We are in such disarray and disrepair,
the Sane people they do despair.

There are crazies in the streets with guns, big guns,
the government, they hope runs.

The spewers of hatred, making millions as media maven,
obscure and overcome the ministrations of Mercy for those needing haven.

There are religious zealots hating gays and abortions,
such fundamentalist Intellectual Contortions.

There are internet innocents believing in conspiracies,
convinced they’re hearing Einstein’s theories.

We’re electing lying, raving, sweet-talking demagogues,
Saviors they’re not; instead corrupting, thieving rogues.

The Supreme Court’s obscenely twisting “free speech,”
the Founders’ obvious, recorded logic, is out of reach.

The casino money changers of Wall Street,
destroy Dreams and Prosperity of Main Street.

Misinformed mobs storming the Capitol, claiming ‘patriots’ to be,
listened to The Cult Leader’s siren song, the TRUTH they cannot see.

The self-righteous have “religious liberty” for them in their sights’
a mockery they do make of others True Constitutional rights.

The top 1%, wallowing in their never-ending greed,
blinded by dollars, they care not for the People’s need.

There are politicians claiming they’re “conservative,”
when reactionary Despotism the results of their initiatives.

Fifty years and many Tears ago, the great wealth of America we ALL did share,
since, the captains of capital and industry exclaimed, “this we cannot spare.”

Tricksters cut rich people’s taxes, saying green will “trickle down on all,”
proved yet another great LIE, it is yellow that falls on tall and small.

It was once said, America’s “the home of the brave,”
we’re no match for Courageous Russians, the wrath of Putin they do brave.

The loud voices of the “right” claim “we have the solutions,”
but “their” ideas come from campaign contributions.

In the harbor, the great statue for liberty does stand,
the many innocents, their minds closed by Fear, “tear it down,” they demand.

The rich and powerful, connected and greedy, do claim “the government’s your enemy,”
the once prosperous middle class, inundated with theses Lies, cannot see the Real enemy.

More and more, the loonies, the crazies, the nihilists, into one Party they do gather,
the Golden Rule, the Constitution, decency-honor-respect, to them don’t matter.

America, once the shining city on the hill, to all a great beacon of Hope,
now disgraced by those, in the front of the Capitol, did leave a rope.

The greatest Sin of all, the factual TRUTH we all once did see,
has been Murdered in the “echo chamber” of political expediency.

We are in such disarray and disrepair,
the Sane people, they do despair.

Are you a patriotic American? Do you love this country? Do you believe in the Founding Ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Do you believe American has been, is, should be, “a beacon of hope” for the world? Do you believe “moral principles” should always guide what America does?

Quoted below are words from Rebecca Gordon’s “American Nuremberg” [2016] from pages 9l-92. Please read these words. Then reflect on what Ms Gordon says. Then read them again. Then talk with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors – SERIOUSLY.

Rebecca Gordon is asking, pleading, with America to reflect, very seriously, on WHO WE ARE – as judged by our recent actions:

“I think that the war on terror has eroded in the people of this country the quality that is sometimes called practical wisdom. Practical wisdom is an intellectual habit we develop over time, one that allows a person to examine a situation and understand its moral contours. It is a habit of thought that helps us understand in a given situation what are the right things to do and the right ways to do them. Practical wisdom requires another habit – courage – if we are to look squarely at the world. We need to not only sift through the media babble that constantly assaults and misleads us as we seek the truth, but also to question our own emotions and biases that inevitably arise in times of national crisis.”

“I believe that after a decade and a half of constant “terror manipulation” – relentless messaging about the dangers that lurk all around us, particularly those involving Muslims and brown-skinned people – we have been damaged morally. In the name of security, we have been been terrorized by our own government – and by the news and entertainment corporations that feed on exploiting such fear – into giving up not only our own freedoms but our fundamental sense of human empathy. While racist contempt for “foreigners” has long been a feature of the American people, years of terror propaganda and “security theater” have created something qualitatively different. Entire swaths of the world’s population are now regarded as enemies by many American people, seen as vicious, less-than-human creatures who are undeserving of basic decency, let alone the protection of international law.”

“As a nation, we need to reclaim these qualities of wisdom and courage. Facing the terrible crimes that have been committed in our names and bringing the criminals to justice would be a good beginning. It would help restore not only the rule of international law, but our own humanity.”

Eroded practical wisdom….moral contours…..the right things to do and the right ways to do them…….courage……media babble……our own emotions and biases…….terror manipulation…….brown-skinned people……WE HAVE BEEN DAMAGED MORALLY……..exploiting fear……giving up our own freedoms…….human empathy……racist contempt……propaganda……”security theater”……..’LESS-THAN-HUMAN’……….terrible crimes committed in our names……..justice….OUR OWN HUMANITY.

These words were said in 2016. No thinking, caring American can remotely think “we” have improved since then. Numerous international polls place America below Putin – now under siege by his own, VERY COURAGEOUS PEOPLE, for things mentioned above, and much more.

Please consider the following, from Theodore Roosevelt’s Mount Rushmore plaque:
“We, here in America, hold in our hands the hope of the world, the fate of the coming years; and shame and disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men.”

The hope of the world…..shame and disgrace will be ours…..the light of high resolve…..TRAIL IN THE DUST THE GOLDEN HOPES OF MEN.

“WE” are guilty as charged. What are “WE” going to do about it? Do “WE” have the MORAL COURAGE to save OUR OWN HUMANITY?

The issues are plain. The choices are plain. Are “we all in this together” – or not?
What will “WE” tell our children and grandchildren? WHY did “WE” support these policies, and many more destructive ones? Why did “WE” listen to destructive media?WHY did “WE” participate in destructive media? WHY did “WE” choose to believe OBVIOUS falsehoods, rumors, lies? WHY did “WE” vote for destructive politicians?

“WE” will succeed – or fail – to save America, only IF we first save our own humanity.

When I first began hearing the term “COVID fatigue,” I thought perhaps it was a joke – an attempt at “black humor.”

So – who was saying this? Was it medical personnel, caring for the pandemic’s victims? Was it first responders, often transporting victims to hospitals and dealing with death?

No – from photos and descriptions – it almost always was people who appeared to be well dressed and well fed, and not on their way to a hospital. Interviews and questions provided some answers: they were “tired of the plague.” They wanted to go back to “normal.” They resented being told by medical professionals and scientists what to do.” “Dictatorial” government was taking away their “rights.”
All this, and more – after a few months. They were being asked to sacrifice “too much.” After a few months.

Then I thought about the people who were NOT in these stories, protesting about the “unreasonable” requests put on them. There didn’t seem to be too many of the homeless, or the hungry, or the unemployed.
The only complaints from doctors and nurses, and from first responders, was for lack of public support. When pushed, they’d talk about being burned out, and being mentally and physically exhausted. Some had already committed suicide.

And then, I thought of others through history – who might have deserved to complain of some “fatigue,” and moan about not being able to be “normal.”

– There were the Russian civilians during the 900 day Nazi siege {1941-44] who endured attack and starvation. Some 1 million of them died- usually starved to death. Do you suppose THEY might have had a “Nazi fatigue?”

– Then there were the Americans and Filipinos on the forced Death March after being forced to surrender from Corregidor and Bataan. Do you suppose some of them had a “Japanese fatigue?”

– Then there were all the sufferers of the Great Depression, 1930-1941. People suffered in virtually every way possible, including starvation, homeless, unemployed. Do you suppose the people in the “soup lines” had thoughts of “depression fatigue?”

“..there is a still higher type of courage – the courage to brave pain, to live with it, to never let others know it and still find joy in life..” Howard Cosell [1974]

– then there were the British people, 1940-1941, who alone held out against the Nazis. Who braved the German “blitz” of bombing their cities. Do you suppose they might have had a “bomb fatigue?” It helped they had Winston Churchill, and not ……

_ then there were the soldiers at Shiloh, at the “bloody pond,” where the wounded and dying crawled to get water. So many the water turned red, blood red. Do you suppose they might have been thinking about “war fatigue?”

-“Decency – generosity – cooperation – assistance in trouble – devotion to duty; these are the things that are of greater value than surface appearances and customs.” Dwight D. Eisenhower. 6/11/1943 letter

– then there were those who suffered through the Valley Forge winter, most likely saving the American Revolution. Do you suppose they might have had “winter fatigue?”

-then there was Nathan Hale, captured by the British and about to be hung, said: “I regret I have only one life to give…” Do you suppose he might have been experiencing “capture fatigue?”

– “This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” Elmer Davis [1954]

– then there were the Americans who fought in, and survived, the jungles of Guadalcanal and Vietnam. Do you suppose they might have been guilty of “jungle fatigue?”

– then there were the people who survived Auschwitz and other infamous concentration camps. Do you suppose they might have had “cruelty fatigue,’ or perhaps “atrocity fatigue?”

-“Great men, great nations, have not been boasters and buffoons, but perceivers of the terror of life, and have manned themselves to face it.” Ralph W. Emerson [1860]

– then there were the survivors of various prisoner of war camps. Do you suppose they might have had “prisoner fatigue?” You can hear their stories at the Andersonville, Georgia memorial.

– then there were the soldiers who stormed the beaches at Normandy and Iwo Jima. Do you suppose they might have had “being killed fatigue?” You can contemplate this at the Normandy Memorial, or at Pearl Harbor, or at Gettysburg,

-“I would define true courage to be a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.” William T. Sherman [1875]

Suppose William Shakespeare were alive today. What do you think he might create to reflect the lack of character by a noisy few Americans? Perhaps a play with the title of “The Stupid and the Selfish?” Or, if Mark Twain were alive. Can you imagine a book about some of our gutless and pandering politicians, with the title of “Huckleberry Hypocrite?” Or, if Nathaniel Hawthorne lived, perhaps his latest book would be titled “The New Scarlet Letter?” That new “letter” would be the “S.” As in saboteur, stupid, or selfish?

Just a few thoughts and questions. Wondering what people who REALLY endured something deadly – like bullets or starvation – might say about the current generation of “adults” reacting in childlike fashion over the “penalty” of not being able to go out for a beer? Do you suppose the men at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Belleau Wood. the Battle of the Bulge. the march from Frozen Chosin, Ia Drang, multiple Iraq-Afghanistan tours – just might have wanted a beer?

Are we still “the home of the brave” or the home of the whiners?


[note – quotes from The Harper Book of American Quotations]

A recent January letter to advice columnist Carolyn Hax raised the following question: do people opposed to wearing masks deserve health care? Ms Hax’ nuanced response included a variety of reasons why we should provide healthcare to the anti-maskers, among them basic fairness, expectations of care, our social contract, and humans making possible biases denial decisions. In other words, a very moral and positive response – that no matter what they’d or who they were, in we were to deny care, we’d be embarking on the “slippery slope” of danger – where would it stop?

Ms Hax is a better person than I am. I think there should be – in this case – some accountability, IF we get to the point of rationing. There are many issues and angles in this – so let us begin.

1] The Trump administration issued a “Denial of Care Rule,” which authorized health care workers to decide who receives care and who doesn’t. Under the rule, health care workers can use their personal religious or moral beliefs to justify denying care – with no limits on what constitutes a refusal.
There are numerous public examples of this being done, from denial of prescriptions, refusal to follow end-of-life wishes, denial of health care to people in extreme health crises. and so on.
So – legally, denial of opponents of world wide standards of medical practice in a pandemic, would seem to be an easy fit. Health care workers, morally repulsed by these people, who are sabotaging them – should be entitled to denials, right?

2] Consider this. World wide, doctors and nurses have been literally begging people to wear masks and social distance. They have done this through many media outlets.
In a 11/29/20 statement, a nurse said: “We’re not the front line. We’re the last line. When we say the front line is failing, it’s our population, it’s our community.” In a 11/18/20 statement, s doctor said: “Right now we need more help. The honor code [“personal responsibility”] system is killing us.”

3] The effect on medical personnel. In late July, 2020, around 120,000 American health care workers had tested positive and 587 had died. That is only the beginning .

Consider this 11/16/20 article: “Pandemic-stressed doctors calling it quits:” 8% of doctors closed their offices recently; another 4% planned to close soon; other doctors and nurses are retiring early; 20% of primary care doctors say they knew of an impending retirement and 15% said they knew somebody who quit or planned to quit.
Consider this 12/25/20 article: “Already pushed to brink, nurses fear what’s ahead,” they’re “frightened by what people are doing, or not doing; one nurse is haunted by daily death counts. “These nurses are not only exhausted, they are angry with those who flout pleas to stay home, stay safe.”

Then there is this article: “Public health care workers face vitriol” [6/23/20}: “they’re being personally attacked for doing their job; there are ARMED protesters at their homes; at least one director had an armed escort. One result” there is “an exodus of public health officials” across America.

Then there is this article, 12/6/20: “COVID’ toll on mental health,” discussing how psychiatrists now have a vital role in treating MEDICAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. A Wuhan , China, study found 70% of health care workers reported depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Multiple doctors, world wide have committed suicide.

Add this: the stress and strain on “first responders” is also intense. On veteran East Coast EMT person reported being in therapy for years. He also reported a recent suicide.

So – under the government’s official rules – do American medical personnel have valid grounds for refusing to treat people who’ve openly sabotaged them, have refused to listen to their professional advice, have helped cause the death of colleagues, and, often – sickness of themselves or people in their homes?

4] Consider this 10/24/20 article: “Study finds masks are easiest, cheapest way to save lives. Consider articles on how the “bubbles” used by some pro sports enabled them to finish the 2019-2020 seasons, and this: “..the thing that made it successful in the first place was the adherence to all those protocols that most people can follow most of the time in their lives.”

So – this is NOT “rocket science,” it is simply doing very basic health practices.

5] So – how much “freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition” should Americans expect to reasonably expect to have in a “war.” In this case, a war against a pandemic that has now killed over 400,000 Americans, sickened many more, bankrupted businesses, pushed millions into unemployment, drastically impaired the schooling and mental health of OUR children, K-college???

Consider this “letter” [8/31/20] from “P.P.:” “In a war, you follow orders or else:” “We have been told that we are in a war against COVID-19…I served in another war – as a combat medic in World War II. As a soldier you carry out your orders no matter how uncomfortable or even scary they are. Ignoring orders will win few wars….Aren’t we all soldiers in this war? Do we really want to win it?”

In other wars, people who went too far in protesting the war effort were jailed. A long-standing principle of “freedom of speech” is you can’t falsely yell ‘fire’ in theater. The January 6th invasion of the U.S. Capitol is not “freedom of speech, or assembly>” The Pentagon has called it an “insurrection,” which gets one into the territory of sedition at the very least. What “health rights” do these people have?

6] Travel, “gatherings” “superspreader ” events. Health officials warned against all of these. People did them anyway. And, predictably – people got sick with COVID-19.
So -are all of these merely ‘innocent” human activities? Or, during a pandemic – irresponsible even dangerous? Do all these people have equal “health rights” to the millions who listened and didn’t do them?

7] Anti-vaxxers. People have been openly appearing at anti-vaccine rallies, many of those with political intent. These people are often protesting any manifestation of vaccines. The medical truth is simple: the only way to begin to end the COVID-19 crisis is to vaccinate people – as was done with earlier mass diseases.
So, by definition – anti-vaxxers are sabotaging the only way out of the COVID-19 crisis. This too, is at least on the sedition continuum. If vaccination opponents are successful, we will NEVER end the COVID-19 crisis. If they were to eventually want to take a COVID-19 vaccine, where on the vaccine list do these people “belong?”

8] Political opponents. There have been hundreds/thousands of protest against medical advice like wearing masks, practicing social distancing, closing some forms of business.
Nobody wants to do this – but scientific and medical science says if we don’t do these things, we have little chance of ending COVID-19 destroying “normal” life.
If we are in a war – then are these people guilty of sabotage, sedition, etc.? They think and claim to be right – but world wide evidence says they’re wrong. Do they ‘pay a price” for sabotaging the war effort?

9] Purveyors of misinformation. Numerous people and groups have been circulating falsehoods about COVID-19 and treatments for it. Some in visible manners. Some on line. If we’re in a war against COVID-19, again, are these people engaging in sabotage and sedition? Putting forth propaganda in a war, or giving aid and comfort to an enemy – is usually sedition, sabotage, even treason. people have been executed for such offenses.

The war against COVID-19 has already cost more American lives then World War II combat. Just how serious is sabotaging America’s most deadly war?

10] We have pictures and other data on many of these people. Do these people, who at the very least, have made a united effort against COVID-19 more difficult, have equal health rights to the millions of Americans who did not, who did everything possible to NOT make COVID-19 worse?

So – considering all the above, do medical personnel have the “right” to refuse to treat the opponents of their advice?”

Where on the lists of Americans lining up to get COVID-19 vaccinations should the opponents of these practices be?
Do they suffer any consequences at all? Or, as many of them demand – they are equal, because they were only practicing their “Constitutional rights?”

11] Rationing – ICU beds. Suppose there is only one ICU bed available. There are two claimants. One – YOUR relative, entirely innocent; and – one of the many classes of COVID-19 opponents. Is there a debate? Do medical personnel get to exercise their “moral opinions” as to whom thew bed should go?

12] Rationing – COVID-19 vaccinations. It has seemed there has been little opposition to the point that front line medical workers are #l. It has seemed that ‘first responders” should also be at the top of the list – because their jobs required them to work in hazardous conditions.
Behind these, it seems the public accepts vaccinating classroom teachers, to protect them – but also, so workers can go back to work. And – masks and social distancing will still be practiced.

13] Beyond the above, conflicts arise. There are many claimants – older people, most at risk; meat packing workers – at risk because of work stations and because they’re “essential workers; many “essential workers” in retail; etc.

14] Rationing – COVID-19 – the COVID-19 opponents – when do they get placed? Do they have a valid case? In this war, how much forgiveness do they deserve? Do the millions of Americans who’ve “played by the rules” need to offer those who made their lives more dangerous any concern?

If we are at war – and we are, then the “rights” one might have had in peacetime are reduced. Because – your RESPONSIBILITIES to the rest of us have been increased. Things you do that sabotage the well-being of ALL Americans, regardless of your personal beliefs, cannot – should not – be forgiven.
A favorite “conservative” mantra during the COVID-19 war has been “personal responsibility” [which, nurses and doctors have said Americans failed].

So, under the “conservative” mantra, the consequence of failed “personal responsibility” must include the possibility of being at the very end of the COVID-19 vaccination line.

Albert Einstein: “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”

Grandma Moses: “Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”

RedSmith: “Dying is easy; the least of us can do that. Living is the trick.”

Jackie Robinson: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

A. Bronson Alcott: “One must have lived greatly whose record would bear the full light of day from beginning to its close.”

John Burroughs: “LIfe is a struggle, but not a warfare.”

Emily Dickinson: “That it will never come again Is what makes life so sweet.”

Ralph W. Emerson: “We are always getting ready to live, but never living>”

Ralph W. Emerson: “Life consists in what man is thinking of all day.”

Benjamin Franklin: “Wish not so much to live long as to live well>”

Katherine Hepburn: “Without discipline, there’s no life at all.”

Oliver W. Holmes,Sr.: “Life is a great bundle of little things>”

Oliver W. Holmes,Jr.: “To live is to function. That is all there is in living>”

Elbert Hubbard: “Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.”

Robert G. Ingersoll: “Life is a shadowy, strange, and winding road.”

Henry James: “Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”

John Lennon, attributed: “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.”

Karl Menninger: “Unrest of spirit is a mark of life.”

Jerry Rubin: “A life without surrender is a life without commitment.”

George Santayana: “There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.”

Logan P. Smith: “There are two things to aim at in life: first to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.”

Henry D. Thoreau: “My life is like a stroll on the beach, As near the ocean’s edge as I can go.”

Mark Twain: “Let us endeavour so to live that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry.”

And, from my friend, Bob Allen, this: “The Measure of Man” [author unknown]:
“Not – “How did he die?” But – “How did he live?”
Not – “What did he gain?” But – “What did he give?”


[note, all but the first four and the last quote, were from “The Harper Book of American Quotations, Carruth and Ehrlich]

“Serenity is an inside job.”

[note: – courtesy of “Love Unlimited, Ventura, Ca.}

Actions and words of some people, 2016-2021, have raised doubts about the course and future of America. The incivility, cynicism, cruelty, hatred, and corruption reflected back on us is very demoralizing and unsettling.
From 1789 – 1980, there were some basic “American” principles we sought to achieve: “all men are created equal;” “if men were angels, no government would be necessary;” “We the People [not kings or church];” “promote the general Welfare;” “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Also the Christian Bible makes 2-3,000 references to the poor and obligation to them. Most major religions have a “thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself” clause.
WE thought certain things were understood and accepted.

The 2016-2021 mirror on America has revealed substantial numbers of Americans who not only do NOT accept and believe some of the above, but are openly hostile and seek to subvert the same. The antidemocratic actions and hateful words of the “doubters” have greatly alarmed and frightened many other Americans – even when they were not the “targeted” individuals. There is also the fear of to what extent the subversives intend to go to achieve their “vision” of a “real” America

Bad, ignorant, incompetent, cruel, corrupt “leadership” is one thing – dangerous as it is. The really unsettling thing is how many Americans appear not to believe in the 200 year old traditional American principles, ideals, and standards of conduct. In 2016-2021, they were given “signals” that it was acceptable for them to act out in public their antidemocratic beliefs. Ordinary Americans are seeing things reflected in the 2016-2021 mirror they didn’t think existed here. And – They are VERY frightened.

Some of the disturbing acts and words included these:
– anti-government – throughout the 1980-2021 era, we’ve had politicians telling us that “the problem is government” and running in opposition to the same government they want to serve under. In 2016-2021, groups backing this have appeared saying and acting out some very extreme things.
– anti-modern life – from votes and comments, apparently, a large number of Americans want to regress in time back to some supposed “perfect” age. The question is when – 1950?, 1919?, 1880?
– anti-sciencers – what, in other, civilized nations is only a medical issue, has in America been politicized, with tragic results. So – we have people refusing to wear masks, practice social distancing, etc. World-wide medical-scientific evidence shows this has made the American COVID-19 outbreak the deadliest, by far. The deniers, having been “informed” by a trusted media or political person say they “know the truth” – and nothing, especially facts, can change this.
Beyond this – we have climate crisis deniers, theory of evolution deniers [the basis for modern medicine 7 science], and on and on. Facts be damned.
– authoritarians – serious long-time comparative studies, plus 2016-2021 words and actions indicate about 14% of American adults are high “Right-Wing Authoritarians,” waiting for a supposed “strong man” to come along and lead them. From 1930 forward, we’ve seen the tragic results of this.
– cult-like followers – seeking to explain some of this recent behavior, analysis of some Americans, in comparison to previous known cults has revealed striking things. Lemming-like behavior in taking “medicine” that killed them, the January 6th insurrection, and more leads to a personality cult.
– fact-free acceptance – 2016-2021 was an era of “alternative facts,” tens of thousands of lies, conspiracy theories, political quackery, destructive propaganda distributed by government and right-wing media. “Kool-Aid” drinkers were much in evidence.
– hatred – perhaps most unsettling of all. The sheer ferocity of hatred seen on streets and on the internet was symbolized by Charlottesville and several church bombings and shootings. A man traveled to El Paso to kill people he didn’t like.
– “militias” and “patriots” – numerous times we saw angry, well-fed, armed with military style weapons white men seeking to intimidate citizens and governments into doing what these groups wanted done. January 6th, maybe, the culmination. The “maybe” is what frightens the rest of America.
– religious fundamentalism – religious zealots continued attempts to create an American theocracy, run by them. No tactic has been out-of-bounds in their “holy war,” including bombing and murder. Recent Supreme Court decisions, made possible by fundamentalists on the bench, have made this an increasing threat. Their slogan has been “religious liberty” – for them, not YOU.
– voters – the disgraced Dark One who presided over the recent years of all this received 74 million votes; has a reported 88 million Twitter followers; some who support him adamantly believe “he was sent by God;” millions took every word he said as the absolute truth {from a man known throughout his life as a liar] – & nothing could convince them otherwise. Foreign observers were/are stunned, some saying we were the laughing stock of the world; a Japanese talked of a “Voldemort presidency;” a Canadian asked why we hadn’t gotten rid of him – “he’s insane.”

Everyone has their opinions – BUT – everyone can’t have their own “facts:” nor be taken seriously when – based on world-wide evidence, including pictures & quotes – they’e been egregiously lied to and misinformed.
THIS is THE driver of much American division; THE driver of the bogus 2020 election being “stolen: the ENTIRE 2016-2021 period.
THE disheartening tragedy of 1980-2021 American lies in the millions of good Americans having been lied to and deliberately misinformed – as part of a political strategy. That strategy has produced 2021 America – a shadow of the middle class 1947-1973 golden age – indeed, a shadow of what America once stood for.

Some of the latest from the right wing “echo chamber,” a prominent “talking head”said this: Democrats want to put supporters of the Dark One into “re-education camps.” A colleague said: Democrats put on MAGA hats and infiltrated the January 6th rioters.
Ask yourself” why would they say such unbelievable things? They’re going to be proven wrong. Why the e3ver-escalating barrage of these type of lies? What is the goal of this? Did they do this – KNOWING their faithful listeners would accept it on face value? If so, America is in very big trouble

Consider the following from Professor Philip Zimbardo’s “The Lucifer Effect {Understanding How Good People Turn Evil}:” “Good people can be induced, seduced, and initiated into behaving in evil ways. They can also be led to act in irrational, stupid, self-destructive, antisocial, and mindless ways when they are immersed in “total situations” that impact human nature in ways that challenge our sense of stability and consistency of individual personality, of character, and of morality.”

John Dean and Bob Altemeyer, in their “Authoritarian Nightmare,” backed by much research over decades, go into much detail trying to explain the “why” of what happened in 2016-2021 America. Former cult member, Steven Hassan, wrote “The Cult of Trump” because of patterns he saw personally, and then researched.

We don’t know where all the money came from financing the January 6th insurrection – but some evidence has surfaced. We don’t yet know in somebody in Congress aided the rioters. We don’t know how the rioters obtained detailed information about the Capitol Complex, including how to identify unmarked doors. We don’t know the complete story on how much planning and coordination went into January 6th.
BUT – we DO know one significant thing. We KNOW the identity of the person who spoke to, and directed the rioters. We KNOW what he said – and HOW he said it. It is all recorded, live, on numerous sources.

We also know something else. A mob of insurrectionists assaulted multiple police. A “law and order” rioter deliberately killed a policeman. The mob was looking for two very high ranking government officials. We SAW a noose hanging in front of the Capitol.

We have a new president, a new federal government. BUT – we DON’T have a new American population. Much hope and relief has been expressed, here and abroad, that the 5-year nightmare is over.

This nightmare only disappears if several million Americans begin to reassess their beliefs, and more importantly – what is in their hearts. Do they want to?

When good Americans, radicalized by the 2016-2021 events, look into the mirror, what do they see?

William F. Buckley [1951]: “The most casual student of history knows that, as a matter of truth, truth does not necessarily vanquish. What is more, truth can never win unless it is promulgated. Truth does not carry within itself an antitoxin to falsehood. The cause of truth must be championed, and it must be championed dynamically.”

Eugene V. Debs [1918]: “The truth has always been dangerous to the rule of the rogue, the exploiter, the robber. So the truth must be ruthlessly suppressed.”

Ralph W. Emerson [1841]: “Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.”

Benjamin Franklin [1758]: “Half the Truth is often a great Lie.”

Henry George [1881]: “He who sees the truth, let him proclaim it, without asking who is for it or who is against it.”

Elbert Hubbard [19230: “Truth, in its struggles for recognition, passes through four distinct stages. First, we say it is damnable, dangerous, disorderly, and will surely disrupt society. Second, we declare it is heretical, infidelic and contrary to the Bible. Third, we say it is really a matter of no importance either one way or the other. Fourth, we aver that we have always upheld and believed it.”

Thomas Jefferson [1784]: “Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.”

Victor Klemperer, “The Language of The Third Reich,” tells how the Nazis used words as “tiny doses of arsenic” to poison Germany as they weaponized language to subvert truth. He describes “the Nazi cast of mind..the fear of thinking man and;;the hatred of the intellect..” Words, idioms and sentence structures were imposed “in a million repetitions.” And, of course, the euphemisms and code talk: “untermensch,” “racial defilement,” “taken into safe keeping,” “collected,” “final solution.”

Henry W. Longfellow [1868]: “Who dares To say that he alone has found the truth?”

Frank Norris [1903]: “The people have right to the Truth as they have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is not right that they be exploited and deceived with false views of life, false characters, false sentiment, false morality, false history, false philosophy, false emotions, false heroism, false notions of self-sacrifice, false views of religion, of duty, of conduct and manners.”

Wendell Phillips [10/4/1859]: “Truth is one forever, absolute, but opinion is truth filtered through the moods, the blood, the disposition of the spectator.”

Thomas B. Reed[1914]: “The truth survives, the untruth perishes. Men have but little capacity for the recognition of truth at first sight, and of a hundred things which seem plausible, it is fortunate if one be true. Hence it is well that all things should be held at arms length and stand the scrutiny of our prejudices and interests, of our religion and our skepticism.”

Adlai Stevenson [ll/9/1952]: “Man may burn his brother at the stake, but he cannot reduce truth to ashes; he may murder his fellow man with a shot in the back, but he does not murder justice; he may slay armies of men, but as it is written, ‘Truth beareth off the victory.”

Henry D. Thoreau [1849]: “It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak, and another to hear.”

Mark Twain [1894]: “One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that the cat has only nine lives.”

[note” credit for the above: The Harper Book of American Quotes]

A dictionary definition of truth: “..actual state of a matter; conformity with fact or reality; a verified or indisputable fact; actuality or actual existence; honesty or integrity”

In these days of “alternative facts,” “fake news,” “hoax,” “enemies of the people,” ‘hating America,” “reform” [ANY change], “religious freedom,” “trickle-down” tax cuts,” “death tax,’ “socialism,” “very fine people on both sides,” “law and order,” etc, etc, etc – a most helpful and necessary book is Michiko Kakutani’s “The Death of Truth” [2018]. Listed below are some of her thoughts.

From Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction…and the distinction between true and false…no longer exist.”

“The term “TRUTH DECAY” [used by the Rand Corporation to describe the “diminishing role of facts and analysis” in American public life} has joined the post-truth lexicon that includes such now familiar phrases as “fake news” and “alternative facts.” And it’s not just fake news either; it’s also fake science [manufactured by climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers], fake history [promoted by Holocaust revisionists and white supremacists], fake Americans on Facebook [crated by Russian trolls], and fake followers and “likes” on social media [generated by bots].”

“Pope Francis reminded us, “There is no such thing as harmless disinformation; trusting in falsehood can have dire consequences.””

“..polarization..has been going on since a solar system of right-wing news sites orbiting around Fox News and Breitbart News consolidated its gravitational hold over the Republican base, and it’s been exponentially accelerated by social media, which connects like-minded members and supplies them with customized news feeds that reinforce their preconceptions, allowing them to live in ever narrower, windowless silos.”

‘..former acting attorney general Sally Yates has observed, truth is one of those things that separates us from autocracy…[and if] we look the other way and normalize an indifference to truth.” {we have aided downfall of democracy]

“..in the words of Alexander Hamilton, “of a man unprincipled in private life” and “bold in his temper” one day arising who might “mount the hobby horse of popularity” and “flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day”…”and throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.'”

Page 73 discusses the “both sides” argument – trying “to equate things that cannot be equated.” {This is also used to spread responsibility, as in look at the other side]

“Doubt is our product,” read an infamous memo written by a tobacco industry executive in 1969, “since it is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the minds of the general public.” {needless to say – this “tobacco strategy” has been used ever since, not only by corporations, but by numerous lying politicians – muddy the waters}

Page lll – discusses how the ending of the “Fairness Doctrine” {in1987 by the Reagan Admin.} has contributed much to the waves of lies and misinformation ever since… and how “..the right-wing media has grown into a sprawling, solipsistic network that endlessly repeats its own tropes..” She lists some of the components of the empire, and “In an Orwellian move, Sinclair has even forced local news anchors to read a scripted message about “false news” that echoes President Trump’s own rhetoric undermining real reporting.”

Page 138, an interesting note: “Steve Bannon..once described himself to a journalist as “a Lenninist..Lennon wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal, too.”

“A Rand Corporation report called this the Putin method of propaganda “the firehose of falsehood” – an unremitting, high intensity stream of lies, partial truths, and complete fictions spewed forth with tireless aggression to obfuscate the truth and overwhelm and confuse anyone trying to pay attention.”

“Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.”

“Jefferson wrote that because the young republic was predicated on the proposition “that man may be governed by reason and truth,” our “first object should be, to leave open to him all the avenues of the truth.”

A recent poll showed 81% of Republicans believe “socialists” have taken over the Democratic Party. On what basis did they arrive at this conclusion? Did they do research [in legitimate mainstream books, paper, sites]? Did they do historical analysis, especially of those countries, accused of, or actually practicing some form of “socialism?” OR – did they buy into another bumper sticker slogan? OR – did their favorite politician[s] say this, and therefore they “must” believe this?

The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution states the purpose of the American government is: “..to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”
What does that government have to do to “form a perfect Union?” To “establish Justice?” To Insure domestic Tranquility?” To “promote the general Welfare?”

Any government required to do these things MUST have much concern for the welfare of its citizens. It MUST be required to do certain things to achieve “justice,” “tranquility,” and “promote the general Welfare [greatest good for the greatest number].”

“..promote the general Welfare..” A dictionary definition of “welfare:” “the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc. of a person, group, or organization; well-being..” A dictionary definition of “well-being:” “a good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity.”

SO – what does a “constitutional” American government to to “insure..the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity..the satisfactory..existence..” of the American people?

The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that amoung these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted…”

SO – one of the unalienable Rights” of Americans is “the Pursuit of Happiness,” and, it is the DUTY of any American government to “secure” this Right.
SO – what does it take to foment Happiness” for Americans?

If one were to look for possible answers, one example would be that recent multi-year polls have shown that the “happiest” people on earth usually live in “Scandinavia>” If this is true, year after year, what are those societies doing to “pursue Happiness?” What are they doing “to promote the general Welfare?” What are the philosophies that “insure..the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity” of Scandinavians, year after year?
AND – if this is THE recipe – WHY isn’t America doing these same things?

An encyclopedia definition of “socialism:” “is an economic system, a political movement, and a social theory…Socialism calls for public ownership of land, factories, and other basic means of production…socialists believe that a nation’s wealth must be distributed more equally and justly. They strongly oppose social inequality and discrimination. Socialists aim for a society based on cooperation and brotherhood rather than competition and self-interest.”

The American government owns land. It doesn’t own factories [so even in a pandemic, it must require private factories to produce necessary medicines for public benefit]. The American “safety net” includes Social Security, Medicare, unemployment and disability pay, veteran’s benefits. Which of these would anybody like to eliminate? According to one study, the “average”American family receives $10,000 annually in government “transfers.” Subsidies to industry and agriculture are “normal” budget items.

When industries – auto, etc. – received government “bailouts” was this considered “socialism?” When the government bailed out 1980’s S & L’s, was this considered “socialism?” When the government bailed out Wall Street [crooks] after it caused the 2008- “Crash” – was this called “socialism?”
Are free K-12 public schools “socialism?” Free libraries? Toll-free roads? Free parks and playgrounds? Free public restrooms [visit another country!!!]?

“to promote the general Welfare.” Does giving away reverse Robin Hood tax cuts for the top 1% [“campaign contributions buy a lot!] “promote the general Welfare [as they blow up the national debt]?

The Christian Bible has 2,000 plus references to the poor and obligations to the poor, including: “The righteous considers the cause of the poor, but the wicked close his eyes to them.” [Proverbs 28:27] “Jesus said to him, “If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.” [Matthew 19:21] “You have despised the poor. Is it not the rich men who oppress you, and drag you before the judgment seats?” [James 2:6]

Does economic inequality represent “a good and satisfactory condition of existence?” Does massive post-1980 economic inequality “promote the general Welfare?” Does it “insure domestic Tranquility?” Does it “secure the Blessings of Liberty?”
Does it satisfy a ‘socialist” goal “that a nation’s wealth must be distributed more equally and justly?”

Please read Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett’s “The Spirit Level [Why Greater Equality makes Societies Stronger]” or Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz” “The Price of Inequality [How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future]” for specific data and analysis on this unsustainable wealth division; and what the top 1% income share is, and the 400 richest Americans making $97,000 an HOUR; the true source of “capital gains” income; the cost of financializing the American economy [YOU didn’t benefit].

Stuart Stevens, a 25-year top Republican Party campaign operative, wrote “It Was All A Lie,” meaning the last 50 years of Republican policies. He said: “..but I do know that i feel enormous sorrow and personal shame” about what the Party had become and his role in what happened

The statement or belief that “socialists” have taken over the Democratic Party is also “All A Lie.” They’re simply honoring the principles of the Declaration and the Constitution. And – also the wishes of Jesus Christ – they we love our neighbor, not despise him.

Sam Adams, attributed: “The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought>”

Hugo Black [1964]: “An unconditional right to say what one pleases about public affairs is what I consider to be the minimum guarantee of the First Amendment.”

Louis D. Brandeis [1927]: “Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burned women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.”

Henry S. Commager {1966]: “We cannot have a society half slave and half free; nor can we have thought half slave and half free. If we create an atmosphere in which men fear to think independently, inquire fearlessly, express themselves freely, we will in the end create the kind of society in which men no longer care to think independently or to inquire fearlessly. If we put a premium on conformity we will, in the end, get conformity.”

Conference for Progressive Political Action [1924]: “Every generation must wage a new war for freedom against new forces that seek through new devices to enslave mankind.”

Helen G. Davis [1945]: “It is not easy to be free men, for to be free you must afford freedom to your neighbor, regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin, and that sometimes, for some, is very difficult.”

William Faulkner [1956]: “We cannot choose freedom established on a hierarchy of degrees of freedom, on a caste system of equality like military rank. We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it>”

Oliver W. Holmes[1919]: “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic.”

Elbert Hubbard [1923]: “There is no freedom on earth or in any star for those who deny freedom to others.”

Thomas Jefferson [1784]: “Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you make your inquisitors? Fallible men; men governed by bad passions, by private as well as public reasons.”

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick[1982]: “The defense of freedom is finally grounded in an appreciation of its value. No government, no foreign policy, is more important to the defense of freedom than are the writers, teachers, communication specialists, researchers – whose responsibility it is to document, illustrate, and explain the human consequences of freedom and unfreedom.”

Archibald MacLeish: “What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice. Without the possibility of choice and exercise of that choice a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing>”

James Madison [1788]: “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

Edward R. Murrow {3/7/1954 report on Sen. J. McCarthy]: “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.”

J. Robert Oppenheimer [10/10/1949 ‘Life”]: “As long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think, free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress.”

Thomas Paine [9/12/1777}: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it>”

Benno C. Schmidt, Jr [l2/5/1986]: “Privacy is absolutely essential to maintaining a free society. The idea that is at the foundation of the notion of privacy is that the citizen is not the tool or the instrument of government – but the reverse….If you have no privacy, it will tend to follow that you have no political freedom, no religious freedom, no freedom of families to make their own decisions [regarding having children]. All these freedoms tend to reinforce one another.”

Hazel Scott [1974]: “Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go.”

Adlai E. Stevenson [9/6/1952]: “A hungry man is not a free man.”

Woodrow Wilson [9/4/1912]: “Freedom exists only where the people take care of the government.”

[note: the above quotes are from “The Harper Book of American Quotations,” by Gorton Carruth and Eugene Ehrlich}