As of July 4th, 2019, The United States of America will have celebrated its 243rd Independence Day, after rising victorious in its emancipation from the British Monarchy in the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 4th, 1776 by the Continental Congress.
With the next United States Presidential Election 17 months away, it frightens me to think about what We The People have at stake right along with it.
It's a scary proposition when you think about the potential threat to the future of our Democracy, the health and welfare of the American people, the Human Rights violations being committed against innocent children at the Mexican border, how we've never been so incredibly close to a nuclear holocaust, the war on Women's Rights and their Right to Choose, the Civil Rights violations against People of Color and the LGBTQ Community, the war on Climate Change and Global Warming, the battle for stricter Gun Control Laws, and the list goes on and on.
I'm very proud of the fact that I'm a Liberal. I've been labeled every variation there is; Liberal, Liberal Democrat, Liberal Progressive, Progressive, Progressive Democrat, and Democrat. Now you know where I stand politically and now you also know that I care less about a label, and more about the issues.
Coming out of another Independence Day, I knew our founding fathers would look at the state of the Union with horrified expressions on their faces. They wanted to protect the American people and give every citizen an equal chance to live their dream, no matter how big, or small.
Just imagine being the ghosts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and every other man who orchestrated the American Revolution. ‘All men are created equal.’ Those are the words of Thomas Jefferson, but are we ALL afforded that right, or is there a systematic effort to make it impossible for some?
The scales have always been lopsided, but never before have I witnessed (In my lifetime) a level of unrest and inequality in the world like there is today.
It makes me want to discuss the very things that are not only sparking an insane amount of activism from every part of the globe, but they are also on the front lines of what's going to matter to the American people in the coming United States Presidential Election on November 3rd, 2020.
(((Note: I will discuss each issue further in depth, in future posts.)))
1. Nuclear Holocaust/WW3
When I started therapy more than 8 years ago, one of the things I did was unravel a mass of irrational paranoia. It was like a ball of yarn that had a run-in with a herd of cats in a catnip garden.
As I dug deeper psychologically, I kept finding more and more paranoia, one thing after another.
The one thing that has by far withstood the test of time and haunted me the longest is my paranoia of the end of the world. Nuclear War would effectively obliterate any trace of any life of any kind. Gone. Never to be seen or heard from again.
Just look around yourself and think about everything in your life that matters to you. Family, friends, music, a car, a certain smell, the way your kids smile when they genuinely find you funny, the softness of your pet's ears, the way your body sinks into bed after a LONG day, or is it the coolness of the other side of the pillow?
What matters the most to you?
I worry about this every single day of my life.
Fact: I've never worried more about it. Not until Trump was installed by the Electoral College after our election was hacked by Russia.
The fact remains that as long as there is a global nuclear arms race going on, there will always be a threat of a nuclear holocaust. The reality of which, without life, much less human life on this godforsaken planet, none of the other issues matter. Not as far as I'm concerned.
While the United States and Russia lead the world in nuclear weapons, they are followed by Iran, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Israel, China, North Korea, the Netherlands, the United kingdom, Germany, and France.
As a Liberal, I have a certain point of view, but I also have the ability to see and hear something, apply logic, and come to my own conclusion.
When we are living in a country where our leader is effectively alienating our allies all over the world, we can't even count on a lack of hostility from either one of them. Not until the damage done by Trump is cleaned up with the restoration of proper diplomacy.
When you add in the state of the Middle East, more volatile than ever before, the likelihood of nuclear war grows and grows.
But I'm not finished …
Do we actually want someone as petulant, vicious, and racist as Donald Trump to have THAT red button within reaching distance of his index finger? No. The very thought of it frightens me to the bone.
I am fairly certain that WW3 will be a Nuclear Holocaust, because that's the next level of warfare that has yet to see the light of day. It's terrifying to think about the possibility of Hiroshima looking like an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
2. Absence of Separation of Church and State
This is quite possibly the biggest threat in general to “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It is such a detriment, it could lead the land of opportunity straight into the land of Totalitarianism.
It's extremely frightening for those of us who take seriously the words of The Constitution and in particular, the First Amendment.
It is very clear about Freedom of Religion, ALL religion. Along my travels through the world of politics, I've noticed a lot of Christians thinking Christianity takes precedence over all others because our founding fathers were Christians themselves.
As a result of the blurring of a very thick line, we now have over-zealous Evangelical lawmakers and people in power, writing and passing laws based on their religion and the contents of the Bible.
According to the Census Bureau, there is an estimated 329.2 Million people currently living in the United States of America. Christianity in all of its incarnations, makes up ¾ of the population, which is probably the number one reason a majority of them walk around with a superiority complex, judgment fingers at the ready.
They hold the religious majority.
We could talk about Islam, Judaism, Wicca, Buddhism, Atheism, Mormonism, and every other religious group out there, but it's the Christian Evangelicals who are bypassing decisions made by the Supreme Court of The United States, at the state level, violating the Constitution and law of the land.
From the Fetal Heartbeat Bill that's been passed in 11 States, virtually nullifying Roe V. Wade, to the effort to repeal the Marriage Equality Act and the Affordable Healthcare Act, now more than ever, we must remain vigilant.
The scariest part of all of it is having a President who couldn't be a faker Christian if he tried. He also happens to enjoy his manipulation and control over the Christian community because of the people he surrounds himself with and his policy views, along with his keen ability to feed their paranoia while he stokes their fears.
Some members of Christianity are so entrenched within their delusion, they believe he's the second coming of Christ. (You all wouldn't believe some of the outrageous and bat-shit things I’ve read on the internet.) Others believe God put him in the Oval Office to be the catalyst to usher in the second coming.
Some Christians (Fewer and further between), who aren't wearing rose colored glasses, believe he's a lying, petulant, fraudulent, criminal, con artist, and POS who belongs in prison. The only thing at the ready, a tin can to jingle those blues with.
3. Trump and his Dictator Pajama Party
I do intend to write an entire post about the complete catastrophe that is Donald J. Trump, but right now, and for anyone who pays attention, they are already going through the list of reasons in their heads, without any help from me.
Per the intent of this post, the one thing I want to address is his fondness for dictators.
Three in particular.
Kim Jong Un of North Korea
First of all, the lunatic is so far off of his rocker, it's amazing to think people actually worship him, in the same sick way Bashir Al Assad is worshipped by his own people. (The ones he isn't attacking with chemical weapons). I sometimes scratch and shake out my head because it's so incredibly perplexing to me that he says he doesn't have a heiney hole and no one blinks an eyelash. I mean, do they actually believe it, or are they all silenced by fear?
I remember watching an episode of Vice on HBO and one of the reporters was being escorted around North Korea. I remember how bizarre it was when they were standing inside of a room filled with desks and people sitting, just staring at blank computer screens as they ‘surfed the web’. Then you think about all of the fake storefronts and all of the facades to create an illusion of something that never was, or is. Add to all of this the insane propaganda and recent advancements in nuclear capabilities. What the rest of the planet ends up with is an unstable and volatile powder keg just waiting for that one spark.
The idea that someone like Donald Trump can broker a peace treaty with Un is as imbecilic as Trump himself.
Vladimir Putin of Russia
I know I can't be the only person who looks at this Bromance with utter disdain, but we really can't be shocked by it either, though.
Think about it.
Vlad is EVERYTHING Trump wants to be.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Putin’s power is the only thing that man prays to Satan for before bed. It sickens me how happy the two of them get whenever they see each other. It reminds me of television fantasies involving two people merrily skipping towards each other from opposite ends of a huge sunny meadow, arms stretched out as far as possible.
What's interesting is how he won't dare speak badly about him. Even after it was revealed by the Steele Dossier and later confirmed by our highest intelligence agencies; FBI, CIA, etc., that the 2016 Presidential Election and our Democracy were in fact, attacked by Russia.
After all of that, Trump refuses to utter a single word of criticism and continuously pins Russia's responsibility on Democrats, when at the time of the election, Republicans had complete control of Congress.
As a result of Trump's failure to call Vlad out and force him to answer for his crimes against the American people, we get the joy of worrying about it happening again and again and again and again.
Oh and, Deutsche Bank, anyone?
Mohammad bin Salman (Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia)
Let me start by saying that 15 of the 19 terrorists who perpetrated the attacks on the World Trade Center in Downtown Manhattan on 9-11-2001, came from Saudi Arabia. I find this fact both interesting and curious when you think about how many of Trump's supporters love to fall back on that tragedy when anyone confronts them regarding his ban on Muslims entering the country, much less the way he and his shrinking base talks about Muslims in general.
Even more interesting, Saudi Arabia is nowhere to be found on his magical list of countries where terrorists are supposed to be coming from.
I wonder why ...
Could it be because of the Hundreds of Thousands of dollars spent by Saudi Arabia at Trump's hotel in Washington D.C.? The Millions of dollars in donations to his Inaugural Committee?
Can you imagine Trump, Un, Putin, and Salman alone in a room together? It would be the end of Democracy and the beginning of Panem.
In conclusion ...
ROCK THE VOTE!!!
November 3rd, 2020. Let your voice be heard and vote like our Democracy depends on it!!!
