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It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.
Kissinger (eta: allegedly)
We create our enemies and act surprised when things happen, and buy the official story wholesale, despite watching it play out before our eyes, then pretend we’re the victim. Individually and collectively, "left (now slightly right of center right)” and (very far) right, then play victim. I’ve been guilty, even recently.
Eta: something about who we are allowed to criticize.
How does that negate what I said?
I suppose fear, anxiety, stress and worry are back to being acceptable only for those not lucky enough to be monied. Moreso. Again. Smh
LibreWolf time too.
Greg Palast spoke about vulture capitalism, bit I’m sure that has nothing to do with anything. Perhaps insult rather than taking a few moments to reflect or ask may indicate more about ourselves than the other. Perhaps we’d do well to temper ourselves toward reflection a bit more.
Anyway, you may or not disagree and may or not do a little digging, I have no control over you, nor do I wish to have; I’ve all I can do (and sometimes more) to manage my own disposition, and allotted time and resources. I wish you the best of days as I continue about mine.
Maybe self reflection is good for lefties. And righties. Our founding fathers were far from perfect and I guess that’s what “more perfect” union was about. And securing the blessings of life, liberty and prosperity should be equally applied, across the board. I mean, I’m so for convicted felons having the opportunity to become president - but not when that emboldens them to keep committing more and more egregious crimes and enabling them to allow others to do the same.
The United States has seriously lost our way. It’s time for us to stop being "it’s okay and different when I or my people do it, not when you and yours do.
For the love of everything holy, let’s get on with the business of giving everyone what they need to succeed, instead of the select few. I’m sick to death of right we call left and far right. We call right. If fascism is far right and communism fat left, socialism is between them and the more moderate policy. So is heavy, heavy regulation, and if America was so great in the fifties, let’s legislate those tax rates, and regulate business and pollution, not race, gender, creed or lack thereof, love lives, child production or lack of, sex lives, but giving people tools and time to be well-educated students, parents, employees. That means quality; housing, education and tutoring, environment, food, clothing, comprehensive health care, and clothing, utilities, including internet, environment, such as breathable sure, not-poisened fresh fruit and veggies, non-cafo animal products if they desire, healthy cooking oils, clean and efficient, safe public transportation etc etc etc. All races, all gender s, all family units (including LGBT+, polycules, volcel), music, stress, philosophy, any , etc etc.
TV, designer brands with vulgar branding, cheap clothing that wears out and pollutes and crates sweat shops and other things of that ilk can largely go away afaic.
Strangely, I’m okay with families being given quality clothing that lasts for generations, like $3000 leather shoes and outerwear, asking with lessons on how to care for them. I mean I’m not okay with that piece, but if that’s what it takes so little kids aren’t working 12 hr days at 38 cents an hour, but adult craftspeople making truly loving wages, so be it
Oh yes, throw in quality time, access to property leisure, art and theatre along with time to cook, clean, sleep, read, attend chosen place of worship, including ToS or UU, mosque, tenon’s, etc and keep an eye on the crazy extremist ones that tend to breed y’all Qaeda/Al queda, ave whatever other days requirements are. By no means should religion interfere with politics and politics should drive toward idealistic lifestyles for everyone. I’m getting over extremism, left, right, religious or atheistic. It’s time to put away childish things. But reading ideas from across the direction isn’t a bad idea, but we must must must provide critical thinking and logic education so we can be vigilantly guarding against it. I guess the current president and studying things I dismissed or avoided out of hand without diving deeper into them without knowing much about them can be thanked for that. I’m learning. It’s never ending.
Eta: I’ll have to clean up autocorrect garbage later. I’m supposed to be up in a few hours.
Maybe evil Russia became evil because of our constant demonization of them, an egregore of necessity. We are allowed to criticize Russia, Iran, Palestine, Cuba, communists, socialists, certain Democrats, Nicaragua, El Salvador. We’re not allowed to criticize billionaires, corporations, Republicans, Israel. Maybe we need to wonder about why. Maybe we need to wonder if Machines, Sinemas, Fettermans, Gabards are Blue Dog Dems or "sleeper agents.”
Btw, remember how Mayo® Pete went from unacceptable racist with zero larger scale transportation experience to all good for it on a national scale?
Maybe humans are shaped by opportunities (to grow in moral corruption or moral stature) and circumstance more than we like to remember when it doesn’t suit us. Maybe we could not over esteem good people, and try to work out ways of reshaping, re-educating and rehabilitating the worst, and money is appropriately fined according to ability to pay, that in no way allows repeat offenders to skip rehabilitation (which in my estimation is re-education without the scary connotations of prior failures at attempts to do that) and work toward quelling and wishing our own desires for retribution and vigilantly guarding, adequately funding the system to make rehab/re-ed more successful and from slipping into the abyss of retribution.
Gods help us, evolution is slow. But as I age it does seem more and more critical that it begins with the individual in the mirror, moment-by-moment, day-by-day.
Maybe our failure wasn’t the concept of Op Paperclip, rehab re-ed, but the execution of them. The human factor.