Perspective: Fear
During what can easily be defined as the most politically "toxic" social climate America has seen since the civil rights movement of the 1960's (or perhaps even the civil war) it has become increasingly difficult to determine (for oneself) exactly what tidbit of news is 'fake' or real, but also resulting from some triggered victimhood for which the perpetually offended should probably just suck it up and shut the F- up. If you're nodding your head then you know of what I speak. People are increasingly offended by anything that does not resemble their particular worldview, without realizing the reality of why diversity of thought is a good thing. They want ethnic diversity, but not ideological diversity, do they not remember the lessons of the past? The monolith for which they long is not unlike the monolithic ideologies that were promoted by Stalin, Mao, Hitler, among others. That aside, we (those that see this all as a problem) are still bewildered by those that seem to make it a hobby, or even a career, out of being offended -presumably by those things that are counter to their ideology, but sometimes this extends to simple, regular things that simply exist. It is worth stating, so that it is out in the open, that there is an increasing multitude of individuals that are on the watch for anything that they could latch onto so that they can claim victimhood.
There's a sub-culture on the look-out for potential tragedy bandwagon they can hop onto, and as it is said, 'let no tragedy go to waste'.
With that being sad, our leaders and the corporate media have figured this out, and more than ever they are playing upon our fears, or even those pseudo-fears outlined above. The Left will claim that the Right is going to reverse the progress made on woman's equality, marriage equality, and racial equality, while the Right will claim that the Left is coming for their guns and their Bibles.
To the right: Yeah, some on the left (perhaps many, Beto, Biden) want to get rifles (ironically not handguns which are responsible for over 90% of gun-homicides) out of your hands, and if you gave up bibles that'd be nice too, but no one is gunning (pun intended) for your bibles. Yet. To the Left: most people on the right could give a crap about marriage equality, and none are working to return Jim Crow or make any changes about gender equality. Especially the current POTUS, D.J.T is and always has been a moderate and for a very long time a democrat. But these parties cannot make themselves relevant if we are not afraid of something bad happening. The pitch is quite simple, 'something bad is going to happen, and only I can fix it'. It is really, very, basic... and we all keep falling for it.
Most of the time it distracts us from more important things going on that we should be more alarmed about as they have a much more significant impact on our lives that whether a trans-female person should or shouldn't wear tampons.
Recently I have heard and read many media sources talking about how constituents are scared, mostly about 'Trump's America'. The guy is a rude S.O.B. I will grant that, but he has hired more women into positions of power than most of his predecessors, has stated that marriage equality is a done thing the law has been made, and under this abrasive president minority workers are doing better comparably than they have under any president before him. Those are just the facts. I'm sure he's a despicable person, but we don't hire the president to be a 'nice guy' or gal.. we hire him to get shit done.
So how does the Trumpster rank in that department? In October of 2016 the DOW was very "Meh" at close to 16k, when DJT won it jumped to over 18k... he had not even taken office yet. By the time he was sworn in the DOW was in the 20k ballpark and within a year it was over 23k and unemployment was swiftly declining... and it still is. The DOW is now over 26k, and when there is a bad week (and still over 26k) the Dems cry wolf, or more accurately "Orange Man bad".
I recently took a deeper look at the China-trade-war that Trump is waging to try and better understand what is driving this. China was nobody economically before 1980, but since they opened up their markets Western Nations have been eager to use them, both for the cheap manufacturing offered, and to try and show communists the value of capitalism. So trade has been very lop-sided, and now China has surpassed the US in many economic metrics as a direct result of this policy of 'business as usual'. Previous presidents could see what needed to be done, but they were beholden to special interests where Trump is not -at least where this is all concerned. What he is actually trying to do is what needs to be done to keep America on top, which is where we all want to be whether we realize it or not.
The left can only fear-monger our economy if we remain ignorant and allow it. The Right cannot take away the rights that so many have fought for, the only thing that they might actually be able to accomplish is to overturn Roe V Wade, in which case the protections for abortion rights would go to each state... as a republic should function on such matters. So while Georgians and Alabamans might lose abortion privileges, states like NY and Illinois will gladly service them... so, even if successful the far Right can only make this 'right' a minor issue. Don't buy the fear-mongering.
At present some politicians are scare-mongering economic concerns despite the successes we are experiencing. There is and has been an increasing gap or chasm between the rich and the poor, but no party can say they are innocent in this respect. The left cannot defend the negative economic impacts of institutionalized welfare and corporate persecution. The Right isn't innocent either, but at least it is their standard of low-regulation, free markets work even if they don't always stick to it.
So what should we be afraid of? What should actually matter this presidential go'round? How about war? I am actually not very critical of Trump in this respect... he counters Teddy Roosevelt's "speak softly and carry a big stick" with something more like; "talk a lot of shit and keep them guessing about whether or not you might whack them with the whole tree..." Which seems to be keeping the cautious nations in a tread lightly stance, but not the zealots. Maybe it is a sort of litmus test to determine who we can work with and who we need to f-up? We can only guess.
On the democratic side of the binary political system that we seem to be made to suffer, there is only one who's national security stance appears to respect the lives of our servicemen and service women and that is Tulsi Gabbard. While she is a current member of congress, she is still a long-shot, but I have a hard time defining why that is, other than the establishment DNC can't control her and doesn't like her. But here's a thought, she isn't playing upon people's fears as most of the rest of the field is. She is different. Trump was different for the RNC in 2016, maybe America is still looking for a change (real change) politician. I have also recently been surprised by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and yeah my two favorites for the Dems are women with Yang at a distant third, so sorry to deny any claim that because I don't hate Trump that I'm a sexist or a racist.
While some might focus on immigration, or marriage equality, candidates like Tulsi are focused on life and death, the ugliness of war... shit that really matters. I don't agree with her on everything ($15 min wage, among them), but the shit that really matters has more to do with American soldiers shooting at other people, directing drone strikes, or air strikes with collateral damage in places that we really have no business interfering
The question becomes what is moral and which threats to us are appropriate to fear? When I think about the consequences of affluent people clubbing and engaging in flagrant promiscuity which results in an unwanted pregnancy, versus, soldiers in some foreign land fighting for the profits of the military industrial complex, oil, and central banking... I feel like maybe you all should stay home, keep your pants on, and STFU... other matters involve people being blown up for profit.
So let us put a few things into perspective... what should we really be afraid of???
~peace~
There's a sub-culture on the look-out for potential tragedy bandwagon they can hop onto, and as it is said, 'let no tragedy go to waste'.
With that being sad, our leaders and the corporate media have figured this out, and more than ever they are playing upon our fears, or even those pseudo-fears outlined above. The Left will claim that the Right is going to reverse the progress made on woman's equality, marriage equality, and racial equality, while the Right will claim that the Left is coming for their guns and their Bibles.
To the right: Yeah, some on the left (perhaps many, Beto, Biden) want to get rifles (ironically not handguns which are responsible for over 90% of gun-homicides) out of your hands, and if you gave up bibles that'd be nice too, but no one is gunning (pun intended) for your bibles. Yet. To the Left: most people on the right could give a crap about marriage equality, and none are working to return Jim Crow or make any changes about gender equality. Especially the current POTUS, D.J.T is and always has been a moderate and for a very long time a democrat. But these parties cannot make themselves relevant if we are not afraid of something bad happening. The pitch is quite simple, 'something bad is going to happen, and only I can fix it'. It is really, very, basic... and we all keep falling for it.
Most of the time it distracts us from more important things going on that we should be more alarmed about as they have a much more significant impact on our lives that whether a trans-female person should or shouldn't wear tampons.
Recently I have heard and read many media sources talking about how constituents are scared, mostly about 'Trump's America'. The guy is a rude S.O.B. I will grant that, but he has hired more women into positions of power than most of his predecessors, has stated that marriage equality is a done thing the law has been made, and under this abrasive president minority workers are doing better comparably than they have under any president before him. Those are just the facts. I'm sure he's a despicable person, but we don't hire the president to be a 'nice guy' or gal.. we hire him to get shit done.
So how does the Trumpster rank in that department? In October of 2016 the DOW was very "Meh" at close to 16k, when DJT won it jumped to over 18k... he had not even taken office yet. By the time he was sworn in the DOW was in the 20k ballpark and within a year it was over 23k and unemployment was swiftly declining... and it still is. The DOW is now over 26k, and when there is a bad week (and still over 26k) the Dems cry wolf, or more accurately "Orange Man bad".
I recently took a deeper look at the China-trade-war that Trump is waging to try and better understand what is driving this. China was nobody economically before 1980, but since they opened up their markets Western Nations have been eager to use them, both for the cheap manufacturing offered, and to try and show communists the value of capitalism. So trade has been very lop-sided, and now China has surpassed the US in many economic metrics as a direct result of this policy of 'business as usual'. Previous presidents could see what needed to be done, but they were beholden to special interests where Trump is not -at least where this is all concerned. What he is actually trying to do is what needs to be done to keep America on top, which is where we all want to be whether we realize it or not.
The left can only fear-monger our economy if we remain ignorant and allow it. The Right cannot take away the rights that so many have fought for, the only thing that they might actually be able to accomplish is to overturn Roe V Wade, in which case the protections for abortion rights would go to each state... as a republic should function on such matters. So while Georgians and Alabamans might lose abortion privileges, states like NY and Illinois will gladly service them... so, even if successful the far Right can only make this 'right' a minor issue. Don't buy the fear-mongering.
At present some politicians are scare-mongering economic concerns despite the successes we are experiencing. There is and has been an increasing gap or chasm between the rich and the poor, but no party can say they are innocent in this respect. The left cannot defend the negative economic impacts of institutionalized welfare and corporate persecution. The Right isn't innocent either, but at least it is their standard of low-regulation, free markets work even if they don't always stick to it.
So what should we be afraid of? What should actually matter this presidential go'round? How about war? I am actually not very critical of Trump in this respect... he counters Teddy Roosevelt's "speak softly and carry a big stick" with something more like; "talk a lot of shit and keep them guessing about whether or not you might whack them with the whole tree..." Which seems to be keeping the cautious nations in a tread lightly stance, but not the zealots. Maybe it is a sort of litmus test to determine who we can work with and who we need to f-up? We can only guess.
On the democratic side of the binary political system that we seem to be made to suffer, there is only one who's national security stance appears to respect the lives of our servicemen and service women and that is Tulsi Gabbard. While she is a current member of congress, she is still a long-shot, but I have a hard time defining why that is, other than the establishment DNC can't control her and doesn't like her. But here's a thought, she isn't playing upon people's fears as most of the rest of the field is. She is different. Trump was different for the RNC in 2016, maybe America is still looking for a change (real change) politician. I have also recently been surprised by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and yeah my two favorites for the Dems are women with Yang at a distant third, so sorry to deny any claim that because I don't hate Trump that I'm a sexist or a racist.
While some might focus on immigration, or marriage equality, candidates like Tulsi are focused on life and death, the ugliness of war... shit that really matters. I don't agree with her on everything ($15 min wage, among them), but the shit that really matters has more to do with American soldiers shooting at other people, directing drone strikes, or air strikes with collateral damage in places that we really have no business interfering
The question becomes what is moral and which threats to us are appropriate to fear? When I think about the consequences of affluent people clubbing and engaging in flagrant promiscuity which results in an unwanted pregnancy, versus, soldiers in some foreign land fighting for the profits of the military industrial complex, oil, and central banking... I feel like maybe you all should stay home, keep your pants on, and STFU... other matters involve people being blown up for profit.
So let us put a few things into perspective... what should we really be afraid of???
~peace~
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-J