERS” ARGUMENT.

THAT’S WHAT ACTUALLY OCCURRED EARLY ON IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. SEE THE VERY INTERESTING AND HIGHLY PERTINENT ARTICLE FROM WIKIPEDIA ON BACON’S REBELLION. OUR SOCIETY CONSCIOUSLY DESIGNATED BLACK PEOPLE AS THE INEVITABLE LOWER CLASS, AFTER THAT REBELLION, BECAUSE IT REALLY FRIGHTENED AND THREATENED THE SLAVEOWNING CLASS. IN SOME PLACES AT LEAST, IT WAS ILLEGAL TO TEACH A BLACK PERSON TO READ!! THE LAWS VARIED FROM STATE TO STATE, BUT IT WAS COMMON THAT A SLAVE WHO SUCCEEDED IN MAKING IT UP NORTH TO FREEDOM COULD LEGALLY BE SENT BACK TO THE SOUTHERN OWNER DUE TO HIS “RIGHT” TO HIS “PROPERTY.” THAT IS WHERE MANY OF THE RELIGIOUS STEPPED IN WITH THEIR UNDERGROUND RAILROAD ACTIVITIES.

AS SLAVES WITH NO RIGHT TO CITIZENSHIP OR FREEDOM, AND THEN THE POOR WHITES INTO A STATUS JUST ONE STEP ABOVE BLACKS. THAT ONE NECESSARY LITTLE STEP GAVE WHITES “SUPREMACY,” JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR SKIN COLOR. OF COURSE, THEY STILL WEREN’T RESPECTED AT ALL AND HAD TO BE VERY, VERY RESPECTFUL OF THEIR WEALTHY WHITE “BETTERS.” IT WAS A KIND OF CASTE SYSTEM NO BETTER THAN THOSE IN SOUTH AFRICA OR INDIA. THE GOAL WAS TO CONTROL THE RACIALLY DIVIDED LABOR FORCE BY KEEPING THEM BOTH DOWN, AND PITTING THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER SO THEY WOULDN’T UNITE AGAINST THEIR “BETTERS” AGAIN. THAT HAS SUCCESSFULLY PREVENTED REBELLIONS AGAINST THE WEALTHY IN THE SOUTH IN MOST CASES. THERE IS A RECENT MOVIE ABOUT ONE FASCINATING CASE, THOUGH, CALLED “FREE STATE OF JONES.” THE SMITHSONIAN ALSO HAS POSTED A WRITTEN HISTORY OF THE GROUP, WHICH I READ ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH. I STOPPED NOT BECAUSE I WAS BORED, BUT BECAUSE I WAS TIRED. CHECK IT OUT YOURSELF IF YOU’RE INTERESTED.

NOW THAT, A VERIFIED HISTORICAL TRUTH, IS THE DEEP CYNICISM THAT LIES UNDER AND BEHIND OUR CLASS-CENTERED SOCIETY. NOT EVERYONE HAS A FULLY HUMAN STATUS IN THE MINDS OF SOME SOUTHERNERS EVEN TODAY. THE ONLY WAY A POOR WHITE PERSON COULD HAVE ANY STATUS WAS TO OWN SOME LAND. IF YOU HAVE READ ABOUT THE EARLY DAYS OF THE NATION, YOU PROBABLY HAVE READ OR HEARD THAT BLACK PEOPLE (FOR TAX AND CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION PURPOSES), WERE ONLY DECLARED TO BE “COUNTED” AS 3/5 OF A (WHITE) “PERSON.” THE IDEA THAT BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T EVEN “HUMAN” GOES BACK TO THE BEGINNINGS, ALSO. THAT’S JUST THE CRUEL AND CRUDE WAY THAT PEOPLE IN MASSE ARE ABLE TO THINK AND BEHAVE. HAVING A HUMAN BODY AND A LIFE WASN’T ENOUGH. THE SIMPLE TRUTH IS THAT, EVEN THOUGH I HATE IT, “MIGHT” REALLY DOES “MAKE RIGHT.” IT’S DISGUSTING TO ME THAT THE LEVEL OF “HUMANITY” THAT SOME WHITE PEOPLE DESCEND TO IS SHOCKING.

FOR A REALLY INTERESTING ARTICLE ON “3/5” THOUGHT, THE FOLLOWING INTERESTING DISPUTE OF OUR COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATTER IS BELOW. SEE: https://concurringopinions.com/archives/2011/09/the-meaning-of-the-three-fifths-clause.html.

THE WHITE OR BLACK UNDEREDUCATED INDIVIDUALS, IF THEY ARE WITHOUT THE AMELIORATING INNER CHARACTERISTIC OF KINDNESS AND THE COMFORTING BELIEF THAT GOD KNOWS AND LOVES ALL HUMANS, DON’T WANT SOMETHING AS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS TO THEIR IDEA OF PERSONAL WORTH AS A TRUE EDUCATION. BLING IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. THAT’S TRUE OF EVERYONE WHO PUTS MONEY OVER HUMAN LOVE. EITHER THEY CAN’T EXPERIENCE IT, OR THEY DON’T TRUST IT.

IT ALSO DESCRIBES THE MISGUIDED TEENAGE STREET KID OF WHATEVER SKIN COLOR OR ETHNIC RELATIONSHIP, WHO PUTS UP HIS ANGER AND UNWILLINGNESS TO CHANGE AS PROTECTION FROM HIS DEEP, THOUGH SELF-INFLICTED, PAIN. THAT SAME ACT OF ESCHEWING THE HUMANIZING VALUE OF EDUCATION AS BEING “SISSY,” OR “ACTING WHITE,” MAKES THEM UNABLE TO CHANGE AND ADAPT AS THEY NEED TO IN ORDER NOT TO BECOME ONE OF THE BAD GUYS -- A RACIST, HOMOPHOBE, UNCOOPERATIVE, VICIOUS, OR SIMPLY DISHONEST PERSON. NOW, THAT IS REALLY UNFORTUNATE. THE MORE PEOPLE WE HAVE WHO ARE “CULTIVATED” BY OUR SOCIETY -- CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY -- DRAG US DOWN AND AWAY FROM OUR BASIC GOAL OF BEING A BENIGN PEOPLE. IT IS EASIER TO SIMPLY “DISCARD” SUCH PEOPLE AS BEING TOTALLY WORTHLESS AND UNDESERVING OF BASIC CONSIDERATION.

UNFORTUNATELY, IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, SOME CHILDREN WHO HAVE A LEARNING PROBLEM OF ANY KIND ARE IGNORED AND PASSED OVER BY TEACHERS AND THE “MANAGEMENT” SYSTEM OF THE SCHOOLS – THOSE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS WHO FEEL THEY HAVE TO “PROCESS” EVERY KID FAST AND SEND THEM ON THROUGH. LEARNING IS A VERY DIFFERENT PROCESS FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER, AND THEY ALL AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER NEED SOME HELP. TEACHERS TEND TO VIEW SOME OF THEM AS BEING “UNABLE TO LEARN ANYWAY.” THAT IS SIMPLY FALLACIOUS. FEW KIDS ARE TOO DULL WITTED TO LEARN ANYTHING, AND VERY EARLY INTERVENTION BY TEACHERS, SPECIAL TUTORS, OR FAMILY MEMBERS IS VERY LIKELY TO TURN THEM AROUND. IT WOULD ALSO HELP OUR SOCIETY IF NOBODY AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL GETS AWAY WITH GIVING NO HELP TO BLACK CHILDREN WHO “CAN’T LEARN.” EVEN THEIR PARENTS HAVE LOW EXPECTATIONS OF THEM TOO OFTEN. THAT’S VERY, VERY DEBILITATING TO THEIR SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND IT ROBS THEM OF THE REAL OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THEIR GRADES.

I WILL SAY ONE MORE THING ABOUT LOW EXPECTATIONS. EACH OF US INDIVIDUALLY IS THE ONLY SOURCE WE HAVE FOR DOING THE HARD WORK NECESSARY FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT, BUT WE NEED SOCIETAL ELEMENTS – FRIENDS, FAMILY, HEROES OF THE PROPER TYPE, AND MENTORS – TO GIVE US THE LITTLE OR LARGE PUSHES WHEN WE NEED THEM. LIFE IS ABOUT THE CLIMB, THE PAIN AND THE JOY. IF WE CAN STOP BLAMING THE WORLD, WE WILL AUTOMATICALLY BECOME CONSIDERABLY SANER AND MUCH LESS ANGRY.

OUR TRUMPITES ARE IN THE HOT SEAT OF THE PRESS RIGHT NOW FOR THEIR HIGHLY THREATENING LEVEL OF ANGER. THAT IS FAIR TO ME, AS LONG AS I ACKNOWLEDGE MY OWN ANGER AND NEED TO KEEP IT FROM DESTROYING MYSELF AND OTHERS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT ACHIEVING THAT KIND OF EMOTIONAL PLATEAU, FROM WHICH WE CAN CLIMB FURTHER UP, IS SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES ACCEPTANCE, HOPE AND SELF-UNDERSTANDING. WE CAN’T GO FORWARD UNTIL WE UNDERSTAND WHERE WE’VE BEEN AND TRUST THAT CONTINUING TO TRY WILL BE WORTH THE EFFORT.

BECAUSE I CAN UNDERSTAND CERTAIN DEPTHS OF DESPAIR, FROM WHICH POGROMS COME, I CAN FORGIVE THEM TO SOME DEGREE; I DO, HOWEVER, HOLD THE HUMAN RACE RESPONSIBLE FOR ACHIEVING SOME INNER PEACE AND OUTER COOPERATION WITH OTHERS INSOFAR AS THAT IS POSSIBLE, AND FOR MOST PEOPLE IT IS POSSIBLE.

THERE ARE, UNFORTUNATELY TIMES WHEN WE MUST FIGHT TO PROTECT OURSELVES OR OTHERS. THE GOD OF MY UNDERSTANDING DOES NOT BLAME ME FOR THAT UNLESS I PROVOKED THE ATTACK. THIS “RACE WAR” IDEA, HOWEVER, THAT SOME WHITE SUPREMACISTS ARE TALKING ABOUT ON THE INTERNET OR IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD BAR WITH CONSIDERABLE GLEE, IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE OR EVEN VAGUELY NECESSARY THING TO DO. THIS KIND OF MENTAL DEGENERATION IS IN THE CLASS OF THINGS WHICH I CALL EVIL.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE SEVERE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF THE “CRIME” OF MINDLESS ABUSIVENESS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE REALLY DONE ALL THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO DO IN THE GOAL OF BECOMING BENIGN RATHER THAN MALIGN INDIVIDUALS. AS THIS ALT-RIGHT THREAT IS UPON US, THIS IS NO LONGER A SIDE ISSUE TO ME, BUT A DAILY REALITY OF HUGE PROPORTION. TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY SAY, I STILL HAVE MY MCMANSION, WHY SHOULD I WORRY, OR THOSE “LAZY” POOR PEOPLE “AREN’T MY PROBLEM.” BELIEVE ME, IF ALL THAT ANGER FROM THE ALT-RIGHT IS UNLEASED, AS IT COULD BE VERY SOON, IT WILL BE “MY PROBLEM,” AND YOURS, TOO.

THAT ATTITUDE IS NOT ONLY, IN MY VIEW, BASICALLY IMMORAL, IT IS DANGEROUS. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY OUR COUNTRY WOKE UP ON THAT FATEFUL WEDNESDAY MORNING TO FIND THAT A PSYCHOLOGICALLY CALLOUS, ABUSIVE, IMMATURE AND CONCEITED INDIVIDUAL HAD BEEN ELECTED TO THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN THIS NATION OF “HIGH IDEALS.” MIDDLE CLASS WHITE PEOPLE TENDED TO LAUGH AT TRUMP WHILE HE WAS RUNNING FOR OFFICE. LAUGHING AT A PERSON, NO MATTER WHAT WE THINK OF THEM, MAKES US AS CRUEL AS THEY ARE, AND BLINDS US TO THE NATURE OF THE SERIOUS THREAT THAT HE DOES, IN FACT, REPRESENT.

AS BERNIE SANDERS RECENTLY SAID ABOUT THE TRUMP ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 16, 2016, “WE ARE NOT GOING SILENTLY INTO THE NIGHT …” THIS IS FROM SANDERS’ SPEECH. GO TO WEBSITE, https://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-comes-out-fighting-against-trump-and-trumpism/. I HAVE PLACED THAT IN THE JANUARY 18 BLOG.

WHAT I LEARNED IN HISTORY AND REMEMBER FROM WHAT MY PARENTS’ GENERATION TALKED ABOUT AT HOME, TELLS ME THAT THE PHENOMENON OF MASS PERSECUTION AND GENERAL CRUELTY ON A SOCIETY WIDE BASIS, IS AS MUCH A PART OF THE HUMAN PSYCHE AS LOVING OUR BABIES (UNTIL THEY GET OLD ENOUGH TO ACT SASSY, THAT IS;) AND THAT WHATEVER CONDITION OF GENTLENESS THAT IS WITHIN MYSELF MUST BE MAINTAINED ACTIVELY OR IT IS VERY LIKELY TO DEGENERATE TO THE THINGS I HATE. MY PROBLEM ABOUT FORGIVING PEOPLE IS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ANGER AGAINST UNFAIR DEALINGS OF ALL KINDS. UNFORTUNATELY, I AM MORE OF A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER THAN A DEEPLY COMMITTED PACIFIST CHRISTIAN. I CARE A GREAT DEAL MORE ABOUT THINGS LIKE “TRUTH, JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY,” THAN I DO ABOUT RESERVING JUDGEMENT AGAINST THOSE WHO ARE AGGRESSIVE, ABUSIVE, OR CRUEL. IF THEY AREN’T OPPOSED, THEY WILL SIMPLY TAKE OVER EVERY TIME.

I DEFINITELY DO THINK THAT WE SHOULD BE ASSERTIVE, BUT NOT ABUSIVE. THOSE WHO CAN’T ASSERT THEMSELVES WILL BE KICKED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD OF LIFE, BUT THOSE WHO ARE AGGRESSIVE ARE IN THE ARMY OF EVIL, AS I THINK OF IT. BY THAT I AM NOT REFERRING TO PEOPLE, BUT TO ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES. IT’S ONE OF THOSE TRICKY DEFINITIONS LIKE PRIDE AND CONCEIT. SO, I TRY TO WATCH WHAT SIDE I AM ACTUALLY FIGHTING FOR AND BEWARE OF FIGHTING SO HARD THAT I DO SOMETHING TRULY ABUSIVE MYSELF. THE TRUTH IS THAT WE ARE ALL CAPABLE OF GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MORAL WEAKNESS UP TO AND INCLUDING MURDER, WHILE PERHAPS STILL BEING CLEVER ENOUGH TO AMASS A HUGE FORTUNE LIKE MR. TRUMP. PERSONALLY, I RESPECT A GOOD LIBERAL EDUCATION ANY DAY. MY PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN HERITAGE TELLS ME THAT NO PERSON IS MADE “GOOD” BY HAVING MONEY, AND THAT “THE LOVE OF MONEY” IS INEVITABLY CORRUPTING. THOUGH GREAT POVERTY CAN ALSO MAKE IT HARD FOR US TO BE GENTLE SOULS, AND WITHOUT OUR BEING AS GENTLE AS WE CAN BE, AND CARING ABOUT THE MATTER ENOUGH TO WORK TOWARD IT AS A GOAL, WE WILL LIVE IN A DECAYING CIVILIZATION, AS WE DO SEEM TO BE DOING THESE DAYS.

I AM TRYING PERSONALLY TO MAINTAIN SOME GOOD CHEER AND DO MY WORK OF THE MOMENT, WHICH IS TO BE A SORT OF CASSANDRA, NO MATTER WHO HAPPENS TO BE LISTENING AT THE TIME. CASSANDRA WASN’T USELESS. IT JUST REQUIRES THOUGHT TO INTERPRET HER MESSAGE AND AVOID THE FALACY OF THINKING ANYTHING AT ALL IS GUARANTEED US IN LIFE.

I ALSO COMPARE MYSELF TO THE OLD “MUCKRAKERS” OF OUR AMERICAN LITERATURE TRADITION WHO KEPT UP WITH THE EVILS OF THE WORLD AND EXPOSED THEM. THEY WERE TRUTH TELLERS, WARRIORS FOR A GOOD CAUSE, AND THEY BROUGHT ABOUT SOME HELPFUL LAWS. THE ONE I REMEMBER SPECIFICALLY WAS A BOOK ON THE FILTH AND CORRUPTION OF THE CANNED FOOD INDUSTRY, AND IT DID EDUCATE THE PUBLIC TO THE DEGREE THAT LAWS REGULATING SUCH OPERATIONS WERE MADE. I READ PART OF IT AND THE DESCRIPTIONS OF CONDITIONS IN FOOD PREP WERE BEYOND DISGUSTING. THAT IS WHAT I TRY TO BE AND DO FOR THE WORLD. I ALSO LOVE WHISTLE BLOWERS, INCLUDING SNOWDEN. THERE IS A CERTAIN KIND OF PERSON WHO IS SIMPLY INCAPABLE OF TURNING THEIR HEAD AND LOOKING AWAY, EITHER TO BE TASTEFUL AND PC, OR OUT OF FEAR RETRIBUTION. I CAN’T HELP CALLING THEM HEROES. I AM AFRAID THAT SUCH PEOPLE WILL BE MUCH NEEDED WHEN TRUMP GETS FIRMLY ENSCONCED ON HIS THRONE. I THINK THAT ALERTING THOSE WHO “HAVE EARS TO HEAR” TO THE DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT THAT IS UPON US NOW. IT IS A WORTHWHILE AND REASONABLE GOAL, WELL WITHIN MY RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN OF THE USA, AND IN FACT A RESPONSIBILITY IN MY VIEW. THE WORLD NEEDS THOSE WHO CHALLENGE THE PUBLIC TO WORK TOWARD BEING EVER MORE ACTIVE, INTELLIGENT AND CONCERNED CITIZENS OF THEIR WORLD. IN A DEMOCRACY IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE LEARN WHAT IS GOING ON AND BOTHER TO CARE ABOUT IT. I HOPE TO BE A PART OF THAT FUNCTION.

WE NEED TO GO BACK TO BASICS REGULARLY AND REVISE OUR PATHS ACCORDINGLY, WHICH WILL HELP CORRECT THE UNCARING ATTITUDES THAT GROW DAILY AMONG THE FLOWERS OF OUR CULTIVATED SOCIETY. ONLY CULTIVATING OUR INNER STRENGTHS AND SOME AT LEAST OF THE OLD-FASHIONED VIRTUES CAN SAVE US. WE HAVE STRAYED TOO FAR INTO ALMOST TOTAL SELFISHNESS. FOR INSTANCE, WE NEED PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT WORK VERY HARD TO GIVE EVERY CHILD BY THE 8TH GRADE THE ABILITY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND A NEWSPAPER, THE HOLY BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE, AND BOTH FICTION AND NON-FICTION OF A GOOD QUALITY. I HAD READ PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, JANE EYRE, SILAS MARNER, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, AND OTHER APPEALING BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG AND ROMANTIC (WHICH I WAS) BY THE 12TH GRADE. EVERY CHILD CAN DO THAT, IF THE PARENT AND TEACHERS WILL LEAD THEM IN THAT DIRECTION OR PERHAPS REQUIRE IT. I BELIEVE IN REQUIRING THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO A “WELL EDUCATED” SOCIETY, BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE WILL SIMPLY NEVER PICK UP A BOOK THAT IS EDUCATIONAL.

FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND A BASIC MORAL STRUCTURE, WE NEED GIRL AND BOY SCOUT TROOPS OR 4H, JACK AND JILL, ETC. BEING ON THE SOCCER TEAM IS GREAT FOR THE BODY, BUT DOES NOTHING FOR THE MIND. I JUST CHECKED TO SEE WHETHER JACK AND JILL IS STILL ACTIVE, AND IT IS.

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED POSITIVE RATHER THAN MERELY COMPETITIVE GROUP EXPERIENCES, SO THEY CAN GROW IN A MENTALLY HEALTHY WAY TOWARD GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND A PRODUCTIVE ADULTHOOD. IF I HAD A KID, I WOULD NOT LET HIM SPEND MORE THAN AN HOUR A DAY PLAYING VIDEO GAMES, AND ESPECIALLY OF THE VIOLENT SORT. I SPENT MY FIVE MINUTES OF WAITING FOR MY PIZZA TO BE DONE ONE NIGHT, WATCHING THE SCREEN OF ONE OF THOSE THAT I INSTINCTIVELY HATE OVER A YOUNG MAN’S SHOULDER. NOT ONLY DO THEY PLAY THOSE THINGS HOUR AFTER HOUR, BUT THEY GET NOTHING USEFUL FROM IT, AND I FEEL SURE THAT IT HARMS THEM SPIRITUALLY IF NOT PSYCHIATRICALLY. I DON’T BELIEVE THE IMPULSE TO RAPE OR KILL COMES OUT OF A VACUUM, BUT FROM ONES' EXPERIENCES. THAT VIDEO WAS THE REALLY UGLY KIND DEPICTING A DISTURBINGLY THIN WOMAN WITH EXAGGERATED AND POINTY LOOKING BREASTS, WHO WAS BEING KILLED BY A MAN OF THE RAMBO TYPE WITH A GUN. IN THOSE GAMES, THE FEMALE IS OFTEN A “WARRIOR,” TOO, BUT EVEN SO, I THINK IT’S POOR MENTAL TRAINING FOR A GUY WHO IS GOING –HOPEFULLY -- TO BE A BASICALLY “GOOD CITIZEN,” A FATHER AND A HUSBAND. THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES “PROVING” THOSE THINGS AREN’T “HARMFUL,” BUT ONE WHICH WAS DISCUSSED IN A FASCINATING NEWS ARTICLE DIVULGED THAT THE “STUDY” IN QUESTION WAS SPONSORED BY A VIOLENT VIDEO MAKER. DUUUHHH !!

THERE ARE KIDS WHO REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING COMPETITIVE AND “PHYSICAL.” IF THEY DO, I WOULD HOPE PARENTS WOULD STEER THEM AWAY FROM FOOTBALL AND SOCCER, BECAUSE IN BOTH THERE IS OFTEN HEAD TRAUMA, AND THE LAST THING WE NEED TO DO IN A BASICALLY “LOWBROW” SOCIETY IS TO GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE BRAIN DAMAGE BEFORE THEY HAVE EVEN TRIED TO STUDY SOMETHING CHALLENGING, LIKE HISTORY, LITERATURE, LAW, BIOLOGY, ETC. THEY ALSO NEED TO BE GUIDED IN THE WAY OF GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AND HONESTY, BECAUSE THOSE THINGS DON’T REALLY COME NATURALLY IN MY OPINION. SCHOOL OR CHURCH SPONSORED PEER GROUPS LIKE THOSE ALSO HELP KIDS TO LEARN TO UNDERSTAND AND LIKE OTHERS, “PLAY NICE” RATHER THAN BULLYING ANYONE, GROW IN THEIR ABILITY TO FORM CLOSE TIES, GIVE SOME SERVICE TO OTHERS WHO NEED IT, AND THINK ABOUT THEIR PLACE IN THE “BIG WORLD” OUTSIDE THEIR HOME.

WHILE I’M REVISING THE WORLD, I WILL CREATE MORE RATHER THAN FEWER FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES, ENOUGH PARKS AND SWIMMING POOLS ALL OVER THE AREA FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO ATTEND, SO THEY WILL BE ABLE TO PUT SOME HAPPY AND HEALTHY FUN ACTIVITIES INTO THEIR LIVES. LONELINESS AND BOREDOM IN YOUNG KIDS ARE BOTH DANGEROUS. CHILDREN ARE LIKE A BORDER COLLIE. I READ A GREAT BOOK ON THOSE INTERESTING DOGS. THE AUTHOR, A LONG-TIME OWNER OF THE BREED, WROTE, “BE SURE TO GIVE YOUR DOG SOMETHING TO DO, BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T HE WILL FIND SOMETHING ON HIS OWN, AND YOU WON’T LIKE IT!”

IF KIDS DO HAVE GOOD SUPERVISED SOCIAL GROUPS, THEY WILL BE MUCH LESS LIKELY TO BE ATTRACTED TO A STREET GANG OR TO GO IN A SHOPPING MALL FOR SOME RECREATIONAL SHOPLIFTING. THAT WILL PREVENT THE FIRST ITEM ON THEIR RAP SHEET FROM OCCURRING. LATER YOU WILL FIND THAT THEIR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT WITH DRUGS OR BEEN IN A BULLYING SITUATION, PERHAPS. TEENAGERS ARE GREAT, BUT THEY DO NEED SOME SUPERVISION AND VERBAL FIRMNESS. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE IN GETTING THEM A JOB BY THE TIME THEY ARE 16, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE NECESSARILY POOR, BUT TO PUT THEM INTO THE KIND OF REAL LIFE SITUATION THAT THEY WILL BE THRUST INTO SUDDENLY UPON GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL. SOME MENTORING BY ADULTS OTHER THAN THEIR OWN FAMILY IS ALSO HELPFUL. THAT TEACHES THEM THAT THERE ARE OTHER THOUGHT PATTERNS IN THE WORLD TO EVALUATE FOR THEMSELVES, BESIDES THE ONES THEY LEARNED FROM THE PARENTAL HOME.

I AM SAYING ALL THIS BECAUSE OUR SOCIETY REALLY HAS DEGRADED TO A HIGH DEGREE SINCE 1945 IN ITS ABILITY TO FOSTER GOOD CITIZENSHIP AND EVEN PROVIDE SAVE ENVIRONMENTS. THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING DOWNHILL SINCE THE HARD CORE “CONSERVATIVE” VIEWS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA CAME TO POWER, AND THE REASONS ARE OBVIOUS. THE FAR RIGHT HAVE TAKEN OVER, WITH THEIR TENDENCY TOWARD “HEARTLESSNESS” IN HOW THE USA ECONOMY IS RUN. THE MOVIE WALL STREET, IN WHICH A HARD-NOSED MONEY MAN NAMED GORDON GEKKO (CLEVER) RAGED IN A SPEECH, “GREED IS GOOD!”

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS ACTUALLY BEING TAUGHT AS A VIRTUE IN THE REAL WORLD BY SOME; WHICH USUALLY COMES ALONG WITH THE DEMEANING OF KINDNESS AS BEING “PC,” OR “POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.” THOSE PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WHO IS FROM “OUTSIDER” GROUPS OF ALL KINDS, ETHNIC, RACIAL, ABILITY, GENDER, OPINION, RELATIVE TIMIDITY, ETC., SHOULD ACCEPT BEING PUBLICLY SHAMED FOR NONCRIMINAL DIFFERENCES. THAT MEANS THAT THEY SHOULDN’T BRING A LAWSUIT OR GET THE CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS CHANGED. THAT’S THE AMERICAN WAY, RIGHT? I’M REALLY GLAD I WAS BORN INTO AN ESSENTIALLY POSITIVE TIME IN THE US, THANKS TO WALT DISNEY STUDIOS, RATHER THAN THIS FRIGHTENING PERIOD TODAY. THERE WAS A REPUBLICAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT THAT WAS THE BENIGN, WELL-EDUCATED, INTELLIGENT AND FAIRMINDED GENERAL DWIGHT D EISENHOWER, WHO WAS A HORSE OF ANOTHER COLOR FROM THE TEA PARTIERS AND THE TRUMPITES OF TODAY. HE PULLED THE ELEMENTS OF SOCIETY TOGETHER RATHER THAN SETTING ONE ABOVE ANOTHER FOR UNFAIR REASONS. I REALLY LIKED THAT MAN.

ALSO, ABOUT WEALTH ITSELF, WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND EARLIER, I WAS WELL AWARE THAT WE WERE “TOO POOR” FOR QUITE A FEW THINGS. I WAS TAUGHT, HOWEVER, BY MY PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, CHURCH AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS AS WELL, THAT IT IS OUR INNER PERSON WHICH IS MOST IMPORTANT, AND THAT ANY HONEST WORK MAKES US ACCEPTABLE “IN THE EYES OF GOD.” AS A RESULT OF THAT UPBRINGING I DO RESPECT “THE WORKING PEOPLE,” FULLY AS MUCH AS THE HEAD OF THE COMPANY, AND MAYBE MORE. IT HAS BEEN MY OBSERVATION THROUGH THESE YEARS THAT PEOPLE WHO REALLY DO AMASS A HUGE FORTUNE HAVE ALMOST NEVER DONE IT IN AN ENTIRELY “SQUEAKY CLEAN” WAY, AND THEY OFTEN JUST DON’T CONSIDER SUCH SCRUPLES TO BE “INTELLIGENT.” THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR THE COUNTRY. I PERSONALLY DO BELIEVE THAT ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE ABLE TO READ SHOULD, AS A MATTER OF HONOR, TRY TO USE IT FOR SOME PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EDUCATIONALLY, SOCIETALLY AND SPIRITUALLY. THAT’S THE KIND OF “PIE IN THE SKY” STUFF THAT I WAS TAUGHT, AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GRATEFUL. IT GIVES ME COMFORT WHEN MANY THINGS GO WRONG, AND WHEN THE PAGAN GOD IS DISCOVERED TO HAVE “FEET OF CLAY,” RATHER THAN A PRECIOUS METAL.

IT BECAME POPULAR AMONG THE “IN CROWD” OF THE 1970S, SO CLEVER THEY THOUGHT THEMSELVES, TO SPEAK HIGHLY DISRESPECTFULLY AND CRITICALLY OF THE GREAT OLD TV SHOW, “FATHER KNOWS BEST.” OKAY, IT PORTRAYED PEOPLE AS BEING MORE DEEPLY “GOOD” THAN WE SO OFTEN SEEM TO BE, BUT THAT MAKES OUR SOCIETY NEED THOSE BENIGN ARTISTIC OFFERINGS EVEN MORE. MANY KIDS, THEN OR NOW, REALLY DIDN’T’ HAVE KIND AND GENTLE PARENTS. CHILDREN WILL NOT LEARN “GOODNESS,” IF THEY RARELY SEE ANY. THEY WILL PERCEIVE IT AS WEAKNESS INSTEAD AND BEGIN TO PERSECUTE SUCH PEOPLE. WE AS HUMANS MODEL OUR INNER BEING ON THE WORLD IN WHICH WE MATURE, AND THAT DOES MEAN THAT A KINDER AND GENTLER MODEL NEEDS TO BE READILY AVAILABLE AND ARTISTICALLY PALATABLE TO PRODUCE GENTLER CITIZENS. “FATHER KNOWS BEST” WAS AN ARTISTICALLY WELL PRODUCED AND ACTED MODELING OF A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS AND OF LIFE, AND WE NEED THAT DESPERATELY NOW.

I KNEW TOO MANY OTHERS DIDN’T THINK THAT WAY, BUT LIKE ANY WELL-REINFORCED POSITIVE BELIEF, IT GUIDED ME AND COMFORTED ME THROUGH MY LACK OF “BLING” WITH WHICH TO IMPRESS MY PEERS. I WAS ABLE TO PROCEED FORWARD WITHOUT BEING IN THE “POPULAR GROUP.” I DID, AFTER ALL, HAVE FRIENDS, AND WE HAD GOOD TIMES TOGETHER WITHOUT THE AID OF THE “IN” GROUP.

AMERICA, DESPITE OUR PAINFULLY INCOMPLETE APPLICATION OF KINDNESS TO THE NEEDIEST ONES AMONG US BASED ON THEIR “EMBARRASSING” SOCIAL STATUS OR LACK OF MONEY, IS STILL CONSIDERABLY MORE FAIR AND SUPPORTIVE TO AN UPCOMING YOUNG PERSON THAN ANY NUMBER OF OTHER NATIONS THAT I CAN BRING TO MIND. WE DON’T HAVE CIVIL WAR IN THE STREETS – YET AT ANY WAY. FOR THAT, SHE IS TO ME “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL”, AND MY BELOVED HOME. HEAVEN HELP US TO IMPROVE ALWAYS AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A GROUP, TO KEEP OUR EYES ON A HIGHER GOAL AND REACH FOR IT. FOR AMERICA TO GIVE UP THAT IDEALISM IS A TERRIBLE WASTE. THERE IS ENTIRELY TOO MUCH SMUGNESS AND CONCEIT FOR OUR OWN GOOD IN THIS CULTURE. THE GOAL OF MAKING MORE MONEY MUST BE, AT LEAST PARTLY, TO HELP OTHERS WHO NEED IT, RATHER THAN MERELY BUYING ANOTHER STATUS SYMBOL. WHO NEEDS A $10,000 WRIST WATCH, ANYWAY? IF WE WILL CONSCIENTIOUSLY TRY TO MAKE PROGRESS IN THOSE HIGH-MINDED WAYS WE WILL FIND OURSELVES HAPPIER, NOT LESS SO, AND LESS LONELY AND DEPRESSED.

FOR THE SAKE OF THE EARTH ITSELF, WE NEED TO IMPROVE OUR CONSCIOUS APPRECIATION OF EVERY LIFE FORM, ENVIRONMENTAL NICHE, AND THE AIR WE ALL MUST BREATHE. WHEN I SEE THOSE VIDEOS OF CHINESE PEOPLE MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH HEAVY POLLUTION WITH A USELESS-LOOKING MASK OVER THEIR FACE, I REMEMBER THE 1950S AND 60S WHEN WE FINALLY CRACKED DOWN ON POLLUTERS DESPITE THEIR SHRIEKS OF PAIN AT HAVING TO INVEST SOME MONEY ON THE PRESERVATION OF THE WORLD. IT IS A SHAME THAT THE POLLUTERS ARE BACK AS KING OF THE HILL AGAIN.

THOSE THINGS ARE ALL, IN THEIR WAY, AS IMPORTANT AS HUMAN LIVES, AND THE POLLUTION DOESN’T ONLY KILL ANIMALS. IT KILLS US AS WELL. SOME PEOPLE REALLY THINK THAT STATEMENT IS IRRELIGIOUS, BUT I MUST DIFFER OVER THIS ISSUE OF A CLEAN AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT. IT IS NOT “TOO COSTLY” FOR US AS A GREAT COUNTRY TO PAY. THE VIEWPOINT THAT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN IS IMPORTANT ONLY FOR ITS’ MONETARY VALUE IS ONE OF THE VERY WORST THOUGHT ERRORS OF OUR MODERN TIME. IN SO MANY WAYS WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PATH BEFORE OUR WORLD IS RUINED. I CAN’T BEAR TO SEE THAT. MY SUGGESTON FOR THE DAY IS FOR EVERYONE WHO READS THIS TO GET A DVD OF THE GREAT MOTION PICTURE, “SOYLENT GREEN.”



FOR FURTHER PONDERINGS, GO TO http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-peron/courtesy-is-not-political_b_5250744.html, THE BLOG, “Courtesy Is Not Political Correctness,” 05/01/2014 10:14 pm ET | Updated Jul 01, 2014

GO ALSO TO https://www.thenation.com/article/bernie-sanders-comes-out-fighting-against-trump-and-trumpism/



THIS IS ENOUGH FOR ONE DAY. GOODNIGHT, CITIZENS OF THE WORLD.