A Christmas Story and Universal Truth

It is a tough time in which we are living.  There is little doubt that the COVID19 OMICRON strain is creating a crisis that is crippling our public health system, including physical and mental exhaustion of the personnel who provide direct care in our hospitals. The over-crowding is an extreme concern as is the politization of vaccinations, mask-wearing and other mass societal responses needed to fight and to subdue this virus.  It is tragic that our democratic system is so infected with narcissism and individualization of freedoms that the general welfare is thrown aside as though there is no such thing as community rights or human relatedness and interdependence, or mutual responsibility for each other. 

The democratic ideals of equality, fraternity, and community are being ripped apart as we speak, not only in terms of health and well-being but in terms of the most fundamental values of its own Constitution and governmental systems.

We are living in a time when too many misinformed and misguided leaders and voters are touting the basic flaws of our system to threaten the entire structure of democracy.  We are rapidly losing that fundamental idea on which our democracy was founded, and to which we are called by our Founders and our foundational documents to not only maintain, but to strengthen in each generation.  We are called to seek and to strive for “a more perfect Union” and by means of that Union “to establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”   And that is why the Constitution was ordained and established, according to its Preamble.  And that is the guiding principle, the ideal and the promise to which each generation of citizens must aspire to maintain and to strengthen this government “of the People, by the People and for the People.”  This “last great Hope of Mankind.” 

But here we are amid not only a viral pandemic but a pandemic of division that threatens the very existence of our democratic system of governing and the hope and the promises that it portrays.  Let us count some of the major causes of those divisions, in brief:

1.      Voter suppression and oppression

2.      Racism

3.      Sexism

4.      Class or caste system; segregation; apartheid

5.      Unequal justice and selective law enforcement; lack of guardianship

6.      Political Partisanship

7.      Corporate control

8.      Religiosity and intolerance

9.      Fear and loathing of strangers and ‘aliens’

10.   Exclusionary nationalism; patriotism

11.   Authoritarianism

12.   Elitism

13.   Dishonesty and misinformation; propaganda

14.   Lack of training in critical thinking

15.   State nullification of federal law

16.   Lack of fundamental and exemplary qualifications for public officials

17.   Lack of citizen training, participation, advocacy, and oversight/evaluation of ‘politicians’

18.   Poverty and homelessness particularly centered on children

19.   Unequal heath care

20.   Donald J. Trump and his captured Republican Party

Twenty causes for divisiveness  are enough for now but do not cover all the divisive characteristics of our current society. There is more but time and space dictate a halt at this juncture.  It is necessary now to take a different direction on this bumpy road to a more perfect union.  It pains me to have to say it, but as we have done in the past when imperfections and crises threatened our grand experiment is to recall our fundamentals, our ideals, our promises and our values to once again make that vision of a ”more perfect Union” come alive for the greatest number, not just for the few.  

We already know what it takes to make that happen.  It takes courage and fortitude; it takes honesty and integrity; it takes the persistence of a Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the ‘causing of good trouble’ by a John Lewis and M.L. King, Jr. 

But it also requires something we don’t emphasize enough – it takes Individual initiative and actions that promote the virtues we always need to strengthen ourselves and our Union.  Building unity, community, fraternity and equality of opportunity always comes back to the simple actions we value and promote when we aim to advance our version of democracy.  It always comes back to practicing what we preach; valuing others, protecting others, caring for others, advocating for others, mentoring others, and more. 

It comes down to acting as though we are a vital part of a human family destined to make it as vibrant and as all-embracing as we hope such a family might be, respecting the worthiness of each member’s potential contribution.  Building a more perfect Union finally comes down to caring about and for each other as family members who are interdependent and thus mutually responsible for each other’s well-being.

THE STORY:

Yesterday, I was aided by a stranger in a most unexpected way.  I was at my mailbox across a moderately busy road trying to fetch some mail that had fallen out the small rear door of an admittedly unstable backward-leaning mailbox.  The box is situated on a narrow berm behind which a drainage ditch of about 3–4-inch depth is usually actively carrying a flow of rainwater or melting snow.  A good number of pieces of mail were scattered in the ditch and just beyond it, including several wet pieces that had frozen together in a considerable lump in the ditch. There I was trying my best to extract some mail pieces from that ditch (and beyond) by using a long cane that guides my noticeably impaired and feeble gait.  I must have been a pitiful sight hanging on to a dilapidated mailbox, standing on a narrow strip of icy and snowy ground, reaching precariously for scattered mail that kept falling off the multi-pronged end of a “hikers” walking stick.  (Did I mention that the mailbox is close enough to the road that one must be cautious about where he is standing when traffic roars by). 

Out of nowhere came a man’s voice asking if he could help.  Before I even answered, the young man had jumped across the drainage ditch and was picking the mail up from field and ditch.  He even extracted the frozen lump of mail and magazines. He then jumped across the ditch and headed for my driveway asking where I would like him to put the mail.  I answered, “on the porch chair will be fine” and he proceeded up our lengthy driveway to put the mail on the porch rocking chair.  By that time, I had hobbled across the road into the driveway as he was on his way out of it. He smiled and said he was glad to have happened by at that time and hoped I was okay, and then wished me a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I thanked him profusely and told him I appreciated what he had just done after which I returned his holiday greetings. 

He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.  He did not get into a car but simply walked away up the road which heads up a gradually steepening incline to the North.  He was out of my sight in a few moments.  He never shared a name or anything but a bit of unexpected human kindness to an older disabled man on the side of a road.  His kindness and benevolence were neither solicited nor expected.  It was freely given with no strings or payments attached.  It was simply the act of someone who knows the value and the essence of living as a caring member of a larger family. 

People are wondering how we will work our way out of the divisions that have been created by the selfishness and the non-caring attitudes that engulf us in these desperate and trying times.   Most of the answers involve complicated political, philosophical, or economic theory and social engineering.

But underlying all those machinations there is something we know is necessary and some say is an imperative without which we are diminished as a group and as individuals. 

We know from experience and teachings and from leaders of special note that it is our attitudes and behaviors toward other human beings that matter and that create and recreate a vibrant and meaningful existence for all of us.  The gifts of Unity, of Kindness, of Beauty, of Peace and Tranquility, the Well-being of every member of family and community matter, because without them there is no Peace and no movement toward a more perfect Union. 

Our Purpose as individuals and as a nation should be clear: we must act with the freely given compassion of family members and perform neighborly Acts of Kindness toward friends and strangers. It all comes back to a question of morality; to behavior; to bringing something good to others.   

However, we cannot heal divisions and promote more perfect Union by ignoring accountability for acts and rhetoric that lead us far away from those ideals.  We must not confuse accountability with divisive actions. They are quite different.  Voting to reject those who act contrary to our Constitution and who act as if the law does not apply to them, who act to corrupt or to deny our votes, must be held accountable for their illicit and illegal offences. 

We must totally reject those who seek public office to deconstruct our democracy. It is time to live out the essence of life in a social context.  We must choose to pause what we are doing for ourselves, and act on behalf of the family, the community, our nation.  A more perfect Union (or close-knit community) does not materialize out of thin air; it rises from deliberate acts that we perform to bring Goodness and Justice and Fulfillment to the rest of our human family.

The Christmas season is meant to bear that universal message.  May you receive it and experience its blessings throughout the New Year!                                       

TIME IS RUNNING OUT-t-t-t-t-t-t-…

 

Whether On the March in Berlin or At a Trump Rally – The Fascist Mobs Support the Nihilism of Fascism

“NIHILISM” is an interesting word; but not a word used often  in our daily discourse or our daily routine. It is a word that aptly describes what happens when we abandon the fundamental principles of positive social interaction. One dictionary (New World) indicates a Latin derivation from the word ‘nihilum’ that conveys the meaning of something so trivial it equates to ‘nothing.’   Three categories of definition spell out its meanings in more depth:

(1) Philosophy  a) the denial of the existence of any basis for knowledge or truth  b) the general rejection of customary beliefs in morality, religion, etc. (2) the belief that there is no meaning or purpose in existence  (3) Politics  a) the doctrine that existing social, political and economic institutions must be completely destroyed in order to make way for new institutions  b) a movement in Russia (c. 1860-1917) which advocated such revolutionary reform and attempted to carry it out through the use of some terrorism and assassination  c) loosely, any violent revolutionary movement involving the use of terrorism.”

With those definitions in mind, let us recall statements from Trump World, which apply to his attempt to become the first elected long-term despot of this nation in 2024. That is now the one purpose of this man: to reclaim the office “stolen” from him in 2020 by so-called fraudulent votes and practices. He is already using intentional strategies and tools of politics and government to make that a reality. An extended term as president with absolute control has been the aim of Trump ever since he announced his candidacy in 2015. He said on that June 16 occasion that

ü   the American dream is dead

ü   our leadership is weak; that he was strong and successful enough to take care of all our problems caused by those weak leaders.

ü  Now, our country needs a truly great leader.. We need a leader that wrote “The Art of the Deal.”  We need somebody that can take the brand of the United States and make it great again.

ü  He will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. .

ü  He will bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places. He’ll bring back our jobs, and he’ll bring back our money.

ü  he knows the smartest negotiators in the world and will put them one for each country.

The announcement of Trump’s presidential candidacy on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in Manhattan, told us more than was realized at the time (see my Posts at Nov. 17, 21, 30/2015). What has followed that event right up until today has been a litany of words and behaviors related to those definitions of nihilism. Let us recount some of the ways:

1)     the denial of the existence of any basis for knowledge or truth 

n  The lies and misinformation surrounding his approach to the COVID19 pandemic were all we needed to understand that Trump had fallen deep into Nihilism. He denied that COVID19 was a deadly virus and declared his belief that it would go away on its own; he recommended deadly remedies; he blamed China; he gave up leadership of the fight and let state Governors struggle with the growing need for supplies and the expanding number of fatalities. He even denied the simple acts of mask-wearing and social-distancing would have any significant effect and he refused to do either. Even when he tested positive himself and became ill, he ignored the fact that he could be a spreader of the disease and he engaged in public events and close-up interactions (with secret service for instance).  

n  According to the Hollywood Reporter, an email was sent out by Extra Mile Casting to recruit extras “to wear t-shirts and carry signs and help cheer him in support of his (presidential-run) announcement” in June of 2015. (Truthout.com)

n  Insults flowed based on false assumptions and prejudices– toward rivals like Marco Rubio; countries like Mexico and “Islamic” nations and people: “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists…”

n  He Demeaned reporters and the work of the media as exaggerated and full of lies; there was talk of ‘alternative facts’ and repetitive mention of their corrupt reporting

n  Did a similar number on election workers, election officials and election system claiming it was all ‘rigged’ with fraudulent votes – he called his 2020 loss the ‘big steal’ and the ‘big lie’ but could never prove anything in court

n  Fully supported state efforts to:  disenfranchise groups of voters; to gerrymander voting districts and to  intimidate workers and voters and voting officials; especially focused on people of color

n  Tried to induce election officials to find or declare votes for him (Georgia);  set up bogus reviews to change or invalidate votes (Arizona; Wisconsin)  

n  Called for the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, to attempt to have Congress and Mike Pence decertify the election results and have Congress vote for President where he would win;

n  After the warm-up violent confrontation at Charlottesville, he spoke of “fine people on both sides” as though truth did not matter 

n  It appears he may have had an integral part in the planning for the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021; some arrested have asserted that they were only doing what they “were called or ordered to do” in loyalty to their president

n  Six months later, Trump praised his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. “These were peaceful people, these were great people,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. Recalling the events of Jan. 6, Trump claimed “there was love in the air” at his rally earlier that day at the White House, and falsely said there was a “lovefest between the Capitol Police and the people that walked down to the Capitol.”

n  “They are military people, and police officers and construction workers,” he added. “They are tremendous. In many cases, tremendous people.”                                                            In truth, the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol was a shocing and horrifying event, but the gap between truth and fiction had grown into a chasm. 

2)The doctrine that existing social, political and economic institutions must be destroyed to make way for new institutions. We do not have enough room or time to list all the “deconstruction” of norms, policies, institutions that the twice-impeached Donald J. Trump has attacked or destroyed in his perverted quest for “absolute power.”  Let us simply remind ourselves of a few major deconstructions that have happened under his watch:

n    The Republican Party in shambles and under his control; he chooses who will run for office and what policies will be pursued

n   The Congress has lost its power to function as an independent branch because of Trump assertion of Executive Privilege and refusal to allow Congress to conduct oversight, enforced by those Republican officeholders who have become his ardent followers and apologists. Trump has captured the Congress

n  Likewise, his capture of the Supreme Court through nomination of loyal Right-wing Justices in the majority and by appointing his loyalists to many lower court judgeships. Trump has captured the Judiciary, but only if no SCOTUS Justice “jumps ship.”

n  His use of his power to hire and fire key administrators has taken some independence away from Executive Departments, e.g., Attorney General and DoJ; FBI Director, EPA Director. Some results: AG loss of independence and status as lawyer for the People became lawyer for the President and pursued cases and matters Trump dictated; firing of FBI Director Comey may have prevented investigations into Trump practices; At the EPA, Trump was able to appoint loyalists who conducted deep recission of industry-hampering regulations.

n  His use of the powers of the presidency to intimidate and control underlings, contributors and recipients, as well as office seekers has destroyed the norm that officeholders must not manage or control certain assets while in office

n  His many power-grabs have resulted in government being used as a personal tool to advance his family’s business, his own wealth, and the absolute power that he needs to satisfy his overblown ego; as dictators have always done.

n   His position allows him access to world leaders and to their country’s aggrandizement of the family business enterprises thus deconstructing foreign diplomatic mission into promotion and cheerleading

n  He has also damaged the approaches we as a nation need to counter dictatorial powers which is the ability to call them to account when necessary – Trump adoration of absolute power held by the likes of Putin, Kim Jong- Un and Erdogan forestalled and prevented any aggressive U.S. response to invasion of Ukraine, to North Korean missile launches or to Turkey’s capture of Kurdish rebels.

n    Destruction of our electoral system, along with lack of accountability in government, has led to a situation where future elections may all be subject to charges of corruption and over-throw actions. By his constant harping on election fraud and stolen election results and on voter fraud, Trump has forever damaged the electoral process.

n  But what’s more, he has so infected the system that he can now proceed to call the next elections fraudulent and corrupt, opening the way to the fiction of a national emergency by which he could extend his time in office, along with his sycophants who would help him to sustain his absolute rule.

n  If that doesn’t work, he can command the military or volunteer militia to put down any opposition to his coup d’état  (while he has been unable to capture the DoD, he has enough followers in that department and in the military itself to at least call out loyal troops under loyal commanders. Would General Milly act to disobey orders, or to engage in battle against loyal Trump troops? In another 3 years that question could be moot 

 

3)     any violent revolutionary movement involving the use of terrorism

·        Charlottesville

·        January 6, 2021 -- the INSURRECTION at the Capitol  

·        The Lafayette Square incident of clearing out peaceful protestors for Trump to hold up a bible

·        Use of federal staffers dressed in military garb to control peaceful protest by Black Lives Matter activists

·        Use of isolation of children at southern border as intimidation technique to discourage asylum seekers; construction of his “great, great wall” to intimidate undocumented immigrants

·        Intimidation of disloyal staffers and civil servants who are whistle-blowers or witnesses to executive abuses

·        Warnings to members of Congress that they will be “primaried” if they ‘betray’ the President

·        Supporting threats made to local election officials who failed to de-certify (overturn) Biden election of his votes

·        Increase in societal violence in Trump’s name and under his tutelage or perceived ‘permission’                                         

·        Threatened use of the ‘second amendment solution’ to intimidate and terrorize school board members, election officials and other public officeholders or followers who stray from supporting Trump

·        Intimidation by threats of violence against demonstrators or hecklers at rallies or other venues

·        Use of budget cuts to intimidate or punish disloyal offices, programs or people; especially people of color.

·        The use of every kind of falsehood – lies, slanderous accusations, manufactured ‘facts or stories, conspiracy theories, negative ads, and violent demonstrations/actions to intimidate and denigrate anyone who is anti-Trump

The things Donald Trump has said and done bring home to us that we were warned of

 his nihilistic intentions from the beginning, and we should have paid closer attention,

 but did not.

He said basically that our leadership is weak; that he was strong and successful enough

 to take care of all our problems caused by those weak leaders. He then extolled his

 brand and his business as an example for great change needed in our thinking and our

 actions, concluding—“If I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again.”  

It is always helpful and enlightening to consult his niece, Mary Trump, regarding her uncle’s

demeanor and intentions and motivations. In her book – It’s “Too Much and Never Enough” – she

 spells out some items that fit nicely into the pattern of Nihilism evidenced by Donald’s lifestyle and

 values. Consider these quotes:

“To this day, the lies, misrepresentations, and fabrications that are the sum total of who my uncle is, are perpetuated by the Republican Party and white evangelical Christians who know better…true believers such as...William Barr and others too numerous to name , have become…complicit in their perpetuation.”

“In the last three years, I’ve watched as countless pundits…and journalists have kept missing the mark, using phrases such as …’narcissistic personality disorder’ in an attempt to make sense of Donald’s often bizarre and self-defeating behavior. I have no problem calling Donald a narcissist – he meets all nine criteria…. A case could be made that he also meets the criteria for personality disorder which in its most severe form is generally considered sociopathy but can also refer to chronic criminality, arrogance and disregard for the rights of others. Donald may also meet some of the criteria for dependent personality disorder…which include an inability to make decisions or take responsibility, discomfort with being alone, and going to excessive lengths to obtain support from others.”

“As the pressures on him… continued to mount…the disparity between the level of competence required for running a country and his incompetence has widened, revealing his delusions more starkly than ever before. His ability to control unfavorable situations by lying, spinning and obfuscating has diminished to the point of impotence in the midst of tragedies we are currently facing…(which) has led to a level of pushback that he has never experienced before, increasing his belligerence and his need for petty revenge as he withholds vital funding, personal protective equipment and ventilators from states whose governors don’t kiss his a__ sufficiently.”

“The horror of Donald’s cruelty was being magnified by the fact that his acts were now official US policy, affecting millions of people. By the time this  book is published, hundreds of American lives will have been sacrificed on the altar of Donald’s hubris and willful ignorance. If he is afforded a second term, it would be the end of American democracy.”

Taking into account his life experiences and his own words and actions, it is difficult not to conclude that Donald Trump is a Nihilist and a Nazi sympathizer who encourages deconstruction of government and institutions by force and fear as his terrorist weapons. Those who support and vote for him are therefore Nazi sympathizers and followers, like it or not. They are the fertile soil from which Nihilism is enabled to grow to accepted normality. They are the same ilk who spawned the Third Reich and the Holocaust. Their lack of critical thinking and assessment is appalling. They are the abettors of insurrection and the instigators of violent revolutionary takeover. Ignoring their true meaning or missing their purpose is the very ingredient they cherish in others because it enables them to put their kind in control. The list is long that includes those nations that fell asleep while the Nihilists rose to power:  Russia, Poland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Venezuela, Argentina, the Philippines – it goes on and on.

Yet we still have some media, institutions, and leaders who fail to acknowledge the threat that this man and his followers pose to our democracy. In fact, the worst failing of the progressives elected to rid us of this mess lies in the fact that they have accepted powerlessness and infrastructure projects as their goals instead of fighting for election reform and other systemic changes to undo the ability of the Nihilist Trumpers to take over our democratic institutions. The message to them is: YOU CANNOT WIN THIS WAR WITHOUT GETTING DOWN and DIRTY. 

Democrats have failed at seizing and using government and money as tools to block and defeat the aggressiveness and dirty tricks of these Nihilists. For instance, what did Democrats do about the re-drawing of congressional and other districts? To say they watched would be too kind. OR, what did they do about the bogus election audits? Objected? – not much and not enough. What are they doing now to prepare for 2022 election? They are on vacation!

THIS IS A WAR TO SAVE DEMOCRACY == and they don’t even have a plan of attack! You can’t win this war without doing something revolutionary to disrupt and confuse the enemy. How about starting a special ops unit that will work quietly to undermine funding for (or grab funds from) the groups and individuals backing Trump? Or how about a media group whose function is to overwhelm social media with all kinds of messages about dire consequences of voting for Trump and Trumpers? OR how about organizing college students to demonstrate at least once a week in every college campus or college town and to produce creative ideas for making college student votes the deciding factor in local and state elections? Could Democratic Committees at county level be made into centers for concerted actions against the radical Right?  Could we at least get an emergency phone line for reporting Far Right threats and abuses?

These are just random thoughts – someone cleverer than I can come up with more effective strategies – so why is the effort to incorporate such strategies into an attack Plan on hiatus? Now may be too late already. So --someone in this moribund DEMOCRATIC Party structure better get MOVING before there is no two-party system and no Congress but only a Nihilist Dictator who has just one goal – his own success and absolute power!