Tag Archives: American politics

The Choices We Make

09 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in United States

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Pen Scratch Verse 182 by American Artist Michael Caimbeul

 

February 5, 2020. This is the day that the United States Senate chose to acquit Republican President Donald Trump of the impeachment charges brought against him by the Democratic controlled House of Representatives. I found the evidence of his guilt compelling. Except for just one of its members, the majority Republican senators chose to stand firm behind their leader. The loyalty to their party is admirable. It’s a valuable commodity in our times of divisive politics. On the other hand, party loyalty doesn’t always align with the best interests of we the people. Ever since corporations gained personhood and began financing politicians, corporate interests have gained paramountcy.

Today, we live in a New Republic. The balance of power has shifted beneath our feet. All that remains for the President and his Executive Branch of loyalists to consolidate their power is to seize control over the Supreme Court of the United States. All they need is a little more time.

Meanwhile, after centuries of human remodeling, Earth’s web of life is over-stressed and in meltdown. Our planet is overheated. Wildfires across drought-stricken grasslands and forests rage with unusual ferocity. The polar ice caps are melting faster than predicted. Mountain glaciers are retreating. Sea levels are rising, redefining coastlines worldwide. Storms powered by overheated oceanic waters batter our coastal cities and island nations, inundating our lives. Continue reading →

Draining the Swamp

18 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by in Social Injustice, United States

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draining-toxic-lake-okeechobee-florida

Draining Toxic Lake Okeechobee – Florida – USA
Photo Credit: The Weather Channel (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

 

Metaphors are important tools in a writer’s word-box. “Draining the swamp” is a powerful metaphor put to excellent use by our President-elect during his campaign for our nation’s top post. He has promised to rid our government of entrenched cronies who only serve their own self-interests and those of their masters and facilitators. We-the-people can drown in the swamp for all they care.

As our President-elect begins draining the swamp, he has skimmed only the surface scum and dead leaves and, based on his latest selections for his cabinet and other top administration posts, has made room for more toxic detritus.

The swamp extends across America. In some places, it’s dense and putrid with the carcasses upon which we have built our nation. Are we ready to drain the swamp? Some among us want to make America white again. When was that? Was that after we had decimated the Native Indian populations who inhabited these lands thousands of years before the white man’s arrival? Their carcasses rest at the bottom of the swamp.

wounded-knee-massacre-north-dakota-29-december-1890

Wounded Knee Massacre – North Dakota – December 29, 1890
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

 

What about the African slaves and their descendants whose forced labor built this nation? Their carcasses form another layer in the bottom of the swamp.

lynching-in-omaha-nebraska-1919

Lynching of African American in Omaha – Nebraska – 1919
Photo Credit: Daily Kos

 

What about the successive waves of black, brown, white, and yellow immigrants who labored under inhumane conditions to fuel our industrial revolution? Their carcasses intermingle below the surface of the swamp.

triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-new-york-city-25-march-1911

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire – New York City – March 25, 1911
Photo Credit: NYU/STERN Center for Business & Human Rights

 

It’s easy to skim the surface of the swamp of toxic algae and decaying vegetation. Are we ready to go deeper? Are we ready to drain the swamp?

Are we ready to face our barbarity and callousness towards those we have deemed a threat, worthless, inferior, or dispensable?

Are we ready to ratify that all men and women are created equal and deserve the same treatment and opportunities for their growth and prosperity?

Are we ready to let go of our selfish desires and work together to save ourselves from becoming yet another layer of the swamp?

Draining the swamp will be tough and soul-searching work. It will test the human capacity for openness, forgiveness, sharing, kindness, compassion, and love. It will require a collective effort.

Are you ready to join me in draining the swamp?

Where is reason?

14 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in Human Behavior, United States

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Trump Rally - Alabama - 2015 - Mark Wallheiser Getty Images

Trump Rally – Alabama – 2015
Photo Credit: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

 

Quest for dominance
calcifies the soul of man
& perverts reason.

Haiku by Rosaliene Bacchus

Of late, I’m having difficulty in focusing my thoughts about life in these United States of America. In addition to following the news on our 2016 presidential campaign, I’m also in tune with the chaos and human misery resulting from our unending wars in the Middle East and North Africa.

The rants from the front-runners of our Republican presidential candidates are disturbing and dangerous. Where is reason in the face of bigotry?

The living conditions of unwanted Syrian and other refugees, fleeing from our bombs and those of our allies in their homelands, wound the heart and soul. Where is reason to resolve this humanitarian crisis of our times?

While our elected representatives pursue a foreign policy of world domination – they call it a War on Terror – Americans live in national insecurity. With our politics of fear, hatred, and violence, we strengthen our enemies and grow their followers. Where is reason to say NO to this endless war?

Fed with daily doses of fear, hatred, and disinformation, we are fast losing our capacity for logical, rational, and analytical thought. Doped on ignorance, we become blind to the real threats to our well-being and survival as a species on this planet.

In his Introduction of The Assault on Reason, published in 2007, former American Vice President Al Gore notes (p.2): “Faith in the power of reason—the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power—was and remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault.”

Sad to say, the power of reason remains under assault.

U.S. Midterm Elections: Vote Wisely

26 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by in Human Behavior, Nature and the Environment, United States

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Homeless in the USAHomeless in the USA
Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon / Paltalk News Network

 

November 4 is Midterm Elections in the United States. Americans will be choosing their representatives for the United States Congress, state governors, and their state legislatures. A number of citizen initiatives also have their place on the ballots.

While we’re busy pursuing our individual goals and dreams or simply struggling to survive, the rich and powerful One Percent are buying our government representatives and, through them, changing the laws in their favor.

America is no longer the nation that our Founding Fathers had envisaged. We have lost our way. Continue reading →