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Ignore My Rant....

rant

Time to Get the Fuck Out of Dodge?

 

There are the “serious” reasons to leave the country right now – as we descend into Fascism. And then there is the semi-religious reason to stay or leave.

 

And by “semi-religious” I mean the shared commonality of spirit that Americans used to believe. It is typified by the Pledge of Allegiance (yes, I said it every single day in school) and the Declaration of Independence – which I had to get signatures for in Civics class at the Lakewood Mall.

 

The Pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.".

·      “..indivisible..” President Trump has divided the country into us and them. And all Democrats are now “them” – especially those of us that believe in equality.

·      “.. liberty...” The President and his backers don’t believe in liberty for anyone but white men.

·      “.. justice for all...” An ideal that this President and his Republican backers have literally refuted. There is one system of Justice for the President and his backers and one for everyone else.

 

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

 

These have always been ideals, aspirational intentions. It was written by men in an age when men without land, all women and free blacks were not allowed to vote; slavery was nearly universal in the colonies. But the ideals behind these documents are what has guided our country for over 200 years.

 

The President has replaced our sacred beliefs with a cult of Trump. He is turning his white nationalists into a militia reminiscent of the brown shirts of Germany – only with Hawaiian shirts, masks and Automatic Rifles. He has decided that black and brown people are not “all men”, he defines them as thugs, murders and rapists.

 

 

Serious reasons why I am considering leaving:

1.     Absence of Rule of the Law

a.     Our country was built on rules, particularly around the President, congress and separation of powers. Many of these were norms and many were laws, but the President has broken them. Worse, Congress, in particular – Republicans, have not pushed back and followed the law. This isn't me being hyperbolic, they are following the fucking law!

b.     There are a couple of reasons this bugs me. One, I was raised to think rules are important and fair. I find unfairness hard to deal with on a mental level. Accidental unfairness is okay, but a choice made to be unfair is hard on me. Chosen unfairness by the richest and most powerful among us is even worse. It is untenable.

2.     Use of Federal Powers to prop up the political fortunes of the Administration

a.     Using the Federal Reserve in order artificially pump up the economy. This is common in 3rd world countries, but the United States lead the world by using an independent Federal Reserve, now that is gone.

b.     Using the State Department to find out dirt on your political opponents.

c.     Using trade agreements to further your political fortunes.

 

 

I could easily go through a litany of what infuriates me about what is going on, but what scares me is that the lies and hate is so obvious and yet so accepted in my country. One has to ask, “Is it my country anymore?”

 

And, if not, what is the option?

1.     Ignore it?

2.     Run away (leave the country)?

3.     Hope for the best?

4.     Fight for change within the system?

5.     Hang on until November and hope he is voted out (and leaves)?

 

Options 1 and 3 have become untenable. My insides are not dealing with that well.

 

Option 4 lies in the vortex of futile, hopeless and naïve.

·      We fought for more votes in 2018, won them - and the situation still got worse.

·      Two released reports showed the President’s team worked with Russia – from both a special investigator and a Republican lead committee and the findings are ignored.

·      The President was tried for Impeachment and the Republican led Senate refused to allow witness or testimony. The impeachment was based on an open request for foreign interference in this election cycle - which is illegal as well as immoral. The Republicans do not care.

·      The President was a listed co-conspirator with his lawyer and shown that he violated the law. And nothing happened to him (the lawyer was sent to prison).

·      Guilty verdicts on the Presidents cronies were dropped by the Department of Justice or overturned by pardons from the President - for the men who lied to save his ass. That outcry you hear, Crickets.

 

Option 5, if EVERYTHING turns out as I hope, it means Trump leaves with 40% of the country still following the fascist dictates of white nationalism.

 

Option 2 isn’t possible because I love Ed and I can’t leave him.

 

Helpless