America has been fighting a “Cold Civil War” since the end of the actual shooting war and Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865. The United States Congress has been America in microcosm ever since. The year 2020 has become another pivotal point in the history of this country. The question remains; will we alter the current downward spiraling trajectory toward fascism and remain “stuck on stupid”, or dramatically change course in the opposite direction back toward a functioning representative democracy “ of the people, by the people, and for the people” as was intended by the founders?
America has been dumbed down to an extraordinary extent since the advent of the internet and the 24 hr cable news cycle. It’s extraordinary in the sense that there is so much convoluted information out there that ignorance has become the rule rather than the exception. You would think that we would be more informed as an electorate instead of the exact opposite. How else can you explain the absolute insanity of continuously voting against your own best interests? How else can you explain the cult that is “Trumpism”?
Who doesn’t believe in our right to breathe clean air and drink clean water? Who doesn’t believe in the inviolable science of climate change? Who doesn’t believe in quality and affordable health care for everyone? Who doesn’t believe in a world-class system of public education for their children and grandchildren instead of the targeted wreckage being wrought by Trump and DeVos. Who doesn’t believe in a safe and secure environment for them to obtain that education? Who doesn’t believe in a better life for future generations? Who doesn’t believe that 2nd Amendment rights can be “amended” to address 21st century firearms? Who doesn’t believe in taking care of society’s poor, sick, elderly, and disabled? Who doesn’t believe that it’s inherently immoral to profit from people’s pain and suffering? Who doesn’t believe in our system of Social Security and Medicare, that it is not government funded, and that it can and should be improved upon instead of systematically dismantled and privatized? Who doesn’t believe in equal rights and opportunity for everyone? Who doesn’t believe that white supremacy exists and is thriving at every level of government and society? Who doesn’t believe that innocent immigrant children should never be confined and separated from their parents at our southern border? Who doesn’t believe that it’s pretentious and hypocritical to transparently protect the unborn at all cost only to abandon them once they exit the birth canal? Who doesn’t believe in protecting themselves and their fellow citizens from spreading a deadly virus that is killing hundreds of thousands in America and millions worldwide by the simple actions of wearing a face covering and maintaining recommended social distancing when out in public? Who doesn’t believe that decisions on battling a global pandemic should be left to the medical experts in the fields of epidemiology and scientific research? Who doesn’t believe in our rights as citizens under the 1st Amendment? Who doesn’t believe we’re engaged in class warfare in this country? Who doesn’t believe that federally-appointed jurists should rule based on established law and precedent rather than personal ideology? Who doesn’t believe in the sanctity of our electoral system. Who doesn’t believe that our president should not be kowtowing to foreign dictators? Who doesn’t believe in a president for “all Americans” who can be depended upon to always tell the truth, no matter how harsh or disturbing that truth may be. And so on and so forth; get the picture? Feel free to add to this list!
To paraphrase a certain redneck comic; if you don’t believe in anything other than your own selfish prejudice, you’re probably a “Republican Trumper”. After four years of abject insanity, if you remain a “Trumper”, you obviously don’t want to know the truth. If you don’t want to know the truth, that’s what makes you extremely ignorant and extremely dangerous!