There is a new-plain-speaking approach at my blog and my
e-mails. See, for example, the post that was made after this one. Why the change? I have long been inspired by the quote below.
Our current crisis and potential future, has spurred me to action.
You may be familiar with this quote.
“
|
First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak
out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not
speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak
for me.”
|
Please read this article at Wikipedia re this quote. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...
I am not attempting to equate Trump and the far-right with
specific topic of this quote. The basic message would be the same, no matter
who or what the context.
Some people are rightly more focussed on surviving economically in a society with exreme dysfunctional economic disparity. However, too many people are ‘too busy,’ too afraid, too lacking in
appropriate values, stuck in their echo chambers, more concerned with their ideologies
or beliefs that basic concept of honesty, decency, morality, and the values of
America’s democracy and its constitution.
Perhaps they live in a world of individual or group delusion which
allows then to disregard reality. People
still deny the existence of the Holocaust, that protecting slavery was the main
motivation for secession which lead to the Civil War. People in Japan still blame the U.S. for
starting WWII in the Pacific.
Many
people wonder how Germany, one of the world’s greatest countries could have let
itself fall under the horrible sway of Hitler.
Hitler was not the only alternative the problems of Germany at the time. Too many people didn’t care, weren’t aware or
agreed with Hitler’s hatred of the Jews and his theory of Aryan Supremacy. The quote hints at the answer.
I am inspired by Niemoller’s
quote. I have long studied politics,
government, history, law and ideology, looking for insight and understanding. I care about this country and its people,
human values and constitutional rights.
I’m fed up with incompetent, unethical, lying and dissembling
politicians. I’m tired of government
employees with the same maladies. The
rise of “alternative facts, post-truth attitudes, echo chambers, political
polarization, smart phone obsession” and other factors have placed out
democracy and the values I hold dear in jeopardy. I, like many Americans find it increasingly
different to be proud of our country. We are a laughingstock among much of
educated Europe and its leaders. The
tragic worst-case example is the election and record of our current President,
Donald Trump. His Presidency is
unparallelled in American history. His
immaturity, impulsivity, disregard for the truth, lack of ethics makes some of
our worst Presidents look saintly by comparison. Never, in my lifetime have we seen such chaos
and continuing scandals. For instance, never
before has a former FBI Director labelled a President a liar. Never before has a President had his air-head
daughter a special advisor. Never before
has a President appointed so many unqualified, ideological driven, Cabinet,
advisors and officials. Steven Bannon is
a far-right ideologue far beyond belief.
He has made some good appointments (e.g. Neil Gorsuch) but overall the
record of appointments is abominable.
I have been following President’s
closely since LBJ, and have read extensively in American history written by
real history scholars (e.g. Eric Foner). IMHO, Trump is, by far, the worst President
in American history. We have not been in
such a divisive crisis since secession and the Civil War.
For me, it’s time to speak out! I have conscience. I care about humanistic
values, human beings, the rule of law, constitutional rights, our
Constitution. I am sick of irrational
ideologues who think only of themselves and their ideology.
Like art, equality is in the mind of the beholder. Some people want to create their own version of utopia, where they expect everyone to to obey their "social justice" rules. Other folks work with a world as it actually is, respecting "fair and balanced" natural rights. The balanced part means their are natural limitations. As you've mentioned, individual rights are not absolute. They must be tempered so as not to endanger the public. There is no right to threaten or commit violence against conservatives because they disagree with leftist or those of the anti-Trump movement. Be these obstructionist politicians, self-righteous MSM, and unhappy citizens. I wasn't happy with Bubba or Barry's terms. IMHO. their domestic and foreign polices often proved less than productive, if not downright damaging. This current elitist fed hatred of Mr. Trump isn't helping matters. He's not a smooth operator. But he is a practical decision maker. And that's why practical Americans, who live in the real world, voted for him. The same people who truly do believe in and support our country's Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution with its Bill of Rights.
ReplyDelete" ... balanced part means their [sic] are natural limitations." The battle of the automatic spell checker. I must have changed "their" to "there" several times. The published version came out as "their". Not my [sic].
ReplyDelete