Support Peaceful Protest - Support America

 "What makes America great is peaceful protests and exercising your constitutional rights."   -  Mathew Dowd


The current person who holds the highest office in the land wants to make saluting the flag and standing for the National Anthem mandatory.  Here are some countries, past and present, that enforce(d) such a rule: Nazi Germany;  The Empire of Japan (WWII vintage);   The U.S.S.R.;  The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (That's North Korea if you are unaware of their official title); The People's Republic of China.  This is just a partial list.  

What else do they have in common besides compulsory obedience to their flag?  They are all totalitarian governments, some fascist, some communist.  Their people have no freedom and they pay a heavy price for non compliance.  Is this what we want for America?  I believe Trump does and he has given so many indications in the last nine months that this is the kind of America that he seeks.  His insistence that NFL players stand for the flag and anthem is just the latest and just as egregious, if not more-so, than the others.  

Our Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and peaceful protest.  And, never forget that our country was created out of protest and made greater along the way by brave patriots who were courageous enough to stand up to injustice. 

Instead of channeling our anger toward those who protest against injustice should we not be directing it toward those who would take their right to protest away?  Should we not, as  citizens of a, still free, nation be listening to their call for justice, seeking to understand their grievances and joining them in seeking ways to alleviate them?   If we truly believe in liberty and justice for all, as stated in the Pledge of Allegiance, can we, should we, just ignore the oppression of any individual citizen or group of citizens in this nation?

I keep hearing from those who tend to be a bit too caught up in nationalistic mentality, the kind that believes in the "my country right or wrong" mantra,  that the athletes who are protesting are playing a game and making millions of dollars doing it.  Why should they protest?  The people who question this just don't get it. The athletes protesting are not doing so for themselves, they are representing a race of people who have been oppressed in this country since before it was a country.  Recent events, many detailed in news accounts and on social media,  have shown that the progress that we once thought we had made in ending racial discrimination has regressed dramatically.  Perhaps we never did make any progress at all. As representatives of people of color in this country these athletes, because of their fame and notoriety,  have some influence that others might not have to call attention to these injustices, and they have stepped up to do so. 

We must respect the rights of those who would "take a knee".  To do otherwise is to disrespect the rights of any citizen to speak freely and protest any grievance peacefully.  We can either do this or we can follow Trump's lead and move closer and closer to becoming a totalitarian state.  We can go one direction or the other,  we cannot go both ways.

Stupidity Reigns Supreme

Look, I'm no Einstein, so this might sound a little like the pot calling the kettle black, but I've come to the conclusion that we have far, far too many really stupid people in America.  Here's an example.  According to one poll that I saw yesterday only 20% of Americans view the Republicans latest attempt at health care reform, the Graham-Cassidy bill, favorably.  That's just one out of every five Americans (hey, maybe I am Einstein).  No matter how many ways you look at those figures, you've got to come away with an understanding that the American people don't much like the Graham-Cassidy bill.

Now, you would think, that in a Democratic Republic like the United States, where representatives are elected by the people, for the people, to serve the people, that those folks in the Senate would have the brains to say, "Hmmm, the people don't much like this bill, maybe we should come up with something else."   But do they?  

Heck no, what they do is to continue to sing the praises of a bill that will take health care coverage away from millions, including, I'm thinking, most of the 20% who say they like the bill ( I refer you to my opening statement) and will give huge tax breaks to the wealthiest people in the country.  You would think that these senators who are pushing the bill forward in spite of its extremely low approval ratings would understand that forcing something so unpopular onto the people who don't want it would cost them in the long run.  Wouldn't you think, if you were them, that doing such a thing might result in lost votes?  Like, maybe after the next election they might be out on the street looking for a real job? 

So, who are the stupid ones here, the people or the Senators in question? The answer is, it's not the Senators.  They know exactly what they're doing and it's not necessarily because they're smart.  It's because they are devious, dishonest, hypocritical and corrupt. (I have a friend, named Steve, who likes to call them things like selfish, mean spirited, dick nosed asshats).  You see, they are smart enough, and greedy enough, to know that it's not the will of the people that they need to have on their side, it's the flow of big money that comes to them from those same billionaires and corporate entities that expect to profit so greatly by the passage of the evil legislation.

You see, we are not any longer truly a Democratic Republic.  We began to lose our grip on that noble form of government back in the 1980's during the Reagan administration and "Trickle Down" (voodoo) economics.  Since then we have become an Oligarchy, a nation ruled by money, or more accurately, by the people with the money.  Republican lawmakers know one simple truth and it works so well for them......"take care of the guys with the money and they will take care of you" .  Old man John Q. Public be damned. They know that he can't do them any good anymore; he's yesterday's news, no longer relevant.  Useless to them, and that is why they present for a vote, such a blatantly evil bill that, if it became law, would do serious, serious harm to the poor, the sick the disabled and the elderly.  Those are the people that the Bible refers to as "the least of these".

In my opening paragraph I said that too many Americans are stupid.  Here's why I said that.  Whether the Graham-Cassidy bill ever becomes law or not those twenty percent that support it, even if they lose their health care coverage because of it, will continue to vote republican. Another 20 to 30 percent of the eligible voters in this country (these are people who never liked the bill in the first place and will be hurt by it just as much as those people in the first 20 percent group) will vote to return these same law makers into office the next time they are up for reelection.   You see, at least half the people in the country are getting royally screwed by a corrupt system, one that they have the power to change with their collective votes, but they never will, and the beat goes on.

If you knew a guy who continually shot himself in the foot every time he cocked his rifle and never realized that it might be a good idea to point the barrel in another direction, you'd probably call him stupid, wouldn’t you?  I rest my case.

On Exercising Constitutional Rights

"To Sin By Silence When They Should Protest Makes Cowards of Men"  - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

To sin by silence, when we should protest, Makes cowards out of men.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/ellawheele135434.html

To sin by silence, when we should protest, Makes cowards out of men.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/ellawheele135434.html

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” -  The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Colin Kaepernik, and now a host of others, have been exercising their right to peacefully protest, a right guaranteed to them by the first amendment.  Unfortunately the “wanna-be” dictator in the Oval Office has shown, once again, his lack of understanding of the Constitution and his utter disdain for the principles of fairness and justice that it stands for. 

This began as a protest against a rash of unarmed black men being killed by overzealous police officers, in other words a protest against racial injustice, something that has plagued this country for some 240 years. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag and it certainly has nothing to do with these NFL players hating America. My guess is, like me, they love this country but, because they do, they feel the need to speak out when they see injustice, just like any other citizen might. After all, it is a right that they have guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. 

Attempting to frame this as disrespecting the flag or the military is dishonest and ignorant and shows some degree of brainwashing by right wing propaganda. Stop being mislead. It's time that we all get serious about the real problems facing this country. Peaceful protest against injustice is not one of them.....the injustice itself is.

Personally, I'm not a fan of protesting during the National Anthem and I have respect for the flag and what it represents, but it is just a symbol. I am a veteran myself, although not a veteran of war.  I do, however, believe that our veterans fought, and many died, in order to preserve, not the flag, but what it stands for. Our country was founded on the self evident truth that all are created equal, and that all of us have certain rights.  Those rights are pledged and affirmed in the Constitution of the United States.  Among those rights, as stated in the first amendment, are the right to freedom of speech and the right to express grievances.   

Therefore I respect the right for people to protest peacefully in any way that they feel they can draw attention to their grievance.  I think that's what Colin Kaepernik was doing when he first took a knee. He publicly stated as much. It is his right and it doesn't offend me. In fact, it perhaps could be argued that it is his duty as a citizen of this free country to do so. I am much more offended by those who would take that right away from him.

As twentieth century writer Robert A. Heinlein, stated it "Patriotism is not 'my country right or wrong'; patriotism means loving the ideals for which America stands and having the courage to speak up when these ideals are distorted...".

Our bully in chief in the White House only served to escalate the protests (as we saw on Sunday) and further divide the nation by his outrageous, angry, crazed speech on Friday. He is dividing us like nothing ever before and he’s doing it on purpose just to fire up his base and bask in their cheers like the attention seeking narcissist that he is. Unfortunately many sheep are following. This does not bode well for our future.

The Unalienable Right To Good Health

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Hopefully you will recognize the words above from the Declaration of Independence. They are important words and the document that they were written on is, perhaps, the most important document in the history of this country.

If life, liberty, and happiness are indeed  important, then it stands to reason that health, which dictates the quality of our life and determines our ability to enjoy liberty and pursue happiness, is equally crucial to our welfare.

Therefore I contend that among the self evident truths implied in the Declaration of Independence is an unalienable right to good health.  In a civilized society we should all be looking out for one another, taking care of those who are sick or suffering, those who are hungry and destitute, those who are weak and elderly. Not only is this right implied in our nation's Declaration of Independence and Constitution, but it is also repeatedly mentioned in the Bible.  Consider these three examples:

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy."   -   Proverbs 31: 8-9

"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute."  -  Psalm 82: 3

"He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right."  -  Job 36:6

More recently the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has been quoted as saying,  "Health is not a consumer good, but rather a universal right, and therefore access to health care services cannot be a privilege."

If Jesus Himself did not believe that every man, woman and child had the right to good health then why did he heal the leper, the blind man, the paralytic, the man with the speech impediment, the man with the withered hand.  Why did Jesus heal virtually everyone who came to him with a sickness, disease or infirmity?  He must have felt that good health was the right of all people.  If He felt that way, then shouldn't we?

Why is it that the Republican party does not believe this?  A larger question, and one even more egregious in my estimation,  is why do so many conservative "Christians" support the Republican party when the Republican party's callous disdain for the rights of the poor, the sick and the elderly are so obvious and pervasive?  How can people who claim to follow Jesus marginalize the weakest and most vulnerable in our society and judge them as unworthy of the right to adequate health care?  These same people support a political party that would take billions of dollars away programs designed to lift up the poor and cure the sick in order to provide more wealth to the wealthy.  How can that be justified in any way, shape or form?  The Bible is also quite clear about the evils of supporting the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

Every man, woman and child in our country should be able to access the health care they need regardless of their income.  The time is long past for a single payer, universal health care system in the United States.  The time is long past for the United States of America to catch up with the rest of the modern, industrialized, civilized world.

Other nations, such as Canada, Australia, and virtually all of Europe, have long provided universal health care with good results so there is no reason to believe that it cannot work here. In fact, the only real hurdle to achieving health care for everyone, and better health care overall, is a stubborn, suppressive, and regressive Republican party and it's misguided pseudo "Christian" followers who will do anything that they can for the rich while doing virtually nothing for "least of these".

Lady Liberty, We're Going To Miss You

 A plaque mounted on the inside of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty contains these lines, written by the poet Emma Lazarus:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Perhaps we should sell the Statue of Liberty back to France. With the coming of  the next Administration we, obviously, won't be needing it anymore. We no longer represent the message in the inscription. We no longer are the welcoming beacon of liberty.

As I was growing up in America in the 1950's and '60s, one of the things that made me most proud to be an American was what the Statue of Liberty represented.  A symbol to the world of the freedom from tyranny and oppression that was waiting for them here in America, the land of the free and the brave.

Patriotism is defined as devoted love, support, and defense of,  and loyalty to,  one's country.  As much as anything else the Statue of Liberty, and what it stood for, was a source of my patriotism.  Because of what the lady with the torch represented I was proud of my country and proud to call myself an American.

But now we have a President who has vowed to turn away the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.  The homeless refugees from the war torn middle east, innocent victims of oppressive regimes, radical terrorism, and religious conflict, many with nowhere to turn.   Instead of being the shining beacon offering refuge America is now to become just another oppressor to those seeking refuge from the darkness of despair.   This is such a stark change from the America that was built, in great part, by those who came before to seek a better life.

Yes, I understand that things are different now.  I understand the argument that some of the people who come might be terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. But, how many more terrorists are we going to create by turning every Muslim away?  How many more terrorists are we going to create by adding each Muslim's name to a registry?  How many more terrorists are we going to create by the ethnic profiling of Muslims?  How many more terrorists are we going to make due to Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric giving carte blanche to every racist xenophobe across the land to harass, physically attack,  damage property, and all around abuse the many Muslim citizens who have had to endure these things in recent months?

The Bible says, in Levitcus 19:33-34, “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.  You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself....",  yet it is the members of the conservative "Christian" movement who seem to be so fervently supportive of Trump, including his plans to discriminate against people of Muslim faith.  I have come to the firm belief that, for the conservative "Christians", whatever is in the Bible is good, so long as it supports Republican party ideology.  If it doesn't, then it is best to ignore it.

I am retired from my 40 year career as an educator, but I now work at a "retirement job" at a test center where  people come to take examinations to certify or be licensed in various professional careers and areas of specialization.  Some of the people who come to test at the center are Muslim.  I have found them to be gracious, polite and respectful.  Wonderful people.  In turn I always try to make their experience at the center a pleasant one, treating them the way that I would want to be treated if I were to be in their shoes.  I wonder how much more effective we, as Americans,  and as Christians,  would be in stopping terrorism if we made it our priority to treat our Muslim brothers and sisters, especially those huddled masses yearning to breathe free,  with love and respect, welcoming them and providing for them the way that we would want someone to do for us if we were in their shoes.

Just maybe, that might be one of the ways that we really could Make America Great Again!