"I Won't Forget This; Ever!"

"I won't forget this; ever!" my co-worker stated recently.  He had been a life long Republican.  A fan of Reagan, "One of the greatest ever! Other than Lincoln of course", and "Nixon, as wrong as he was for what he did, was the only one who could open China to the West."  He was for going into Iraq, but now realizes it was a mistake.  He is not a Compassionate Conservative, though he does have compassion when pressed.  He is a good man, and one of the smartest people I know.  He can give you a historical perspective on anything from the economy, to the California water system, and the water rights battles in early statehood.  But now he comes into my office on a daily basis and shakes his head, and wags his finger in in disgust.  And he blames you.

Yes you, his fellow Republicans.  You rubes!!!  I tried to explain to him that with a field of 17 candidates, all the sensible, semi-intelligent voters spread their votes out among many, and the radicals, those that are vulnerable to cult like followings, went for the cult leader Trump.  He almost spits in my face when I try to tell him intelligent people voted for Trump.

But what makes him more angry, angrier than the rubes that voted for the moronic Cult Leader, is the Republican Congress and their lack of a spine to face reality, to stand up and speak to truth, and to call the idiot out. I tell him they may be worried about the cult following base that Trump has.  Or it could be a long term strategy. They know he will hang himself, and so are trying to walk the line of appeasing the cult followers, and when he finally slips the noose around his own neck; that moment when he will be so exposed as a traitor, a thief and a liar that even the cult followers abandon him, they will turn on him and kick the crate out from underneath him.  They will all get behind Pence, and claim America is saved.

We both agree that this is an absolutely idiotic strategy.  the GOP has made it's bed. Most have shown that they put party before country, and that their every action is only for their own benefit, not the country's and not their constituents.  They are catching their own house on fire, and then will claim to be the fire truck that comes to save the day. They are wrong.

There are millions of Republican and Independent constituents that won't buy it.  They will remain angry and the won't forget this..........EVER!

The Cult of Trumpism

Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” .... Voltaire

Getty Images/Stock photo

Order of the Solar Temple; The Branch Dividians; The Unification Church, (Moonies); Aum Shinrikyo; The People’s Temple (Jim Jones); Heaven’s Gate; Scientology; ISIS, Al Queda; Trumpism.  Yes, these are all cults.

By definition, “A system of veneration and devotion directed towards a particular person or object” or “A misplaced or excessive admiration of a particular person or thing” Trumpism fits that mold, and is just as dangerous as any of the afore mentioned cults.

Additionally, a cult has these characteristics: (From Adrian Furnam, Ph.D. in Psychology Today, 2/24/2014. note that this was long before the elections.)

• Powerful and exclusive dedication/devotion to an explicit person or creed.(he can admit to grabing a woman by the pussy, and yet his followers don’t care, the creeds: Make America Great Again, Drain The Swamp)
• Cults nearly always go in for milieu control signals: a different,unfamiliar setting with different rules, terms, behaviour patterns. (Drain The Swamp)
• Cults insist on reprogramming the way people see the world. (“Fake Media, NATO is obsolete, Liberal Democracy is defunct)
• The use of “thought-reform” programs to integrate, socialize, persuade and therefore control members. (Rapid increase in crime, Massive unemployment, Immigrants are dangerous, thousands of Muslims celebrated in the streets of New Jersey on 911)

Other signs to consider that you are actually acting as you were in a cult would be:

• All your friends believe just like you do.  Now when we talk politics, this is quite common.  Political thought tends to group with like minded political thought. But today we see a radicalization of this.
• Nobody Questions authority.  Don’t anybody dare question Trump.  To his supporters, he is doing no wrong, he is on the right track.  Perhaps he should quiet his Twitter activity, but no matter what he says, in the White House, or in public, it is gospel….even when they can’t agree on what he actually said.
• The source of authority is vested in one person.  Just ask him.  He will fire anybody who speaks out against him, and the Cabinet and his advisors stand by that.
• Secrecy and excommunication.  The media doesn’t need to know what we are doing. Many of the policy actions are done behind the media's back, and they have been excommunicated in many ways. Defiled, berated, and ostracized.

People who succumb to the cult, stop critical thinking altogether, and ignore danger signs as they slap them in the face.  But let’s not forget that very intelligent people join cults.  Very intelligent people voted, and still support Trump.  How can we explain this? Why would someone who is paying even the least bit of attention still think Trump will , “ “Make America Great Again” and is doing a good job? Any mention of his failings are met with vitriolic anger, sometimes violence.

Cults gain prominence by convincing individuals to eliminate critical thinking. According to Dr. Furnam, they introduce a “sacred creed” (See MAGA, and Drain The Swamp, America First). Cults “deliberately induce powerful emotions like fear…. but also pride”. America First! “Stop the Muslims coming in...they’re dangerous and will commit acts of terrorism.”

So what is Trumpism offering that is so appealing to masses of people? The same thing cults offer; Friendship, identity and security. Many people are more than happy to trade their liberty for the illusory security that is promised.

Dr. Furnam says that: “Extreme groups offer simple, clear messages in an increasingly complex world. Old certainties are crumbling; ethics even science is portrayed as having only relative truths. The world is corrupt, evil, unfair and very complex. So a group or leader who offers a "sensible, sane" explanation for the complex world…is very attractive”.

  We are witnessing a man, if looked at with reason, is diminishing our standing in the world by belittling other nations, their leaders, and the organizations that have kept countries from war, since the 1945. NATO is obsolete, old allies are now idiots.  The Liberal Democracy of Europe that has prevent additional world wars, is, according to Trumpism, only taking away freedoms of the common man. Everything that we have come to know, through science, political thought, and the social and economic sciences is too complex and needs to be dispelled.and yet people still believe he is doing good things for America. Big League!

Smart people have fallen for Trumpism and what he offers. But on behalf of the majority of United States Citizens, I quote this from an unnamed source on social media immediately after the election:

“I am not mad at you that Clinton lost. I am unconcerned that we have different politics. And I don’t think less of you because you vote one way and I vote another. No...I think less of you because you watched an adult mock a disabled person in front of a crowd and still supported him. I think less of you because you saw a man spouting clear racism and back him. I think less of you because you listened to him advocate for war crimes, and still thought he should run this country.  I think less of you because you watched him equate a woman’s worth to her appearance and got on board. It isn’t your politics that I find repulsive. It is your personal willingness to support racism, sexism, and cruelty. You sided with a bully when it mattered and that is something I will never forget. So, no….you and I won’t be “coming together” to move forward or whatever. Trump disgusts me, but it is the fact that he doesn’t disgust you that will stick with me long after this.”

In other words, you go on with your cult following. I can do nothing to save you. I can only hope that someday, you will decide to no longer be brainwashed. I chose to keep my sensibilities, and sense of reason and critical thinking, and not fall into the Cult of Trumpism.

Its Time For Hillary To Retire.....

Madame Secretary,

We’ve seen Hillary make a couple of public appearances since losing the election, and in one of those appearances, she readily put the blame of her loss on James Comey.  While saying she took some responsibility, the brunt of the blame was on James Comey's actions, rather than hers. Was that an attempt to remain in the public eye? To test the waters for some future public office?  Only she, and her close confidants can know.

It very well could be argued that Mr. Comey had as much impact, if not more, on the elections as the Russian meddling. But the fact remains, rightly or wrongly, Hillary Clinton did not win this past election, nor will she ever have the opportunity to win a future presidential election…..or, at this point, quite likely even a congressional election.

Hillary’s brand is flawed.  I say that with the utmost respect for Madam Secretary.  And I say that knowing that if the populace had spent one tenth of the time actually trying to find out the truth to the multiple scandals appointed to her, as they did spreading the misinformation, her brand would be elevated far higher.  But it is impossible at this point to force the masses to actually educate themselves on truth.  Be it Whitewater, Vince Foster, The Clinton foundation or Benghazi, the misinformation that is entrenched in the popular mindset simply can’t be overcome.

If you still think Hillary Clinton a criminal, after investigating all of the scandals associated with her, the least you can say is that she is a far more capable criminal than that one Donald J. Trump.  After all, she has evaded prosecution for over 30 years. But, she just doesn’t have the charisma to overcome that mindset.

All that being said, Secretary Clinton should now retire.  She has served her country as First lady, Senator, and Secretary of State.  She has fought the battles she believed in her whole life.  After all that,  she has an incredible foundation of which she can devote her time to.  A foundation, while broiled in controversy during the election, still has saved many lives, and continues to do so.  She can still influence world leaders, she can still garner donations from the world’s oligarchs, and she can still work to save lives.  But what she can no longer do, is serve the public as a public official.  She did her part. I tip my hat and thank her for her service. I worked on her campaign, I donated, and voted for her, but now I must say, for the betterment of the party; for the betterment of the country…...adieu!

Why You Should Not Use Your Electoral College Vote For Donald Trump

I wrote this letter and sent it to each red state Elector stating their responsibility to our Democracy. Contact information for them can be found here.

You, being a community leader, with intelligence, honor, and a duty to your country, hold in your hand, the very tool that our founding fathers gave to you.  They gave you this tool for a very specific reason.  They, in their great wisdom, set up the system in which we have lived for over 200 years, in order to keep our Democracy alive and well by keeping it out of the hands of populist demagogues.

Our country has not come face to face with that specific reason.....until now.  If you have not already heard this quote from Alexander Hamilton, one of the architects of the Electoral College, I present to you here:

“…the office of president will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”

We are now in a time in which this disaster is eminent, but for you. We need not debate the demerits of Mr. Donald J. Trump and his lack of qualifications to hold the office of President.  You, I am sure, are aware of his demeanor, his recklessness, and his lack of aptitude to hold this office. You, as an esteemed Elector, guardian of our democracy, must look deep into your soul, and know that this is a time of action.  The fact that we have never been through this before, does not relinquish your current responsibility to act now to do your part in keeping a populist demagogue out of office.

We need not worry of the riotous consequences should you not give Donald Trump enough votes, for Congress can very well maintain his selection, there-by appeasing those masses.  At the same time, this communicates to Trump, that his is not a mandate as he has stated, but puts him more at the mercy of those responsible for his election, those smarter than he.

The consequences of resistance to fulfilling your obligation as an Elector, may well be The abolishment of this one last protection, should you not prove it’s worth.

We Don't Listen Anymore; Now We Are Paying For It.

Many sit in disbelief, and remain in shock of Tuesdays results and ask how and why.  They ask themselves how can America be this stupid, this racist, this divided?

At the same time, there are many people, good people, hardworking people, people who share the same exact values as those others, who sit in relief and celebrate.  

Pisha! my liberal friends say.  Well then ask yourself this…..Do you think every Muslim is a terrorist?  No? How about a majority? No again, right? Then how can you say that every Trump supporter is a racist?  Or even a majority of them are? You can’t, because many of them are the same people who not only put our first African American in office, but re-elected him.  Many of them are of Latino descent, and many of them are black. More of those two groups voted for Trump, than did Mitt Romney. That is an indisputable  fact.

So how can this be?  As we sift through the autopsy of this election, talking heads are asking that same question over and over again.

The answer is simple really.  We don’t listen. We heard different things from each of the candidates.  We heard what we wanted, and ignored, or didn’t believe what we chose not to.  And that is the problem with our society today.  We don’t hear each other. We don’t ask questions, and all we want to do is vomit our own points, either with memes or platitudes.

Insert Platitude Here…..

I know many wonderful people who didn’t hear what Clinton supporters heard.  They didn’t hear the attacks on women, they didn’t hear the attacks on minorities, they didn’t hear the attacks on the disabled.  And Clinton supporters didn’t hear the pain and struggles people feel, they chose not to hear the lack of empathy of the Democratic Party, they chose to hear only the big philosophies. They didn't hear the anger, and they didn't hear the lack of trust in their candidate.

We are all guilty of pulling out the tidbits to make our argument.  We need to start listening and learning to use the steps of listening, which means paying attention, be interested in what the other person is saying, ask questions, and be aware of your own opinions and how that might affect how you are interpreting what that other person is saying.

All of this is difficult when the only way we communicate now, is through Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and other social media formats.  But we must.

This is the only way we can end the divisiveness, it is the only way we can rebuild, and it is the only way we can continue.

The Bright Side Of A Nightmare!

After having woken up this morning, my eyes opened to the realization that last night was not, in fact, just a nightmare, but a cold, dark reality. The reality that hits you square in the face like the sliding glass door you ran into full force thinking it was open and knocking you on your ass kind of reality.

I walked through the house in the same daze as I processed 4 of the  Kubler Ross 5 stages of grief; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, and Depression. Acceptance, the 5th stage of grief, didn’t come until I stepped into the office this morning, having listened to the news in a daze and shedding tears as I drove through the morning commute. It was raining and I told myself even God was crying.  But as I finally came into work, trying to muscle through the grind of doing what I do, attempting with all my might to smile at those I didn’t know in order not to show the disappointment and misery I felt, I came to an epiphany…. Things always seem worse at the outset, than they really are.

I will not deny that this is a disaster, and the imagination runs wild on how much of a disaster that it can actually become.  But that is the point…imaginations run wild. And in retrospect, one can also imagine what would have happened had Hillary Clinton won the election:

In my imagination, I see pitchfork and torch carriers rioting; I see the already incredible growth of militia participants increasing substantially; and I see massive gridlock for another 4 years of bi-partisan hatred and vehemence.   

My Sister-in-law, who is always that calming voice in the raging tempest pointed out, that if Hillary were elected, she would have been faced with the same obstructionist strategy from a Republican Congress in both houses, that Obama has faced for so many years.  In addition to that, she would have faced, and been embattled with, a partisan politik calling for more hearings and investigations.  It would have been never-ending, and our country would have seen more conflict and turmoil.

She also mentioned the same scenario that my wild imagination had envisioned and mentioned above. Had Hillary won, there would have been the uproar of all those constituents who vowed to raise pitchforks and torches.  Already through the Obama administration, we have seen a massive increase in militia groups from just 149 such groups in 2008, to over 1,400 in 2014.  She reminded me that at least with the win of Donald Trump, the pitchforks and torches crowd, along with the  militias, may now calm down, no longer in fear that their guns will be taken away. There are two ways to quash riotous crowds; smash them with the force of superior forces, or let them settle.  Muddy water does not clear up by shaking the bucket, but by putting the bucket down.  Yesterday, as much as many of us hate it, we put the bucket down, and now pray the waters clear.

As we contemplate the nightmare the majority of us woke up to, let us also remember that Donald Trump had been a Democrat far longer than he was a Republican.   What his actual policies will be, is left to be seen.  Even he said years ago, a leopard doesn’t change its stripes.  That is good and bad with President-Elect Trump, but let’s just remember that he has been liberal on some issues in his past and we can only hope that much of the rhetoric he spewed during the campaign, was simply to raise the pitchfork and torch carrying masses in his favor.

One issue that we can all agree with President-Elect Trump is that this country needs to rebuild the infrastructure.  That has been one of his actual policy issues that was coherent and straightforward.  The previous roadblock to that has been congress and its resistance to allocate the 500 Billion Dollars needed  to do that.  Mr. Trump has said he is the king of debt, and possibly he can convince congress into buying into that plan of allocating those monies to get it done.

So as many of us go through the 5 stages of grief, let this stage, the stage of acceptance, bring us to an optimistic light, and have faith in our country; a country that has been through so much, and far worse (hopefully) in its history, that there may be some bright sides to the election of Donald J. Trump. Otto Von Bismark was right, We can fuck things up pretty bad here in the United States, and yet, we will still be ok. thank God for providence......Optimism is the only way to survive tragedy.

Why People Like Me Aren't Standing On the Roof Shouting I'm Voting For Hillary, And Why She Will Win!

I am voting for Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I am proud to do so.  I do it with enthusiasm. I have even volunteered on the phones, calling to make sure others are for her as well.  But you won't see a sign in my yard, a sticker on my car, a t-shirt, or any indication in my life that I support Hillary.  Why is that?  Why do I not walk around proudly touting the principles of my candidate?

I will admit that some of it is that as a man, wearing an “I’m with her” t-shirt, just doesn’t seem like something a man would wear.  I know! That is so f’ng sexist, it is pitiful.  I am sorry, and I know it is something I need to work on.

Being a white man, I am told by the polls that I am a minority. I do know, however, that  there are plenty of white men out there, both college educated and non-college educated, that feel the same as I do.  Rather than the shy Trump supporter, I contend that the true shy voter, is the white male for Hillary.  I have not seen one shy Trump supporter…..ever. They are proud to plaster themselves all over TV with t-shirts and hats that are frankly….yes, I will say it…..deplorable.

I am brave enough though, to debate people at work, rest or play, on the merits of voting for Hillary, and how I feel that Donald J. Trump is not a candidate that is even remotely qualified to be president.  Fortunately, through the skills of debate I have learned over the years, I have been able to avoid heated arguments with just about everybody...except my mother. That one is tough.  But most people I know don’t really want to talk about it for fear of retribution, belittlement, or losing someone who would otherwise be a decent co-worker or neighbor.  It’s not worth it and we all simply don’t want to get into it.

I am sure that the disdain I have for Trump supporters is the same disdain they have for me. So, unless I know our friendship can handle this disagreement, I simply avoid the conversation. I think there are numerous friendships that have been lost this political season.  I have even boycotted my personal Facebook page for the last 6 months, to avoid those horrendous online battles and the outrage I feel when I see someone I had liked, an avid Trump supporter.

There are plenty of us who realize that 30 years of attacks from the right, and political hitmen hired by the right wing has led to a mindset and paradigm that the media has perpetuated over the years.  ( A side note here...One of those political hitmen against Hillary for years, now not only supports her, but also works for her) The hatred for Hillary that right wing talk shows and media have promoted is detestable. It has infiltrated a large portion of the populace. So we who have done our homework and realize it is all political rhetoric...Benghazi, emails, whitewater, many other conspiracies, including the murder of Vince Foster. We know we simply can’t overcome that vehemence, and don’t have the patience to deal with the idiocy. Each one of us knows the complete fallacy of the bullshit. None of us likes the fact that she has a reflexive tendency for secrecy, and how it helps perpetuate the rumors, but in light of what she has been through, we don’t blame her for it either.

That being said, all we have to do, is listen to Donald J. Trump to determine that he is a complete imbecile, and a constant and consistent liar. All we have to do is see that he is a fraud, is check on the facts of his life through verifiable and reputable sources. If the world could see his taxes, it would be proven to the world once again.

But I like my car, and I don’t want it keyed, or to promote road rage, because some yahoo thinks, since we don’t agree politically, he or she can cut me off, brake in front of me on purpose, or flip me off while on the road.  I have seen it happen too often during my commute. So no bumper sticker that says, “I’m with her” even though I am so in full force.

So I am that “shy” Hillary supporter, and there are millions out there like me. And come Tuesday, November 8, we will rise up in mass, and cast the ballot that will save this country from an oligarchic, misogynistic, populist totalitarian.