There are two Americas

Joe Biden during this year's campaign and Barack Obama before him, both said that there are no Blue States or Red States, no Red America and Blue America, only the United States of America.

They're both wrong.

There are two Americas. And quite obviously, neither side understands the other.

Jim Wright today on Facebook summed it up pretty well:

So what have we learned?

Here is what it comes down to:

In Red America, people are OK with racism even if they hide it. People are OK with bigotry. People are OK with misogyny and sexism. People are OK with hate, creeping fascism, waving swastikas, lighting tiki torches and burning crosses. 

In Red America, they don't mind the grifter in the White House, as long as their 401Ks are up, even if that rise is an illusion. I saw hundreds of interviews this election season where retirees, farmers, small business people and many others said: "The economy is doing very well under Trump." But they do not understand the real economy. They believe that this man really has a good policy vis-a-vis China and trade. They believe that this man HAS made us safer with his policy with North Korea. That we're better for it and more independent if we're withdrawn from the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran Nuclear Deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and NAFTA (if you were to study NAFTA and the new deal Trump pursued, you would understand that the new deal is just a simple an update of NAFTA and that Mexico and Canada have given no new concessions that make life for American Producers and Consumers better.)

In Red America, they believe that that their taxes have gone down, not understanding the economic time bombs that the new tax law has put in place. Not just, raising taxes for people, but raising taxes for working class people. But economically untenable is also a system where corporations pay zero tax, where Billionaires get an increasing larger share of the pie, and where everyone else hopes to win the Lotto one day.

James Lee Burke in his latest book, "A Private Cathedral" has a telling quote:

We're living in weird times, Streak. I bet forty percent of the country wouldn't mind firing up the ovens as long as the smokestacks are blowing downwind. 

Unfortunately, it's true, most people in Red America believe in short term gain as opposed to planning for the future of their children and their children's children. They do not see any of the looming threats.

"Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness"

I have been talking about this, and talking about this.

The rich continue to get richer and everyone else falls behind.

BUT,

What if instead of this model, we switched to one where GREED and being better than everyone else WAS NOT the primary motivator. NO. I'm not talking about SOCIALISM. I'm talking about shared responsibility. There was a time, even in this old US of A, that we said enough of the robber-barons, enough of these millionaires and billionaires taking advantage of everyone.... (And before that, enough of these Kings and Queens taking advantage of the serfs). The USA was established as a Democracy underpinned with that sense of shared responsibility. But what happened?

Even in the USA, even after "our shared values" brought success in WWII and post-war prosperity (which we shared with people around the world), and which helped defeat communism, somewhere along the way we started worshiping GREED again and this sick version of rugged-individualism. Now, there is nothing wrong with saying I am an individual, and as such I will strive to succeed and become the best version of myself possible. But there is a context lacking today.

The context missing is that no one is isolated and living by themselves ANYWHERE in the world. NONE of your actions (or mine) are independent of some force or action on someone or something else associated with society.

Now these words, "associated," "society," "connected," "civilization," and even "socialism," all have something in common. They are backed by the idea that everything we do is shared, it's connected, it's part of being a member in our local space, our extended country family and our inhabited world. Regardless of whether you are an anti-Globalist or in fact believe in the butterfly effect, the truth is YOU ARE PART of this SPINNING GLOBE called EARTH.

Now, more than ever before, where the news travel around the world at light speed, and the spread of a virus outpaces the spread of panic about its effects.

You might not like the ideas of your neighbor, BUT, there is only two ways to deal with those ideas. Either you shun your neighbor, ignore him when his house is burning and don't call 911, OR you run into his house to save him and his kids. In other words, you co-exist. Shared responsibility.

Somewhere, along the way this fundamental social contract was broken. Somewhere along the way, it became OK to hate your neighbor more than you hate the things that want to hurt you. The enemy has become the face in the mirror and in doing so, we have allowed all the worse impulses of humanity to take root.

You hate immigrants? Fine. But at one time you were an immigrant too.

You hate rivals? Fine. But you're also someone's rival.

You hate communists? Fine.They hate you too. But they are people too. Why so much hate?

You hate socialists? Fine. But at one time you were a socialist too....whether in a cave in the neolithic trying to survive against the cold and the mastodon and the other wild animals circling, OR when you went down to the DMV to get you car tag and pay your tax in order to drive your car on the public roads that ALL OF US AS A SOCIAL group (ie., a society) agreed we wanted.

The answer of course is not take more of you money to help those in need. (But if you're a Christian and you don't see that is what GOD is asking us to do, why are you playing at being a Christian, and lying to yourself and God?) The answer is to go back and share responsibility again. We shared responsibility when we formed this Union. (The same can be said of any country which worked toward its independence). We shared responsibility again to defeat the evil of Fascism and the Nazis. We shared responsibility to go to the moon. But not anymore. What happened?

Now, everyone is AGAINST everyone else and nobody understands the "other" or even attempts to put themselves in "someone else's shoes". Although, some are. Some understand that the "social contract" has been broken and it is time to mend it again. This gentleman is one of those people. You see what he did? Is it right for CEOs to make 300 times more that workers in the their companies? Are company profits more important than the workers who make the company profitable? Is buying a pair of socks for $1 or a t-shirt for $5, more important than a retail worker earning a living wage? Is your absolute right to own a gun more important than my right to NOT BE murdered in public? At what point does my freedom end your freedom begin? At what point does our shared responsibility at this game called "living life" end? Are we in this together, or are we in a fight for survival? Are we playing Darwin's game of "survival of the fittest"? Because down this road there is only on answer: DEATH. And not just your enemies' death. But many others too. Maybe yours as well? When will you realize that your choices and your beliefs have led you astray? Will it take the death of your friends? Of your family? Will you then finally understand that we are all connected despite what you might want to think about your superior intellect and your personal independence?

Ultimately, it comes down to a two part question:

Where does your "humanity" (everything about you and your life) end, and where does my "humanity" begin? Do they interlace?

And what does "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," really mean?

The Rapture and the President's Fascism

Years ago, I read a book that explained that during the end of days, a lot of Christians will be unconvinced that the end has come. WHY? Because, the whole Rapture theology is SO WRONG. No one - absolutely NO ONE will be raptured to heaven when the end comes. So, what will happen is that millions of Christians will deny the Armageddon is upon us, thinking, that UNLIKE the movies "Left Behind", "I am a christian", "I was not raptured into heaven", therefore, this is not Armageddon. Almost the exact same demographic -- please note, I am not calling anyone any names -- are the people who do not see the nascent Fascism in front of their eyes. For example, Jason Chaffez (of lock her up -- aka, HRC), says that it is doubtful he will be investigating President Trump (of course not, because he's a saint, right? -- Plus, he's a Republican. You don't go after Republicans). Far be it for the chairman of the "Executive Overreach Committee" to investigate the President for, you know, Executive Overreach. In addition, a lot of "these" people, and all those who called President Obama a bad president (among the nicest of terms used), also compare him to a Fascist and called him bad names. So, a large percentage of the population (what 35-40%?) don't see the Fascism creeping in. Trump a fascist? No, that was Obama man, "ramming down our throats, gays, blacks and muslims." They don't see that having three branches of government completely controlled by Republicans is a recipe for disaster. They think that that is "good thing". They think that an independent judiciary is actually a bad thing. The founders who designed our constitution and our form of Government although very smart were not infallible. They took what they saw around them and designed a new system of government to the best of their abilities. However, they were not able to foresee that technological advances would allow for things like instantaneous communication. How were they to know that the tools for speaking and sharing thought will go far beyond books and newspapers. These same tools can now be used to suppress thought (dissent) and to control (the population). Just like Hitler proposed in his "Mein Kampf", the current President of the US is promoting his own truth. Those who don't support his truth are enemies (for now, "fake news"). Later on to be put into camps maybe? So, "the people" who I talked about earlier, the ones who will be fooled when they don't see something they expect, will be fooled this time, because their "leader", the man who believes as they do, and will bring about the conservative changes they've been asking for, CAN NOT LIE. Therefore, what comes from him and his administration is TRUE, RIGHT and to be BELIEVED verbatim. We/you will never be able to convince them that the man is a LIAR and the things he advocates, promotes and executes into actions are terrible policies, borderline Fascist (for now) and not conducive to the well governing of a Democracy. This, as the show B5 shared, will be "The Long, Twilight Struggle". If we survive, in 4 years we will be able to kick the Fascists out. But, it is also very likely that we will not be able to survive, if Mr. Bannon's fascination with the Apocalypse (the end of days) is any indication.

The New York—Stupid—Knicks

I have had it with this team. The last time it won a championship I was a toddler. Now, it can't complete a trade for a top 5 NBA player like Carmelo Anthony? What is wrong with these people? Give Denver everything they want! Everything, except Amar'e Stoudemire. He's the only untouchable. Then build the team around Anthony and Stoudemire.

When did Gallinari, and Felton, and Chandler became such great players? The Knicks have not had a good team since Isiah Thomas destroyed them... I yearn for the joy days of Patrick Ewing and John Starks and the NBA Finals. With Stoudemire and Anthony we'll get there. With Stoudemire and a supporting cast? I don't see it.

Toomer's Corner Trees: Auburn Police Arrest Dadeville Man In Toomer's Corner Tree Poisoning - WHNT

Toomer's Corner Trees: Auburn Police Arrest Dadeville Man In Toomer's Corner Tree Poisoning - WHNT

I wonder if this story has anything to do with the current "poisoned" climate in the United States. I mean, really, this appears to be one deranged sports fan who acted out on his sports-hatred... and nothing more than that. For years, sports violence has been an epidemic in Europe an even in some countries in Asia and Africa, even at times in South America. Never really been a problem in the U.S. of America. England (the UK in general really), has been struggling for years with hooliganism,which has been exported to places like Italy, Spain and Greece and even some of the Arab countries. They tend to do a better job of suppressing the violence, but violence persists.

The causes of the violence are many and varied, but in sports it usually manifests in clashes between rivals of two opposing Football (Futbol) clubs. Such matches, are sometimes called the local derby (known here in America as the "cross-town rivalry"). Of course, no-one wants heated passion to escalate to the point of violence, but very often, in European matches this happens.

This has been something that sporting world has NOT experienced in the U.S. Opposing team buses have not been attacked by crazed fans. Oh, objects have been thrown on the playing surfaces of basketball games, or Football stadiums (snowballs come to mind in Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey), but I don't think that things have ever gotten so far out of control in the way that some matches oversees have... where officials needed to be escorted of the pitch in soccer games. Still. This violence epidemic in the sports world spoke of something deeper in the psyche of the common person on the street. Most people on the street were dissatisfied with their lot in life, and sports is just an outlet for this dissatisfaction. Sports attendance is very approachable in Europe, etc...

So, entertainment is the opium for the masses, and Sports has become a sort of Entertainment. It is a drug to keep the masses pliant and acquiescent. Of course, in the U.S. sports events are not accessible by the wider public. They have become too expensive for the median income family to attend. You have to belong to the upper middle class and above, before you can afford them. So most of America are spectators from afar, meaning they have only their TVs to watch from. And it is these same TVs and the TV talking heads who inflame and prod, constantly analyzing everything and anything. They have made the moment an athlete goes into the bathroom an event worthy of analysis: "What did he have for breakfast? How long did he spent in the bathroom? Is he OK? Did he wash his hands after-wards? Did he have contact in that bathroom with someone he should not have?" In other words, if something improper occurred in that bathroom, you better believe it those talking heads will find it, discuss it, and tell us about it.

It does not help either that the country is currently going through the toughest political period it has ever faced. The old timers will tell you things were bad in the 1950s under Jim Crow, or the 1960s with the Civil Rights and Vietnam War marches. History might even tell you that things weren't that good before then either in our history, go further back. What's important to understand is that we're traversing a difficult time, with people with diametrically opposed viewpoints sometimes shouting at each other across a great chasm. Is it any wonder then that people get inflamed in such an environment? Is it possible that a lunatic got crazy enough in an environment toxic enough by the rhetoric to try and assassinate a sitting US Congresswoman? Lots and lots has been written about this, much better than my effort. Ignore my effort. I am only making a roundabout point...

My thesis is this: In a toxic environment, people turn to sports for release. I've seen it happen in Europe. In places like England and Italy and Greece where people feel they have no other say, and can't get their way, they get their release through sports. They do just about anything for their sports team. People HAVE DIED for their sports team, and have attempted murder for their team. Is this acceptable? No, of course not. But, especially, during tough economic conditions, and when the preachers of doom and hate preach their nastiness on TV 24/7, people feel frustrated, and then they react.

This is the way one man reacted. He killed some trees. What will the next "crazed" fan do?

Is the media culpable? Yes, 100%. Both the regular media for preaching hate, and pushing regular people into corners where they find release in such horrible ways, and the sports media--do you have to analyze everything so much?