Only Humans... Why would you believe anything else?

I’ve been on this planet for a while now and it didn’t take long for me to notice that all humans are very similar. Male, female, black, white all cultures and all the little segments we’ve made up want pretty much the same stuff.

Now, inside all the little compartments we created there are aberrations, some feel small some feel big, some feel different, for the most part, these things are affects of our minds things we made up due mostly to the negative way we have built our little societies.

If you find it hard to believe that we are all basically the same I direct you to all of human history. 

All cultures and societies have suffered through the same issues… lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy & pride. 

Yes, that old biscuit! 

Any combination of these seven,  (let us not call them sins, in this present age they are more like states of being ) can lead a person to believe that they are more than common and feeling more than common it’s a short walk from there to believing that the right to dictate is yours! 

Maybe you start to think the right is God-given or some perceived genetic superiority, in either case, you’d be wrong but you would still be part of a very large group of deluded sock puppets. 

I may add some of whom came very close to killing us all.

Now anyone that knows me knows that I have a long-held personal theory that one of the major problems with Earth’s human population is bad definitions we constantly conflate success with money, love with passion, truth with justice and so on and so on.

I think that America’s set of bad definitions comes from the ever-growing level of ignorance in the society, ignorance and a double helping of both hubris and malice mix that up in a big bowl with the American superpower of rationalization and you get halfway to the dystopian nightmare we are currently building.

The simple fact is that as much as we say we love freedom and often chuckle at the hijinks of the countries that have somehow held on to their royals we still have the desire to raise some to a level from which they can easily look down on us, rule us. 

How does that help us?

Why would we do something that is so counter to our stated goals?

A country not held together by our similarities but by our differences is what we are supposed to be building, not concerned that we are not there and may never be but even with that knowledge, we keep working on it anyway.

This is a period of time where America & the world is going to be forced to face and reconcile our long-held set of bad definitions the truth is we have been living a lie for so long that it was inevitable that we’d come to the place where we could no longer see the truth, and that has made easy victims to tribalism & conmen.

We do say we want freedom, truth, justice but the simple things we must do as a people to achieve these things are apparently too hard an ask. Even at the risk of the loss of freedom we refuse to come together to defeat what we all know is evil, instead we revert to our tribes in the hopes that somehow we will be somehow spared the results of our ignorance by clinging to our religion, righteousness, intelligence or the foolish idea that “someone else” will come along and fix it all.

Is freedom just too hard for modern humans?

Are we better off being dictated to and made to stand in line until our time comes to leap into the gaping maw of the salivating machine we have built and now must be fed?

Of course not but the path we are on leads only to 90% of us living on the wrong side of a barbed wire fence.

Trump the great emancipator!?!

How Trump may free us!

I feel the need to repeat a phrase that is all the rage in the Trump Error … “These are strange and unprecedented times!” but it’s not ALL bad…
Actually, it is pretty bad but likely not fatal It seems with each rising sun we do discover something new about who and what we are and that's some kind of growth and growth is good … right?
Now we can spend days sorting through who insulted who or which President is not suited to the office and such but instead, I’d like to spend some time on some of the positive things he’s done for us … this may be a very short piece.
While some Presidents bring new words, phrases, and ideas into the American consciousness, “The buck stops here!”, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself!” and our Trump’s “you can grab em’ by the pussy!”

Yes, we have Trump to thank for opening the door and admitting “Pussy” into the popular lexicon as well as “Bigly” and many other newly created words.
With new boundaries being destroyed on a daily basis we are all being freed, freed from the restrictions of polite societal conventions & mores & critical thought… hell, at this point we can pretty much consider ourselves freed from all types of thought.

What a gift!

Let’s examine just what gifts such as these might do for us all, besides the obvious effect of giving some the freehand they have long awaited, freedom to offend and make America great again.
Freedom to put liberals, people of color & women right back at the bottom of the heap the way they probably think God intended.

The long-maligned white men of this world can once again grab the wheel and continue running the world into the ditch but not ALL white men, even the Trumpians can see that it is the select few that will hold the power and as for the rest?

Well… They’ll make great pets?

The Trump plan, as it always is with despotic rulers only acknowledges money & power but also as it always is, this plan will never take into consideration the considerable power of the resistance, the power of history the power of the people.

Society is moving beyond the system that kept the balance by issuing small crumbs of power and regional influence to the surf class and as we move beyond that system we will have to build a new one hopefully one that better serves us.
I know we have dared to dream of a better more equitable future many times but it does fit well into the ironic nature of existence that our darkest President may usher in a new age of light & enlightenment.

How can I say this?

I guess I can because I still remain hopeful because I want to believe that by staring into the dark of the abyss we may be able to fully appreciate the light and that appreciation may steel us to the task of bringing more light to our lives.

Don't let the door hit ya : What happens after?

There’s a lot of talk in the past few days about the last days of Trump some dream of impeachment others of lengthy jail time some sort of vengeance for Trump and the Republican party bringing us so close to the edge.

I don’t know if any of that will happen or that they will suffer any repercussions at all what I do know is that it’s gonna take a lot of fixin’ to undo what has been done in Trump's short reign. The tax Bill alone will scar America for years to come.

So… who goes and who stays? I for one am not ready for President Pence and the right wing, Bible-thumping madness that could come with that option, nor could I stand Ryan, no… that’s too much to bear!

While the future is concerning it could be much worse, if they were better at rigging the system, lucky for us it is highly unlikely that they have an after plan the whole thing has a flukey feeling. Like at some point ( probably at the very beginning ) it all got out of control, that will happen when you have a group that trades in hate it was only a matter of time before they turned on themselves.

They have exposed ( at least to white people ) the horrible underbelly of America while I do believe that there are more American’s that can now see the road to truth & justice than there were at the beginning of this political Nantucket sleigh ride but are there enough?
Will the changes that the left has to make be permanent?
Will Black Live actually begin to matter?
Will women finally get into the room?

Will we actually address what has and is being done to women since the dawn of time?
I cant say for sure, this lesson stung like touching a hot stove to be sure but you gotta admit we are not great at learning lessons if we were the last year would never have happened but it did Blanche, But it did!

This year will leave us changed and forever but now that we have seen the horrors the republican party is happy to inflict upon this country and the nasty face of racism & sexism when they feel emboldened what will we do?

Believe me, no one is happier to see the end of Trump however if we become too transfixed with correcting the Trump Error or the job of fixing it all we may lose sight of what we need to do to make the country fair for all of us.

American Exodus: So... You wanna be a refugee?

We have arrived at a place in history where almost all of our collective learning is all but useless.
Who would’ve thought that we would enter such desperate political times that many Americans would express a very real desire to leave her bosom?

We are all learning that the Trump phenomenon has any number of variables.
I want to make it clear that even though I live life as an American Ex-Pat, I am in no way advocating a mass exodus from America however … if you should find that you are hearing things about “retraining” camps and find that the Fickle Finger of Fate is suddenly pointing at you, I trust that you will have the good sense & historical conscientiousness to run for your life.

But to where do you run?

Let’s face it as an American your existence has left you ill-prepared for life as a political refugee, not that you haven’t had plenty of examples of how similar situations have played out for others but it is very likely that you weren't paying close attention, after all, there are no bombs falling where you live!
Now, though you are becoming aware that falling bombs, drone strikes, and Coup D’tat are not the only ways you can become a refugee.
No… now that we are experiencing a new level of political “Cray-Cray” many are flying right past fight and jumping on a flight… going  just about anywhere
These are crazy times and in times like these, it is important to have a few pointers to help you through your new life as a Refugee.

As an American refugee, you will find that you have some catching up to do … while these last 10 years have seen many living in the rest of the world get really familiar with the refugee lifestyle Americans have had the luxury of being able to avoid it all but those days are fading fast.
Pretty soon even the Trump voters are going to realize that they’ve been fucked which is the most common way to become a refugee, politically, culturally or following the lead of a self-absorbed conman, however, you get fucked they can all lead to the necessity to take it on the hoof… bug out… take it on the lam!

So now what are you to do?

You have to remember that you’re an American and as an American we know that it is unlikely that you’ll take advantage of the wealth of refugee experience available ( Let’s face it … you’re a bit self-centered & a little thick ) and after all, you’re not like those other refugees! Those other huddled masses yearning to be free are fleeing corrupt government, social unrest & economic inequities …
Actually… you may have more uncommon with those others than you think.
If only there were a country that chose to shine a light welcoming the huddled masses that you have just joined, a place where they could breathe free!

Well forget about it, that place exists no longer, in fact, I can barely remember where it was!

First thing to do in your new life as a refugee is to familiarise yourself with a map of the earth, while you have gotten by just fine without any knowledge of the places and people of the planet now you’ll find that it will be quite important that you look around a bit and get some real facts about customs, social systems, political systems …

I know you’re thinking I’ve done quite well without any knowledge of the American political & social system… but look where that ignorance has gotten you!
No… you’ll now be on a quite steep learning curve, it’s best you embrace it.
You’d best prepare yourself for the fact that in most places you’ll be cast as a cultural interloper this may be somewhat familiar to you because again as an American you’ve seen it done to so many others, it’s important to note that this is where your sadly atrophied empathy bone is going to need some attention if you are going to survive your transition into a true refugee.
Ironically if you had just used it before America fell… well let’s not get into that now it’s best you use your American superpower of extreme rationalization to jump that hurdle.

Terrorism

In your new life as a Refugee you will soon become aware that while you sat in your suburban home contemplating the many (mostly fictional) ways terrorism would touch you or when the race war would start your experience is now going to move from the abstract to something more real and tangible because you’ll find that a large part of the world has been dealing with terrorism on a much more visceral & personal way.

Paperwork

If you’ve spent any time in one or more of the refugee centres you may find it difficult to get hold of documents, you may find it difficult to prove your Bona Fides in your new life so you may want to prepare yourself for work in one of the trades that will be easy to access as a refugee, such as waiter, waitress, dish hand or cab driver. you will need to familiarise yourself with the phrases “ In my country I was a Dr “ or physicist or environmentalist or any of the obsolete American trades ( word to the wise it’s best to avoid some of the more controversial trades like Lawyer & Civil Servant) be aware though there will be no city hall where you’re going, in fact, little or no infrastructure of any kind and most likely not a lot of kind thought about them.

Climate change

Out here in the world, you will find that climate change is not quite so much an unknown quantity, your new life as a political refugee may find you in a place or places where climate change will have a real effect on you.
The movement of the tides and weather patterns will now be the things you check before your Twitter feeds and will dictate how much food if any you will have.

If you do choose to leave the country be aware that that action will leave our beloved homeland in a state that very few of us would ever want, the Republicans and elite will be in full charge and as we all know left on their own it won’t be long before they find a way to destroy themselves, the country and maybe more and if that happens the dream of America will be forever lost to us.

A Return to Normal : A word to the radical right

Now that you've taken us to the very edge and we have ALL had to stare into the horrible abyss of an America that does not even pretend to be about freedom & equality and are now left to survive the dark days that lie ahead, there are questions we should ask ourselves…

“What IS freedom?”

Clearly, it’s not what we thought it was.
Not what we have been indoctrinated to believe it is.
In truth, it is not qualified by race, or sex, or power or nationality.

Did you ever really think Americans were incapable of the madness that is inherent in mankind?
No, me neither but as an American, my indoctrination was so thorough that some aspects of that indoctrination forced me to leave my beloved homeland to even perceive there existence!
Unwittingly, President Trump (and I imagine he does many things that way) has lifted the lid on the American issues that have never been settled, by trying to reconquer America & replant the white nationalist flag he has exposed our underbelly, our dirtiest secrets.

By attempting to remake the country in his broken image, he may just have broken our unsustainable precepts and misconceptions
That act has not only made us visible to our enemies but also to those who have for so long wanted to apply a hammer & cold chisel to America’s undercarriage.
You see… and this may surprise you if you’re a total idiot (and as we now know many are) in some very major & important ways the Civil war never ended!

In these times we have all had to live with the American hypocrisy that comes into every living room daily.

Now, somehow you want it all to return to normal but here’s the thing
We ain’t going back to normal.
You see, thanks to what you have done, normal ain’t half good enough anymore!
No!
We are staying
Out & Proud
Black & Loud
Now, the “others’ ARE coming for you but don’t you try to paint yourself as the victim!
Soon the ground will be littered with shards of the glass ceiling
And soon all languages will be freely spoken everywhere!

Humans will revel again in the idea of learning!
This may be a nightmare for you but realize for the rest of us it’s a wonderful dream!
It’s THE dream!

You’re going to have to let go of the stereotypes that have kept you warm and safe, safe from yourself mostly, safe from the effects of your lust for power and unchecked hubris.
It’s that very warmth and safety that you’ve enjoyed that has left & kept many of us out in the cold.
Your warmth & “safety” is the very thing that has led you to mistakenly believe that equality will take something away from you when the truth is it only removes the boot heel from ALL our necks
You need to realize that you did this
You need to know that you got ruled by your base instincts.
You need to know that there is a price to pay for all the times you've ignored the warnings of what can happen when you let hate & fear overwhelm you and color your political decisions.

And now a word about avarice…

As with all things in modern America the real primary issue is money & power.
While we sit and debate over the remarkable lies the present government tells as we have seen happen in other countries with a despotic dictator and his family at its head the money is being siphoned away.

We have been so distracted by the insanity of our government that we have allowed them to rig the system in their favor.
Now don’t get me wrong I am not being naive, I know the system has always been rigged I mean think about how likely it is that the invaders came to this land with stolen humans in tow, killed, raped & pillaged everything in sight broke every promise they have ever made ignored every pang of honour and human decency and then suddenly decided to get legit!
Now that doesn’t scan, does it?

The fact that there has not been an audible public outcry against the very fact that Trump has not distanced himself from his business interests as every other president has done should be an indicator of how bent the system is.
This one action or inaction has and will benefit Trump and his businesses but it doesn’t end there as we all know the new proposed tax changes may prove to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, a kind of welfare for the 1%.
So, no we will not return to normal to the status quo we’re going to build a new more equitable America that at least tries to live up to the promise that keeps everyone safe.

What's it all about ?

I can't hope to figure out all the permutations and parameters of the present American government and if I'm being honest I find Republicans historically confusing & confounding.
I am not even going to try to be fair & balanced in these postings I will, however, attempt to be honorable and truthful which I think are more important.
I think I can bring some type of clarity to it all and hopefully with your help we may be able to make some kind of sense of it all.

Make no mistake we are in crisis and while our political crisis has had the unexpected by-product of expanding the ranks of political comedians by at least three-fold (Strangely not a lot are persons of color and few are women but we'll get into that too) it should be excepted that overall the results can only be seen as negative.
While this presidency has also expanded the language bigly and has made it safe to say the word pussy

  I feel I must disclose that I do not live in America and have not lived there for almost 30 years, this does not make me any less American and it certainly does not make my love for the place any less intense in fact it is my love for America and it's promise that, at least, in part forced me into the world to see what America actually is.
The easy answer to that question is ... CRAZY but of course as it is with most things that is far too simple.
I have found that America can be seen more clearly from a distance.
So, let's explore the boundaries of this colossal error we have made together & along the way, I'll share with you mine and other's views on what we can perceive from here.