"What we think, we become," Buddha - Now, About American Politics

The Cycle of Demonization: Perspectives on Self-Destruction and Identity

Buddha's insight, "What we think, we become," serves as a powerful lens through which to explore the corrosive cycle of demonization in contemporary political disourse.

When one group, such as the political right, engages in a campaign of inaccurate, inarticulate, and inexpert critique of the left—resorting to tactics like childish name-calling, a hallmark of their leader Donald Trump's branding—it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

America is actively experiencing a cultural and ethical conflict, where progressives/ liberals push forward into new cultural frontiers, championing innovation, inclusivity, and social transformation, perhaps without enough consideration for slower-to-change citizens.

Brief aside, Andy Borowitz, You are not alone: "...a welcome reminder that half the country did the right thing this election."

While, conservatives, like MaGA-GOP, demand the maintenance of traditional, often outmoded values, justifying leadership who prioritize perceived stability & ideological alignment while utterly ignoring broader societal progress.

This ongoing struggle shapes the nation's political, social, and cultural landscapes, revealing stark (and dark) differences in approaches to leadership, ethics, and cultural growth.

Regardless of one's orientation, the quality of leaders must be of primary concern.

This is being utterly ignored in the Trump MaGA-GOP faction, aligning more with America's enemies than our friends.

By channeling their energy into exaggeration and mischaracterization, they risk transforming into the very traits they falsely ascribe to their adversaries.

The Cycle of Demonization

When demonization becomes the primary mode of engagement, it fosters disrespect and dehumanization. Instead of critiquing ideas with precision and integrity, the act of mislabeling opponents—accusing them of hypocrisy, authoritarianism, or hatred—often reveals a failure to engage honestly. In time, this behavior cultivates in the accusers a mirror image of what they falsely attribute to others. Their rhetoric shifts from being a tool for communication to one for distortion, and they become entangled in the negativity they sow.

The Paradox of Projection

Psychology offers insight into this phenomenon through the concept of projection. Often, the traits we most vehemently criticize in others are ones we subconsciously recognize in ourselves. A political movement that attacks the left for being "tyrannical" or "intolerant" while engaging in censorship or dismissiveness may, in fact, highlight its own insecurities or unacknowledged flaws.

Disrespect as Transformation

Disrespect is a defining feature of this dynamic. When opponents are not treated as worthy of nuanced consideration, it degrades not only the dialogue but the moral compass of the critic. Disrespectful engagement—rooted in contempt and caricature—erodes empathy and narrows the scope of understanding. As a result, the critic loses sight of shared humanity and becomes ensnared in the ugliness of their own making.

Becoming the Ugliness

To demonize inaccurately is to distort reality, and to do so inarticulately is to abandon the tools of thoughtful reasoning. This process has a corrosive effect on character and discourse alike. Over time, those who wield disrespect as a weapon cannot help but absorb its poison. They descend into the very ugliness they once claimed to combat, illustrating the Buddha’s timeless wisdom.

The Path Forward

The antidote lies in re-centering dialogue on respect and truth. Instead of demonization, engage with compassion. Instead of mischaracterization, strive for understanding. By doing so, we not only preserve the integrity of our own character but also foster a healthier, more constructive political environment. In this way, we avoid becoming the monsters we fear and instead embody the ideals we wish to see in the world.

Psychology

From a psychological perspective, this behavior can be understood through several key concepts, including projection, groupthink, confirmation bias, and the scapegoat mechanism. Each sheds light on the underlying motivations and consequences of such behavior:

1. Projection

Projection is a defense mechanism first identified by Sigmund Freud, where individuals attribute their own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or traits to others. In this case, those engaging in name-calling or demonization might unconsciously recognize similar flaws or behaviors in themselves but displace those onto their opponents. For example, accusing the left of being authoritarian while advocating for restrictive policies may reflect an unacknowledged internal conflict or insecurity.

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2. Groupthink and Tribalism

This behavior often thrives in environments of groupthink, where a desire for conformity within a group suppresses critical thinking and promotes the vilification of "outsiders." The phenomenon of tribalism—an intense loyalty to one's own group—amplifies this dynamic. In such contexts, attacks on opponents become a way of strengthening group identity, even if those attacks are irrational or unfounded. This creates a reinforcing loop where criticism is not about truth but about signaling loyalty to the group.

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3. Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias drives individuals to seek out and accept information that supports their existing beliefs while rejecting information that contradicts them. Those engaging in demonization are often unwilling to engage with nuanced or opposing viewpoints, preferring oversimplified, exaggerated narratives that confirm their worldview. This selective thinking leads to further entrenchment and a distorted perception of their opponents.

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4. The Scapegoat Mechanism

René Girard’s theory of the scapegoat mechanism posits that societies and groups often channel collective anxieties or conflicts onto a scapegoat to maintain internal cohesion. In political contexts, demonizing "the other side" becomes a way to offload responsibility for societal issues. This not only deflects attention from internal shortcomings but also unites the group through shared opposition to an external "enemy."

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5. Cognitive Dissonance

When individuals hold conflicting beliefs or behaviors, they experience psychological discomfort known as cognitive dissonance. Demonizing others can be a way to resolve this tension by externalizing the conflict. For instance, if someone advocates for "freedom" while supporting restrictive policies, they might demonize their opponents as "tyrannical" to reconcile the inconsistency in their own stance.

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6. Erosion of Empathy

This behavior often signals a decline in empathy, as demonization involves dehumanizing the opponent. Psychologists recognize that dehumanization is a precursor to justifying harmful behavior against others, as it allows individuals to view their opponents not as people but as caricatures or symbols of perceived threat.

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Consequences

• Identity Shaping: As people project their flaws onto others and reinforce their narratives within echo chambers, they increasingly embody the traits they attribute to their opponents.
• Polarization: Demonization entrenches divisions, making constructive dialogue and compromise nearly impossible.
• Loss of Integrity: Focusing on false narratives and exaggerations undermines the moral and intellectual credibility of those engaging in such tactics.

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Remedies

Psychology suggests remedies like encouraging empathy, cultivating self-awareness, and promoting critical thinking to break these cycles. Engaging in dialogue, acknowledging shared humanity, and striving for accurate critiques can help counter the destructive effects of demonization.

Phenomenology

The phenomenological perspective examines the subjective, lived experience of individuals engaging in or affected by this behavior. It focuses on how such actions are experienced and understood from within the consciousness of those involved, rather than analyzing them as external phenomena. Here’s how this perspective applies:

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1. The Experience of Demonization

From the perspective of individuals engaging in demonization, their actions may be rooted in their felt sense of being right or righteous. They may experience their critiques not as distortions but as expressions of deeply held truths. This phenomenological reality is shaped by:

• Pre-reflective biases: The ways in which cultural, social, and ideological backgrounds shape their perceptions before conscious reflection.
• Sense of identity: Demonizing "the other" becomes a way to solidify one's sense of self or group belonging.

For those on the receiving end of demonization, the experience may be one of alienation and dehumanization, where they feel unseen as complex individuals and reduced to stereotypes. This can create a felt sense of frustration, anger, or even despair.

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2. The Role of Embodiment

Phenomenology emphasizes the role of embodiment in lived experience. For instance, engaging in demonization might involve visceral sensations—tension, anger, or exhilaration—experienced as bodily reinforcement of one's beliefs. Similarly, those demonized might experience physical manifestations of distress, such as a tight chest, racing thoughts, or an inability to focus, underscoring the embodied nature of these interactions.

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3. Intersubjectivity and the Breakdown of Shared Meaning

Phenomenology highlights the importance of intersubjectivity—the shared understanding that arises in human interactions. Demonization disrupts this process by reducing others to fixed categories, denying them the opportunity to be encountered as full, dynamic subjects. Instead of dialogue, there is monologue: one-sided declarations that fail to respect or truly acknowledge the other.

This results in a loss of shared meaning, where individuals or groups can no longer agree on basic realities. Each side perceives the other not just as wrong but as incomprehensibly alien, intensifying division.

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4. The Intentionality of Consciousness

Phenomenology views consciousness as inherently intentional—it is always directed toward something. When individuals focus their attention on demonizing others, their consciousness becomes structured around hostility, exaggeration, and distortion. This intentionality shapes their worldview, reinforcing negative perceptions and making it difficult to entertain alternative perspectives.

For the demonized, their consciousness may become preoccupied with defending themselves or grappling with feelings of being unfairly judged, pulling them into the same toxic dynamic.

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5. The Temporal Dimension

Phenomenology considers how experiences are situated in time. Demonization is not an isolated act but part of a broader temporal arc. The person engaging in it may draw on past grievances and project fears into the future, shaping their experience of the present. For the target, the demonization might feel like a continuity of historical patterns, such as marginalization or stereotyping, compounding its emotional weight.

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6. The Existential Implications

Phenomenologically, demonization touches on deeper existential concerns:

• Authenticity: Demonization can be seen as an inauthentic mode of being, where individuals avoid confronting their own flaws or uncertainties by externalizing them.
• Freedom: Both parties experience a loss of existential freedom—those demonizing are trapped in rigid perceptions, while the demonized are constrained by imposed identities.
• Meaning: Demonization threatens the creation of shared meaning, leading to existential disconnection and fragmentation.

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The Phenomenological Insight

Phenomenology reveals that demonization is not just a political or psychological phenomenon but a distortion of how individuals and groups relate to one another as conscious beings. By failing to see others as full, lived subjects, demonization reduces both the "other" and the self to narrower, less authentic ways of being. This perspective invites a return to openness, empathy, and an acknowledgment of the shared, complex nature of human existence.

The cycle of demonization, explored through political, psychological, and phenomenological lenses, reveals how the act of inaccurately labeling and dehumanizing others can ultimately distort one's own identity. By focusing on exaggeration, mischaracterization, and projection, individuals and groups risk becoming the very traits they accuse others of embodying.

When a leader like Donald Trump uses such divisive and uncaring tactics to manipulate and control his own citizens—leveraging misinformation to grift money, seize power, and perpetuate destruction without regard for the suffering he causes—it becomes imperative for the nation to reflect on the gravity of his actions. His blatant disregard for the well-being of those he abuses, both within his follower base and beyond, speaks to a deeper crisis of empathy and moral leadership. 

Those who support such a figure must confront the harm they are complicit in, recognizing that the future of the country depends on unity, compassion, and the rejection of divisive, self-serving figures. It is critical that we strive to rebuild a nation centered on collective welfare and work tirelessly to ensure that such individuals never hold public office again, safeguarding democracy and humanity for generations to come.

This destructive cycle erodes empathy, deepens divisions, and undermines authentic dialogue, leaving both the demonizers and the demonized trapped in a feedback loop of self-destruction and alienation. The remedy lies in re-centering respect, self-awareness, and shared human understanding.

We need to understand respect for the fact that you're an American citizen. Disagree, debate (something lost lately for bickering and shouting one another down...yes, some very dumb being espoused, esp, from the Right, but come on...).

We can do better. We must do better.

Cheers! Sláinte!

Compiled with the aid of ChatGPT

Those who Advocate For Wiping Out LGBTQ

One of the most compelling arguments against those who advocate for wiping out LGBTQ+ representation through media and enacting discriminatory laws is the importance of equality, human rights, and inclusivity as part and parcel of living in modern America. 

Now we have a POTUS-elect in convicted felon Donald Trump who is all in for disrupting much of what advances have been made (Trump on LGBTQ Rights: Rolling Back Protections and Criminalizing Gender Nonconformity). Has there been overreach by recent administrations on the side of "progressiveness"? A good word for humanitarians and those involved in societal advancements while decreasing abuses by the many upon the few, but a bad word to those on the right who just can't see that's a thing.

I agree there may have been some overreach but not to the degree being sold by the right. Part of their issue is not having been allowed to catch up, or some things feeling imposed upon them not only against their will, or awareness, but beliefs, culture, religion, and indeed, part of that is historical misperceptions, bigotry, and racism. Some of THAT is wrapped up in their history, culture, and politics.

There should have been more persuading, more educating, more awareness, and coaxing. But to be fair, many on the Right vehemently thwarted that, and some of that will never, ever work with some of those people and in those subcultures whose substance is built upon a rejection of certain lifestyles or ways of thinking. 

To some degree, that's fine. Except, this is America and they need to catch up to who we actually are, a country of acceptance even the Founding Fathers didn't fully realize the full impact of that. Some, they would go against many today on the right. Some could never come to terms with it because of the climate of the times they lived in. 

But it's up to us to realize how this is at odds with moving forward, and also how they, the Framers and many today stuck in their cemented anachronistic beliefs, need to either get with the program or be dragged kicking and screaming into the present.

Much of this is based in religion, the religious Right, Christian Nationalists, and others pushing what should remain private. Enjoy your beliefs, just leave others alone. We're not all theists or at your level of devotion. THAT's America!  So let's not be doing this and let's return to "your religion is private". Stop being so aggro. Got it? Okay, OK? 

Oklahoma attorney general says state schools superintendent cannot mandate students watch prayer video

This dovetails very well with my long-held overly reasonable belief that we need to stop with the "In God We Trust" nonsense everwhere, certainly as our American motto, and return to our original, "Out of Many, One" (E Pluribus Unum), for what is truly inclusive and doesn't lead to abuse of others. As we see today. As we see in these anti-"other people" movements by the Right. I don't want to get down against the religious. I want them to have their lives. Just as the rest of us want to.

Here are several key points one can make on these issues of being anti-LGBTQ+:

Diversity and Inclusion for LGBTQ+ individuals and workers are an integral part of society, and their diverse perspectives, talents, and contributions enrich our communities. Media representation and legal protections enable LGBTQ+ individuals to be recognized, respected, and included, fostering a more inclusive and accepting society for everyone.

1. Human Rights: LGBTQ+ rights are human rights. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity, equality, and fairness, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. Discrimination and erasure based on these factors undermine the fundamental principles of human rights and deny LGBTQ+ individuals their inherent worth and value.
2. Mental Health and Well-being: LGBTQ+ individuals have historically faced higher rates of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidality, due to societal stigma and marginalization. Media representation and legal protections help reduce stigma and create a supportive environment, positively impacting the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals.
3. Authentic Representation: Media plays a powerful role in shaping public perception and attitudes. By portraying diverse LGBTQ+ characters and storylines, media can challenge stereotypes, dispel myths, and promote empathy and understanding. Authentic representation allows LGBTQ+ individuals to see themselves reflected positively and helps foster greater acceptance and support within society.
4. Freedom and Autonomy: Everyone has the right to live their lives authentically, free from societal pressure and discrimination. Restricting LGBTQ+ representation and rights infringes upon their freedom of expression, personal autonomy, and the pursuit of happiness. Upholding these freedoms is crucial for a just and democratic society.
5. Social Progress: Over the years, societies worldwide have made significant progress in recognizing LGBTQ+ rights and equality. Rolling back these advancements would not only perpetuate injustice but also hinder societal progress as a whole. Inclusivity and acceptance lead to stronger and more vibrant communities where everyone can thrive.
6. Economic Benefits: Embracing diversity and inclusivity has economic benefits. Studies consistently demonstrate that LGBTQ+-friendly policies and environments attract and retain top talent, stimulate innovation, and contribute to economic growth. By embracing LGBTQ+ individuals, societies can harness their skills, talents, and purchasing power, resulting in a stronger and more prosperous nation.

It's essential to engage in respectful dialogue, providing well-reasoned arguments backed by evidence and personal stories to foster understanding and empathy in the face of opposition.

Cheers! Sláinte!

Compiled with the aid of ChatGPT

Welcome to "Ugly" America Down the Rabbit Hole

Senate Republicans and their questionable leader have not cemented in the reality that a much "uglier" America is being led by a very, very "ugly American" and following his illiberal lead, some other "ugly" Americans.

Welcome to today's world where governments are being forced down a path by foolish "leaders" of an electorate based on a movement of self-perceived hurt egos in the realm of white supremacies, ignorance, greed, and foolishness.

It may not be bigotry and race war that is at the base of this movement greater than America, but it is a similar base of thinking in cognitive dissonance, in the abandonment of cognitive powers. Where they are turned against both the individual as well as the society at large. 

With little care, but with a great passion to continue the path one's on, regardless of the damage to themselves or anyone. Because they wish to believe, against all reality.

In a reference to Boris Johnson in the UK, an older woman caller from Wales said to David Dimbleby, Journalist and Podcast Host of "The Sun King", where Johnson's intentions in Brexit would financially harm Wales and this elder woman... her explanation was thus...and so very explanatory of what is also going on in the right of American politics:

"Cuz he's a liar! He's a liar."
"Why do you like him because he's a liar?"
"Because it means he's human. And he's got balls of steel."

What's that all about? Identity.

What's white supremacy about?
Identity. 

White Identity. And ignorance. And adhering to beliefs regardless of reality, because of assuaging perceived pain.

What's going on? A revulsion against politicians' divisiveness.
Lies behind painted faces.

This is what many think Trump supporters aren't seeing but feel is painfully clear. Maybe it will work out. But what we have is a delicate thing. As we've been warned time and again and time again.

"There are a variety of ways to gain power. There are illegal means to gain power through brute force; one can also gain power legally by winning a majority in an election. There are revolutions, Putsches, uprisings. But each of these methods requires a political group to win the sympathies of the broad masses, if it wishes over the long run to maintain is power. But the sympathy of the people does not come of itself; it must be won.
The means of gaining that support is propaganda. The task of propaganda is not to discover a theory or to develop a program, but rather to translate that theory and program into the language of the people, to make them comprehensible to the broad masses of the people. The goal of propaganda is to make what the theorists have discovered clear to the broad masses."

- Joseph Goebbels, Will and Way 1931

What is the solution voters, mostly right-wing voters have taken?

Just elect an outright liar. One you (mostly incorrectly) perceive to be lying FOR YOU. Rationalizing through incorrect beliefs in the economy, or whatever you can drum up to support you, to give you a perceived reason to be passionate, against all reason and at times, too many times, sometimes all the time, against all decency.

Alice (1988)

We have submerged beyond the rim of a rabbit hole it will take many years to extract ourselves from while many of us sit by a nearby tree, in the shade of reality, and wonder aghast, in pain, while those who were in pain, now feeling freed of that pain. [come on, follow along this is an Alice in Wonderland reference...rabbit hole, Alice, her sister waiting by the tree...nevermind...]

Why?

Because opiates, whether chemical or political or emotional, assuage one's pain, even if we should die because of it. Even when we are aware we cannot stop it.

And so, screw the rest.

Finally a bit of anonymous humor and a feeling for what's going on.

To end, just thought a little humor injected into this mess might help and offer some feeling for how this Senate "trial" is being perceived by many. From a friend of a friend of a friend:

THE ROAD SO FAR...

ALL THE WITNESSES: Ok we all agree. This is what happened.
Republicans: None of you were in the room!
BOLTON: *raises hand* Well I was in the...
Republicans: Who asked you?! Shut up! You’re a liberal pawn!
BOLTON: Um... I’m actually I’m a lifelong Republican and I was literally Trump’s national security advi...
Republicans: Shut your mustache! Somebody bring back the first national security advisor.
FLYNN: *in orange jumpsuit* Hey sorry guys I’m in jail lol.
Republicans: What? Why?
FLYNN: For lying to the FBI about the Russia investigation.
Republicans: Well what idiot told you to do that?!
FLYNN: The Pres...
Republicans: Shut up! No one believes either of you!
KELLY: *raises hand* I believe them. And I was Trump’s Chief of sta...
Republicans: Shut up! Let’s talk to the real chief of staff. Who is he?
MULVANEY: *raises hand* It’s me.
Republicans: Shit. Never mind.
PARNAS: *raises hand* I was also in the room. In fact, here’s a cell phone video of the President saying that...
Republicans: Wait what?! How in hell did you sneak a cell phone into a meeting with the President?
PARNAS: It was easy I just walked right in and...
Republicans: Shut up! You’re a criminal!
PARNAS: Correct. And I just walked right into...
Donald John Trump: I don’t know him.
PARNAS: And here’s 500 pictures of me with the President because we’re besties.
Republicans: Wait... What idiot introduced you to the President??
PARNAS: His personal lawyer.
Republicans: Cohen??
COHEN: *also in orange jumpsuit* Hey no sorry guys I’m in jail too.
Republicans: Why?
COHEN: For campaign finance violations.
Republicans: Who’s campaign?
COHEN: The Pres...
Republicans: Shut up!
PARNAS: It was Giuliani.
YOVANOVITCH: Giuliani! That’s the guy who had me fired from my job!
Republicans: Who are you??
YOVANOVITCH: I was the ambassador to Ukraine.
Republicans: Wait, you had her fired? Do you work for the government??
GIULIANI: Nope.
Republicans: Well who is the ambassador to the European Union??
SONDLAND: *raises hand* Me. I was also in the roo...
Republicans: F@$&!!!
Mafia and Russian Boss Vladimir Putin: *rubs his bare chest*

What "Merry Christmas" Really Is To All Of America

Merry Christmas! It seems like a fairly innocuous greeting. Right? I'm sharing now last year's Christmas blog, for a reason, in these our such divisive times.

Do you find this offensive? Some do.

It has inherent goodwill intended. Which confuses some.

Because we live in a diverse world, a diverse multicultural, multitheistic country and environment, we merely need to be aware of that in our thoughts, speech, and actions.

No, it's not asking that much of us. For myself, I was raised Catholic, old Slovak Catholic. I went through stages of seeking God and found how humankind invented all this thousands upon thousands of years ago.

I have in my search for what is truth in religion, or "God" in a supreme intelligence, or whatever you wish to refer to it as been through many stages. I see using the gender of "Him" (or "Her") as questionable in ascribing a kind of anthropomorphism to an entity far beyond our understanding and why ethereal beings need gender is quite beyond us, though not really).

From my childhood and deep into my 20s, I have experienced being a "born again Christian" in my late teens. Then in my research and studies to "find God", an agnostic, an atheist, an agnostic again and finally a follower of reality as best it can be defined, through science, through the Buddha Dharma when lent itself to the Christian form of restructuring Judaism, and also Aikido, "the Art of Peace".

I was surprised to find how much "Buddhist" beliefs fit into Christianity and general psychology orientations during my university years of study toward my degree in psychology, and in Phenomenology, and physics.

That being said, I don't just have a problem with Christmas and below I'll explain why.

IF one cannot function appropriately and positively in that kind of life, one in America's "tossed salad" citizenry and community, one of diversity, of inclusion, of acceptance and fellowship, then one is of limited mental, emotional and cultural capacities.

Do you find this offensive? Some do.

So before you start ranting about the ludicrous immature belief in a "war on Christmas", of which there is none, but is rather an opening of awareness of others besides one's self or one's culture or religion, or in some cases, one's "bubble", do consider you are merely extending that well-intentioned greeting to other to whom it may have no meaning to them.

Not everything is as we believe. 

• December 25th is understood to not be the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth. 
• The song Jingle Bells was originally intended for Thanksgiving, and was titled, "One Horse Open Sleigh" 
• December 25th was originally a pagan festival day but the Catholic church absorbed it in order to compromise and assimilate pagan cultures when they were moving into.their region. 
• Christmas now has transcended the Christian faith and spread out in a secular fashion to those of other cultures and religions. How is that a bad thing? The underlying principles are still there and if Jesus were alive to see this, he just might be okay with it. Because what he preached was the reality and not the dogma, not the diction, not the rules. But the people. And compassion for one another. 
• The Golden Rule is based on the principle Jesus Christ taught in Matthew 7:12: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them,” adding, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.” The significance of Jesus "Christ’s" statement here is huge. What we call the Golden Rule is the summation of God’s entire view on the way of life.

So much of Christmas is about peace and love, make it so!

What we believe to be is different originally than we thought to begin with. So there is really no need to be zero tolerant, or uncompromising, or to believe in a war on something merely because of a call for greater awareness and understanding of other's different cultures or religions. Essentially...

It's Okay! We need either greater awareness and compassion for one another or have more wars and cultural friction and misunderstanding of one another. Especially during a season that calls out for greater compassion and caring, help and sacrifice for others, it truly is, okay.

So why would you offer it to them? It is obviously out of ignorance either in an understanding of our country or specifically in another person, you do not know very well and perhaps should take the time to consider and address them appropriately in a way they can understand what you mean and intend.

To wish them goodwill and happiness this season. Christians, many of them, like to point out the original intent and meaning of "Christmas" is all about Jesus. But as was pointed out above, that is at very least disingenuous and even, ignorant.

It really just means we have to give some thought to something we may never have given much thought TO. Which is actually the original intent of that greeting. to wit, if you are NOT giving it enough though, in the first place. You are actually, in the bigger picture of things, going counter to what you are trying to do and say. In trying to point out to others that there is or was a war on Christmas, you are the one missing the point in coming from Christians who cannot actually give the greeting enough thought and feeling, in order to share it in the most appropriate and productive ways.

Even if that means using another greeting.

This really isn't all about you after all.

What we all really need more than anything else in this world, is simply to all get along.

Because that is in the end, the Thought...that is in the end, what counts. Isn't it?

So with all that being said, I really have to end here with this...

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays, whatever you believe and practice!

Merry Christmas! OR, Happy Holidays. Why? I'll tell you...

Merry Christmas! It seems like a fairly innocuous greeting.

Do you find this offensive? Some do.

It has inherent goodwill intended. Which confuses some.

Because we live in a diverse world, a diverse multicultural, multitheistic country and environment, we merely need to be aware of that in our thoughts, speech, and actions.

No, it's not asking that much of us. For myself, I was raised Catholic, old Slovak Catholic. I went through stages of seeking God and found how humankind invented all this thousands upon thousands of years ago.

I have in my search for what is truth in religion, or "God" in a supreme intelligence, or whatever you wish to refer to it as been through many stages. I see using the gender of "Him" (or "Her") as questionable in ascribing a kind of anthropomorphism to an entity far beyond our understanding and why ethereal beings need gender is quite beyond us, though not really).

From my childhood and deep into my 20s, I have experienced being a "born again Christian" in my late teens. Then in my research and studies to "find God", an agnostic, an atheist, an agnostic again and finally a follower of reality as best it can be defined, through science, through the Buddha Dharma when lent itself to the Christian form of restructuring Judaism, and also Aikido, "the Art of Peace".

I was surprised to find how much "Buddhist" beliefs fit into Christianity and general psychology orientations during my university years of study toward my degree in psychology, and in Phenomenology, and physics.

That being said, I don't just have a problem with Christmas and below I'll explain why.

IF one cannot function appropriately and positively in that kind of life, one in America's "tossed salad" citizenry and community, one of diversity, of inclusion, of acceptance and fellowship, then one is of limited mental, emotional and cultural capacities.

Do you find this offensive? Some do.

So before you start ranting about the ludicrous immature belief in a "war on Christmas", of which there is none, but is rather an opening of awareness of others besides one's self or one's culture or religion, or in some cases, one's "bubble", do consider you are merely extending that well-intentioned greeting to other to whom it may have no meaning to them.

Not everything is as we believe. 

• December 25th is understood to not be the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth. 
• The song Jingle Bells was originally intended for Thanksgiving, and was titled, "One Horse Open Sleigh" 
• December 25th was originally a pagan festival day but the Catholic church absorbed it in order to compromise and assimilate pagan cultures when they were moving into.their region. 
• Christmas now has transcended the Christian faith and spread out in a secular fashion to those of other cultures and religions. How is that a bad thing? The underlying principles are still there and if Jesus were alive to see this, he just might be okay with it. Because what he preached was the reality and not the dogma, not the diction, not the rules. But the people. And compassion for one another. 
• The Golden Rule is based on the principle Jesus Christ taught in Matthew 7:12: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them,” adding, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.” The significance of Jesus "Christ’s" statement here is huge. What we call the Golden Rule is the summation of God’s entire view on the way of life.

So much of Christmas is about peace and love, make it so!

What we believe to be is different originally than we thought to begin with. So there is really no need to be zero tolerant, or uncompromising, or to believe in a war on something merely because of a call for greater awareness and understanding of other's different cultures or religions. Essentially...

It's Okay! We need either greater awareness and compassion for one another or have more wars and cultural friction and misunderstanding of one another. Especially during a season that calls out for greater compassion and caring, help and sacrifice for others, it truly is, okay.

So why would you offer it to them? It is obviously out of ignorance either in an understanding of our country or specifically in another person, you do not know very well and perhaps should take the time to consider and address them appropriately in a way they can understand what you mean and intend.

To wish them goodwill and happiness this season. Christians, many of them, like to point out the original intent and meaning of "Christmas" is all about Jesus. But as was pointed out above, that is at very least disingenuous and even, ignorant.

It really just means we have to give some thought to something we may never have given much thought TO. Which is actually the original intent of that greeting. to wit, if you are NOT giving it enough though, in the first place. You are actually, in the bigger picture of things, going counter to what you are trying to do and say. In trying to point out to others that there is or was a war on Christmas, you are the one missing the point in coming from Christians who cannot actually give the greeting enough thought and feeling, in order to share it in the most appropriate and productive ways.

Even if that means using another greeting.

This really isn't all about you after all.

What we all really need more than anything else in this world, is simply to all get along.

Because that is in the end, the Thought...that is in the end, what counts. Isn't it?

So with all that being said, I really have to end here with this...

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays, whatever you believe and practice!

Have We Lost Sight of the Spirit Of Law and Therefore, Ourselves?

Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election by convincing people he and HE alone could "Make America Great Again". Ridiculous. We haven't heard such a patently ludicrous thing since Pres. George W. Bush said we needed to invade Iraq and why, and not as such a narcissistic thing has  been said by an American president, perhaps ever.

By the way, remind me of when exactly we were so great, as great as some curious conservatives wish to believe we have been? To be sure, to outsiders wanting in, to those going up against America, we do seem great and we are the world's biggest economy and only and remaining superpower.

However, from within it all seems quite different.

Different again depending on if you are that 1% elite, wealthy, powerful, or if you are of the 99% trying to live beneath the weight of them above, those many below, suffering. All while the rich get more tax breaks for apparently magical reasons, again and again. Why, many ask? Why not, ask the many fewer, the even more powerful?

What is the fundamental difference between those two groups and why some ask, can't they just get along? In a country where there is so very much, why can't there be enough for everyone? How can there be when one group of a few wants so much leaving so little for the many?

After all, when one has more money then they could ever need to spend in a lifetime to live comfortably, Not to mention at all. Why then do they continue always too want, to need, ever more?  Especially when so many can barely make it through the day, or year. And while so very many do not, and have not.

I was at the grocery store recently and saw something I think is endemic and part of the problem today in American politics, and even culture. A problem with for the most part the right wing, conservatives and the Republican party overall.

A couple in the story were in the check out line with a full grocery cart. The store was quite busy. at the time They, he really, was in one line with his wife in the line right next to him for another checker. The counters were such that the running track holding groceries moving toward the cashier checker were opposed to one another with no barrier between the check out stands.

It was obvious what the couple were doing. Gaming the system. They were playing one line against the other and whichever of them in line got to the sliding belt first, was where the guy with the cart would hasten to go.

I was tempted myself in another line next to (both of) theirs. But I was curious how this would play out. Another guy then came up behind the wife and it was was obvious he was confused as she had no groceries.

I wanted to walk over and ask if they realized what a kind of unfair, it not a rather slimy thing it was that they were doing. Now you may have done this kind of thing too and as they probably felt, it was being very clever in saving (what turned out in the end to be maybe a whole entire minute, sixty seconds in all) in waiting time.

This is not unlike that driver on the freeway, jumping from lane back to lane then back again over and over and in the end you frequently find you have passed them by staying in your own lane. Of course as in gambling theory, that works out for them just enough that they remain addicted to the behavior. And yet research proves out, it's typically best to pick a lane in stay with it.

At one point the new shopper in line started to move forward, thinking he was next up as the woman in front of him after all, had no groceries. Perhaps, she just had a question? She was now at the end of the grocery track. With, of course, nothing to put on it.

It was about right then that the guy with the cart pushed pushed it over in front of the other new guy to join his wife. That was not obvious however until he cut off the guy who thought he was the next one with groceries. And that they were also gaming not on the system but the guy who was in line thinking he was next up. He said nothing, but glared at them with a reasonable amount of disdain. .

It's a thing in Seattle with our large ferry system that this kind of behavior has been made illegal. From past and unhappy experiences. If you were driving a car waiting in life at the ferry and pulled this kind of cutting over, it could not only get you ticketed, but possibly killed by another and irate driver. It is after all, rather unfair. Which is why the state has made it a ticketing offense. Cutting line, CAN get you killed.

From a 2010 article in the Kitsap Sun newspaper:
Ferry line-cutters will join high-occupancy vehicle lane cheaters in the state Department of Transportation’s HERO program. It encourages people to report violators’ license plate numbers by calling (877) 764-HERO.
After the first call, the cutter (or at least the registered owner of the car doing the cutting) will be mailed an educational brochure from Washington State Ferries. The second call brings a warning letter from the Washington State Patrol. The third elicits a $124 ticket.

My point of course in bringing this up is this. I wanted badly to walk over and ask the couple at the grocery store if they were politically conservative and mostly likely, Republican.

Because this is what I see with that party so very much. That mentality in their realm of if not cutting in on influence, at times even of offense. That belief that they are so much cleverer than others. Of making progress even at the expense of others.

This, is a smart person, as they see it. While others just see them as assholes.

Which are they? It really depends upon your orientation. And level lf laziness, greed and lack of compassion for others.

But, there is much more to this. To all of this, really.

We have long heard the lament of the conservative about the young, about the "Me" generation, about the selfish desires of the irresponsible young. It began actually at the dawn of time (see ancient graffiti even from Rome 2000 years ago, or even thousands of years before that). More recently the most rampant and newsworthy example may have begun with the Hippies of the 1960s. But the beatniks in the Beat Generation before them really started it for them. Something that seemed to evolve out of the duration but mostly the end of the Second World War.

It was the realization by an entire generation that we can live in America as we like. It was a natural outgrowth of the American ideal of individuality. Autonomy. Even, superiority. Of every man (or woman, a more recent concept it would seem) being king (or Queen?) of one's own castle. Of one's owned property, a somewhat new invention in the history of humanity, being of one's domain and not that of the ruling family. It it noticeable as an orientation many share on the Gadsden Flag wherein a coiled rattlesnake is situated above the words "Don't Tread On Me".

An orientation first put into worlds and came onto the scene at the dawn of this country:

The first Marines enlisted in the city of Philadelphia, and they carried drums painted yellow, depicting a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen rattles, and the motto "Don't Tread on Me." This is the first recorded mention of the future Gadsden flag's symbolism. The flag is named after American general and politician Christopher Gadsden (1724–1805), who designed it in 1775 during the American Revolution. It was used by the Continental Marines as an early motto flag, along with the Moultrie flag.- Wikipedia

See, it is in our nature as Americans.

Please excuse this brief aside:

George Mason has said:
"All men are born equally free and possess certain inherent natural rights.", And that "governments ought to produce the greatest degree of happiness and safety for the people."

He also said in a newspaper just about the time Jefferson was about to write something similar and foundational to this country, perhaps using Mason as a template, these words: "Life, Liberty and property."

While Thomas Jefferson instead used the far superior phrasing: "...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

It's interesting to note that with the advent of republicanism (small "r" wherein the people are represented by the government and not a king, queen or other such entity), which Paine had also helped bring to France as well as later in America, that this is NOT the Republican party of today. NOT by a long shot.

It is also interesting that today's #GOP has gone with Mason over Jefferson. On as it is now, a rather unAmerican path. Which as we're seeing is siding many of them with Russian Oligarchs in the pursuit of individual wealth over that of the People.

They have taken the path where the almighty pursuit of property, and for those few who can deal at that level to acquire vast properties pursuing the almighty dollar perhaps at any or all costs, as we're now seeing from the criminals in the Trump crowd (or swamp) and perhaps Trump himself (which to most intelligent people seems a real no brainer), are ideals far more important to Republicans today than the pursuit of happiness for all of the American people... as originally intended, fought for, and died to bring to fruition.

It is odd therefore to hear Republicans today who claim to be constitutional originalists.

When the are so very much not.

The problem?

The problem comes up when the ignorant try to take an idea and run with it. It has lead to some bad things. Like the election of one Donald Trump as president. America's most likely top candidate for our biggest electoral mistake and worst president in US history.

We have bastardized that well defined sense of freedom and independence and brought forward some of the worst of those sensibilities. Like the sense of entitlement that comes with the "Me" orientation, the "me first" orientation, the "America First" orientation.

Why is it bad? Because as we've seen it leads to abusing others out of un unwieldy desire for oneself. From that comes wanting more until you have rationalized yourself into outright abuse of others standing in your way to wealth and success. All in the name of what?

"Me!" Freedom! Even, Patriotism!

Combine that with American capitalism and politics, and the post industrial age and what have we come up with? Profit engines, Profit margins. Quantifications of product and profit over the concerns of others.

Stockholders. Corporations. Business first. America first. The two together, globe trotted where business went hand in hand with government, in one of those thinking the other to be the reason for successes until finally one day each thought they were the reasons for the other's successes.

A polarizing consideration to say the least. Yet they continue to this day to work hand in hand. And so we have the warnings of the those famous and powerful ones who do have a sense of history and compassion for the American people. Some of them are even of the rich. They warn us to, "Beware the military / industrial complex". And, "Beware the corporate / industrial complex."

What they were saying is we need as citizens to protect ourselves against these vast fundamental interests so that they do not overtake the reason for America existing.

The Citizens. The possibilities of better lives. But not just for the few.

And yet, that is where we are at today. The GOP has lost control of all this in treading a dangerous path for decades now. The Democrats never really had control of it but they guided it much better. They try repeatedly and fail with some successes and wonder why.

All while Republicans have pushed and pushed some of the most ridiculous agendas, stunning even themselves of what they have worked toward, until now they too have lost control of their own pursuits.

Some say Donald Trump is merely a symptom. But he is an arm of that paradigm, set up by those forces, put in power by confusion, ignorance, greed and foreign powers. He saw his opportunity, and took it. A way to increase his wealth and power, and to protect himself. In a way not that different from what Vladimir Putin is doing in Russia.

This is not complex, until you delve into it. It is so obvious from the outside no one believes it. And yet, it is here.

It goes also back to the concept of the legal contract.

What was once a replacement of the handshake to seal a deal, especially with those you have and will never meet, the items of protection naturally included in a contract was originally there to protect both parties involved. But as the contract has been around nearly since the written word began its own purchase on humanity, time has served it up an immense learning ground until today it has become, weaponized.

Just as saggy drooping pants back in the 90s came from prison culture as it seeped out onto the city streets and then into fashion, so too the contract's format and nuances has found its way into our every day culture. We have found illiberal use in those protections so that once we have been protected by the contract, we have gone all the way further to reap whatever benefit we could. Even to leaving the spirit of the contract, to rape the economic interests of another for that of one's own benefit.

From that it was only a small leap, a shuffle sideways really, to where we are today. It has infected our culture, our work place, our entertainment, our interpersonal lives. Like a disease no one has ever noticed, it has infected an entire culture and has worked its way worldwide.

What have we lost?

Decency. Manners. Pleasantries without a forked tongue hiding behind them.

We no longer look at the whole situation when a contract is in place. We follow it to the letter of the law and the contract. Even when we know it is wrong, IF we can reap a benefit, a reward, a profit. And unforeseen, all the better. Even if it destroys the other person. Because why? Because THEY should have known better, we rationalize to ourselves. Because after all, IT'S IN THE CONTRACT.

This has disaffected us even in our police work, and of course our legal and judicial system, also our politicians so very badly, as well as many of our social structures. It has made us into not human beings, but machines of profit. And not always of monetary profit. We don't get interest on a loan if we can avoid it, we get a "vig", or "vigorish". The payment for the loan of the money.

When a better calls a bookie and places a bet, until that bet pays off or fails to and the money is paid, it is a loan between the time the bet is made to the time the payoff is made, or the vig becomes due. Historically a vig is much more than a traditional loan payback percentage, because when you cannot get a loan from a reputable lender, you go to someone not so reputable.

Since they aren't reputable they are most likely illegal and so the reassurance on the loan can go to illegal extremes. A "beat down", breaking legs, or even murder if the loan is big enough and payback is obvious not to happen. After all, one has to make an example so others won't try the same thing.

The point in all this is we have gotten way off track from being decent human beings to one another. Of course we need protection. But we have let that shade our minds merely because of greed. To get, or take, all we can.

Why? Because it has been so hard to get anywhere?

Why? Because the powers that be, those with wealth and/or power at the top have made it so. Eventually that gives us a mindset where it is okay to harm others, in order to get ahead. We don't seem to look at why things are that way, or who did it. To us. In fact we see many supporting through elections, voting again and again for those very same people who are the most abusive in a modern form of societal self flagellation. "It is OUR fault you did this to us, so beat us and please do it to us again!" Really?

"Please sir, may I have another?"

It makes no sense. But it comes out of ignorance. Out of struggling to make ends meet. And all the distractions thrown at us by those in power. Their tools? Wage control. Consumerism. Planned obsolescence. Marketing. Political spin and lies. Governmental or political tools to abuse us such as Gerrymandering, voter suppression.

Other legal abuses like keeping cannabis illegal. Refusing to have "free" healthcare. The vast sums made off of cannabis remaining illegal alone are astounding and go into so very many different businesses and government departments. A huge waste of money that could be doing real good elsewhere.

To end, we have been put into a mindset by others and ourselves, to diminish ourselves as people and as a nation. We can be, America a Great Nation. But we have to start at home. We have to start with ourselves, our family, our children. Our future. We have to start with our orientation, our mindset.

America...is hurting.

We have been wondering why Pres. Trump, why Congressional Republicans keep doing such stupid things. Passing bad laws. Removing good laws now on the books.

But are they really stupid? It depends on what your goal is.

In their case it is winning at all costs, where the ends justifies the means, and the victims don't matter, only the perpetrators do. The president. The #GOP. #Conservatives.

"Factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA or FDIoA), also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP), is a condition where a caregiver develops a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and ..." so on and so forth.

We are victims of #realDonaldTrump and the #Republican party who are and have been creating these many problems, and then sometimes..."fixing" them. Of late, they have been getting caught at it and under popular outcry have fixed them or tried to look like they were and weren't.

Here's another angle, same story.

But what about the victims of MSbP? What about...US? Well? This, for one...

"Victims of MBP may suffer from fear, pain, and loss of normal attachment, and from delayed development, growth, social functioning, and/or academic progression. They may develop physical and psychiatric problems due to being persistently regarded as ill; from deprivation; from unneeded assessments, medications, procedures, or surgeries; and/or from iatrogenic complications."

America is crying. We are in pain. It is being done to us. On purpose. And not just by our own leaders.

We have to realize the answer to life is not constant excess and taking all you can get, but in solid work as well as expectations and moderation in all things. Feel free to be excessive once in a while. It's also healthy to do nothing at times as well as to go to great excess...sometimes. But as one should moderate one's life, one too should moderate those peaks and valleys.

Always remember, in what you take for yourself, someone else somewhere is losing for your benefit.

We have now a very petty man as US President in Donald Trump. Poor example of a father, husband and world leader. We can do better. So very easily.

That does indeed, matter. It also makes you who you are. And so you have to ask yourself, who do you want to be? More importantly, who do you want others to see you being? Who do you want your children seeing you be and who... do you want them to grow up to be?

Donald Trump? I seriously hope not. For your sake. For their sake.

For all our sake.

Now just for fun....a serious Tweet and a silly Tweet.

Overhead Conversation in a Bar Near Biloxi, Mississippi

Conversation overheard in a bar near Biloxi, Mississippi:


A regular patron walks in and shouts:

"Happy GREAT Americans Day!"

First time visitor of another regular:

"Uh, what's that again?"

Regular loudly as he sits with a group of large friends:

"Just what they've been calling Martin Luther King's Day in Biloxi since the 80s is all."

"Since When again?"

"Well you know. It's also Robert E. Lee's birthday as well."

"Seriously? Doesn't the irony in that choke you at all? Besides, aren't their birthdays like four days apart."

"So?" Another: "What of it!?"

"Well?" Worried, "Uh, King's, is first?"

"So? Lee was born first!"

"Okay, fine," looking around at everyone staring him down, "I... surrender."

"About time the south won one." Cheers!


Thanks Tig Notaro for the initial idea.

Socialism of the New American Republican Right

I keep hearing from the right how the Mueller investigation is off the rails, going on a fishing expedition, how it's not doing what was initially intended and...it should be stopped.

Uh huh, right. Seriously?

Remember Ken Starr and Bill Clinton? Went after him for everything and anything, never got anywhere, kept shifting, pleasuring and satiating conservatives, horrifying progressives, until finally settling on getting Clinton to lie under oath about a sex act between consenting adults? Even if she was an intern.

HOW off the rails was that? Republicans didn't seem to have a problem with it THAT time. Why is now different? It's not. Unless...oh yeah, now it's they who are on the hotseat. And I've (so many of us in America) have been waiting  decades for this turnabout. And it was only a matter of time considering the path the Republican party has been on. Each president they give us is lower and lower on the political evolutionary scale if not, as with Donald Trump, the cultural and actual evolutionary scale itself.

I don't care what Mueller gets Donald Trump on, just that he does it, does it soon, and removes him from office, and hopefully finds away to imprison him . Sooner than later. But why doesn't it matter?

Because of what the GOP has done to America overall and most specifically with this current nightmare example of someone who should never even have been allowed to be invited to the White House, and certainly not to reside there.

Get this POTUS on cheating at golf. I really don't care. Get him for lying to America about his weight and health, and take down with him, the White House doctor Ronny Jackson if he indeed lied to America about the president's health. Whatever works. Clinton wasn't even this much of an issue or a problem. There was so  much conflation involved in the long enduring "Clinton scandals," the right wing's dream crimes, that it's ludicrous.

And yet, this time we actually do have a real and substantive problem in Mr. Trump and Republicans can and do actually even SEE it. Many are even quitting over it.

Whatever it takes to end this mess and punch the Republican party and supporters in the face, knocking a few teeth out along the way so that in going forward both they, we and others like Russia and Putin will constantly be reminded about all this so that they can and will continually remember that... we don't stand for this in our country!

We NOW do have a call to arms to "Make America Great Again". But it took putting someone, another questionable person, another Republican in the oval office. Someone who first had to tear our nation down both domestically and on the world stage for the need to Make It Great Again, because they stopped it from being great in the first place.

And frankly, I don't care if Mr. Trump's supporters ever get out of this trick and their one trick pony in Donald Trump, or not.

You see, you may call someone in to fix your job or career in order to raise your wages, to save your family... but if in the process that "fixer" rapes your wife and daughters and cages or kills your sons and grandparents and friends, destroying your family's reputation, their physical and mental health, but hey, out of all that now you have $10 more in your paycheck...just how badly again did you need that job fixed in the first place?

That's an excessive statement, but it makes the point. Like Michelle Wolf at the Correspondents Dinner, it's appropriate considering the disgusting man Donald Trump is and the moral ineptitude he's brought into the White House.

After all, this is the destructive Donald Trump administration, with a man who is a vulgarian who doesn't care WHO he harms, who he denigrates, who he offends. I fully 100% supported Michelle on her Correspondents dinner delivery. Her joke on Kellyanne Conway and on Sarah Sanders were spot on. Her jokes on the Trump as POTUS could have gone further, but she only had so much time.

There are indeed some things one shouldn't do to get out of a situation. You don't ask the Mafia (certainly not the Russian Mafia, or Putin, or a foreign country like Russia) to help your finances unless you want to ruin your reputation, your family life, or your life itself. Or as in this case, our country.

There are reasons for morality and ethical behavior and there are some lines, certainly for a POTUS, that shouldn't be crossed. The ends do not always justify the means. Something the Republican party seems to fail to even recognize anymore. In that, they have seemed more and more Russian day by day.

Rather than bringing in a criminal to fix your career, try getting another job. Broaden horizons. and remember that one's old reality isn't always sane in a new environment.

There is a Russian proverb appropriate here about the Trump Administration and Donald Trump himself:

Simplicity is worse than thievery (crime). That is... A fool can do more damage than an enemy or criminal. Yes, that is the concern with Donald Trump. Not to mention with Putin in the backdrough dabbling in our culture and government, all to disrupt and damage us, which Trump seemingly smiles and enjoys the chaos as he is so very fond of it since it opens doors for him to continue his questionable practices and potentially, criminal behaviors.

Bringing back coal miners? How stupid an idea was that? But then, the question really is was, how stupid are Trump supporters? Because it worked for him.

Sometimes you just have to alter your status quo and move on... potentially to an even better one. But it can hurt for a while in the transition. And America has been in transition for some years now. You may even have to learn something new. Oh, my God, educate yourself? Say it's not so! And therein lay the problem.

Rather than educate the America people through this period of transition, Republicans have chosen instead (and Putin) to play the fear cards in order to gain and retain as much power (and money) as possible. Regardless the destruction and misery it is causing nationwide.

We actually are in a transitional phase and perhaps we should consider making more money available to more or simply redistributing it, even paying those who do not have jobs available any longer.

THAT may be our new reality. What IF there simply are not enough jobs for everyone? Then what? Let them starve? Because that seems to be the conservative mantra.

Instead the Republican party denigrates those citizens who are suffering because of those destructive conscious Republican actions in the first place. Their allergy to anything that smacks of being a social program, so often necessary because of their actions to move money away from those whose money it was in the first place, who need it the most, are actually the "social programs" of the right and the entitlements they give instead to the rich and the corporate.

Something conservative types cannot fathom, is that their holy status quo of bigotry and ignorance should remain the same just so they feel comfortable and can continue complaining about how bad things are, when it is they who are the ones who are so dysfunctional in the first place and have made them bad, or made them seem bad, to begin with.

This, is not the America we were intended to be.

We just need to find our dignity once again, reorient what is real and what is propaganda, and put down this destructive Republican style, old Soviet and new Russian style, ways of thinking.

Make America Great Again, indeed.

Why America is confused over Donald Trump

There is some interesting research about authoritarianism.

Matthew MacWilliams, a doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, conducted a poll in which Republicans were asked four questions about child-rearing. With each question, respondents were asked which of two traits were more important in children:

• independence or respect for their elders;
• curiosity or good manners;
• self-reliance or obedience;
• being considerate or being well-behaved.

Psychologists use these questions to identify people who are disposed to favor hierarchy, loyalty and strong leadership — those who picked the second trait in each set — what experts call "authoritarianism." That many of Trump's supporters share this trait helps explain the success of his unconventional candidacy and suggests that his rivals will have a hard time winning over his adherents.

Thus the confusion. We all want our children to have the latter traits but we also want them or we should want them, to also be of the former. The difficulty is in having the intellect to judge when to be which. An issue conservatives in general have missing. 

We need to compartmentalize, to have an overarching mentality allowing us to shift appropriately at the right times. Lacking that you find yourself embedded in less sophisticated pursuits like authoritarianism, conservatism, racism, a seeking for the pure and simple, the righteous, the saving grace of one far above us to "guide" us as in a political leader or a deity.

"For authoritarians, things are black and white," MacWilliams said. "Authoritarians obey."

Authoritarians prefer purity and simplicity in thought and thus the eventual rise and misconstrued application of simplicity and purity that rears its ugly head as bigotry and racism among their rank ranks.

Life is not black and white and some cannot handle that because it requires thought and an acceptance that life is generally messy and we have to deal with that on a constant and ongoing basis. 

There are no easy and simple answers.

Which means that neither Donald Trump, conservative politics, or the Republican party are the answer.

This is clearly where I seem to break with so many people now a days and I wonder why and where their humanity and American spirit went? 

When we are our most as people is when we are at our most dire, fearful, distressed, or unhappy. 
Many people especially Trump followers and many on the right are showing their colors, an ugly blending for many of them of mere whiteness, with no room for color at all. Purity is a child's view of life. 

Real life is messy, not binary, not black and white, but a morass of grey, or varied and many colors, of complexity that is far more sophisticated than soundbites like, "We'll bomb them real good!"

Or,
"They're different than us, not as privileged, not as great not as us not as pure not as perfect because we think we are GODS!"

Which only makes you an asshole and a half and then some and you have no place in America. Less of a place is here for you in fact than there is and always has been for immigrants. Especially those in dire need.

We are a country of the many and not the few.

Now we just have to realize that and return not to the greatness we can be but the oneness we should be.

#DonaldTrump #Democrats @GOP