My Mindless Rant after election Day!

This is just my WIP Rant. It is how I feel and hopefully it will engage a conversation, it is intentionally provocative.

“Leaders don’t create movements, movements create leaders” Rosa Luxemburg (?) (1870-1919)

I use this quote to point out that we cannot blame Donald Trump for how hateful and divided we have become. This is not in any way absolving him, far from that, I am just pointing out that he only exposed this and used it to his advantage!

Donald Trump only represents what this country has become in the era of social media: MORE Selfish, MORE Angry MORE Vicious and MORE Tribal. The USA is now in fact a reality show. We were already becoming that, however the internet has exploded this to the point where I fear a national healing is now generations away.

Ronald Reagan Once said: “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

Further our pledge of allegiance, which we make all incoming immigrants take has in it that we are “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.

That’s what we make immigrants pledge to. That’s why they want to be here, but WE seem like we have absolutely forgotten that. Maybe we need to bring that back to our schools!

No matter how this turns out, we need to have a serious conversation about our divisions. I pray we are capable of it.

What terrifies me is this: The current occupant of the White House seems to have ZERO interest in this conversation at all. And…neither are his supporters. Their goal: WIN! The enemy: Our fellow citizens. If our enemies are our neighbors, how do we heal?

We are no longer indivisible. We are more divisible now than ever and yes: Technology has made us more susceptible to that. A slick social media post or a well thought out rant of a media pundit and we are off to war with our neighbors and fellow countrymen.

Indivisible: We are NOT! Justice? For ME, not for ALL!!

Trump and his supporters do not seem to be talking about with any conviction how he has a grand vision for ALL Americans to heal and for us to become one nation Under God. They are (mainly) talking about how f–ked up the left is and how the mobs will destroy your neighborhoods and your life. That’s what they seem to be voting for!! FEAR!

They are not interested in what is best for the country as a whole, they are only interested in their side winning. Even if it goes against their own interests of having affordable health care, of having living wages, of having quality education for their kids. They seem to me to be saying: F–k that, we just want to win!!!

What scares me first is that some on the “left” are beginning to talk like the right. As a result, families are torn apart and lifelong and/or close friendships have evaporated. Some likely permanently.

Oh and yeah: Some of them are starting to arm themselves and head to the streets.

What frightens me is what I felt internally. I viewed the Democratic party as weak as hell. Why were they talking bi-partisanship and tolerance when the other side is having none of it and it is not in their talking points? Why are we not punching them in the face, there are WAY more of us than them, right? Why are we letting 44% of the country dictate how the rest of us should live.

At that point: I realized that I was becoming what I resented. While I don’t unfriend people electronically or in real life, I found that I did “unfollow” them both on social media and in real life. I don’t throw people away easily.

I am hoping that the fellowship and affinity I have for some of my friends returns but I noticed that I stopped caring about or (more accurately) listening to what some of my friends had to say. And why NOT? They don’t seem to give two s–ts about how I feel or what I am afraid of, I ask a meaningful question and I get Fox News talking points and………some of my friends seemed to invalidate me totally!

I mean…….WHY!

Why can’t you understand that as a black male in the USA who has a black son why I fear that the “right” seems to validate the ability of law enforcement to do their will with us and get away with it because they feared for their life?

Why can’t you understand part of my anger is the irony that this country would expect and demand young black men to defend this country if it came to that but seems to have zero interest in defending or protecting them? And if they protest?: Shut up and dribble! They expect a loyalty they are unwilling to give.

Why is it ok for them to see other AMERICANS suffer die and as long as it doesn’t affect them, they are OK and call it “Fake News”?

Why is it ok that 545 babies are perhaps permanantly separated from their parents?

Why is it that if my side does not win an election, then the results are fraudulent.

Why and HOW can we WATCH a man have a knee pressed down on his neck for nine minutes and then be made to believe it was HIS fault that happened.

How does a US Senator say that giving aid to states to help ease the pain from the pandemic would be a “blue state bailout” and then get re-elected?

Why don’t you do what most people do when their leader is challenged or accused. Have them answer the challenge or accusation themselves and NOT allow him to blame the accusers and then accuse others of just being hateful.

And I got more, there is a LOT of anger over here with me, so the first person I need to heal is myself and that may not be a quick process.

Back to my fear for my country!

What is more terrifying is this: I just do not think that we as a country are capable of overcoming any significant external threat as generations before us have.

Why? Because we are no longer willing to sacrifice for the common good of the entire country. We are all about “US” now and not the “USA”. People who lived in previous eras, like WWI, WWII, the Civil and Revolutionary wars made extreme and tremendous personal sacrifices to win those wars to preserve or even gain the freedoms we enjoy.

In today’s USA wearing a mask and staying indoors for a while to defeat a pandemic that is killing our people by the thousands daily (to some) is fake news and represents an existential threat to their “freedom”.

We are like the rich spoiled kids who inherited the kingdom, have no idea of what it took to build it so we decided the blow the whole fortune on a party thrown by a entertaining madman.

I am not sure, but I would guess that the people from the 1960′ and earlier who fought and died for rights for rights of the marginalized in this country and those who are of the greatest generations before ours who sacrificed EVERYTHING so their progeny (us) could have the most powerful and wealthy nation to ever exist are rolling in their graves now.

It seems we have learned nothing, we mainly have suceeded in putting icing over our excrement , claim it is a cake and called it progress.