I turned 74 last week, and I’m thinking of turning away from political commentary. I have tried for 25 years-plus to get people to think for themselves about who will be the best leader for the future of their kids and grandkids, but bottom line always seems to be the economy and who can throw the best insults and tell the most outrageous lies during campaign season.
I’m not changing my mind about Trump, who I feel is acting despicably as president — but he’s acted despicably for decades. If you’re one of his supporters, it doesn’t seem I will change your mind, either. I can’t comprehend why anyone would consent to put Trump in power, and I am not being judgmental. I am stating a fact. Some of you have an opposite point of view than mine. You love Trump and can’t understand why I don’t. We are both at a loss. We seem to be living in a 50-50 world. We are halved.
A way to pull the country back together — if the United States are to stay united — might be to look away from that big difference of opinion and see what we have in common on our respective sides of the political and rhetorical fence constructed between us.
We didn’t build the fence. Power, wealth and organized religion did, with the intention of keeping us apart. These form a somewhat-equilateral triangle. As a geometric construction in the physical realm, it will fall over if left to itself. The form needs a fourth leg, which will produce a stable, four-sided pyramid. That fourth leg is consent. For the pyramid to remain upright, people have to agree on the role of the other legs. The more people who feel a certain way, the quicker changes happen or the longer things stay the way they are.
Consent is an act of will. Giving someone permission to act in our life is done of our own volition. There are always extenuating circumstance. Over time, I have been about as extenuated as someone living in the U.S. can get.
Every human faces extenuations, though some have fewer than others. We are blessed in this country. Imagine being a 12-year-old Palestinian or Ukrainian kid waiting for a rocket to drop through the roof. They have not given their consent to that.
Consider the following headlines:
Trump calls Zelensky a dictator in post rife with falsehoods
These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration (they all have to do with social equity)
Trump Issues Order to Expand His Power Over Agencies Congress Made Independent
Trump Promised Americans Booming Wealth. Now He’s Changing His Tune
Kennedy Links Measles Outbreak to Poor Diet and Health, Citing Fringe Theories
Trump Is Elected Chair of Kennedy Center as Its Longtime President Is Fired (by Trump)
Republicans Love Trump’s Spending Cuts. Just Not in Their States
Trump Signs Order Aimed at Dismantling Education Department
Trump administration abruptly cuts billions from state health services
Mass Layoffs Announced at Health and Human Services Dept. (10,000 jobs)
Trump is trying to gain more power over elections. (Extra scary)
This and considerable other damage to the good America has done for its citizens and the world over the last 100-plus years is what the majority of American voters have consented to. Ironically, if statistics prove true, half of the citizens adversely affected by this dismantling voted for Trump.
I didn’t consent to this. If you did, I hope you and Republicans in Congress change your minds before midterm elections. If not, we could all lose our right to express a lack of consent.
A few thoughts on the power of consent.
I turned 74 last week, and I’m thinking of turning away from political commentary. I have tried for 25 years-plus to get people to think for themselves about who will be the best leader for the future of their kids and grandkids, but bottom line always seems to be the economy and who can throw the best insults and tell the most outrageous lies during campaign season.
I’m not changing my mind about Trump, who I feel is acting despicably as president — but he’s acted despicably for decades. If you’re one of his supporters, it doesn’t seem I will change your mind, either. I can’t comprehend why anyone would consent to put Trump in power, and I am not being judgmental. I am stating a fact. Some of you have an opposite point of view than mine. You love Trump and can’t understand why I don’t. We are both at a loss. We seem to be living in a 50-50 world. We are halved.
A way to pull the country back together — if the United States are to stay united — might be to look away from that big difference of opinion and see what we have in common on our respective sides of the political and rhetorical fence constructed between us.
We didn’t build the fence. Power, wealth and organized religion did, with the intention of keeping us apart. These form a somewhat-equilateral triangle. As a geometric construction in the physical realm, it will fall over if left to itself. The form needs a fourth leg, which will produce a stable, four-sided pyramid. That fourth leg is consent. For the pyramid to remain upright, people have to agree on the role of the other legs. The more people who feel a certain way, the quicker changes happen or the longer things stay the way they are.
Consent is an act of will. Giving someone permission to act in our life is done of our own volition. There are always extenuating circumstance. Over time, I have been about as extenuated as someone living in the U.S. can get.
Every human faces extenuations, though some have fewer than others. We are blessed in this country. Imagine being a 12-year-old Palestinian or Ukrainian kid waiting for a rocket to drop through the roof. They have not given their consent to that.
Consider the following headlines:
Trump calls Zelensky a dictator in post rife with falsehoods
These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration (they all have to do with social equity)
Trump Issues Order to Expand His Power Over Agencies Congress Made Independent
Trump Promised Americans Booming Wealth. Now He’s Changing His Tune
Kennedy Links Measles Outbreak to Poor Diet and Health, Citing Fringe Theories
Trump Is Elected Chair of Kennedy Center as Its Longtime President Is Fired (by Trump)
Republicans Love Trump’s Spending Cuts. Just Not in Their States
Trump Signs Order Aimed at Dismantling Education Department
Trump administration abruptly cuts billions from state health services
Mass Layoffs Announced at Health and Human Services Dept. (10,000 jobs)
Trump is trying to gain more power over elections. (Extra scary)
This and considerable other damage to the good America has done for its citizens and the world over the last 100-plus years is what the majority of American voters have consented to. Ironically, if statistics prove true, half of the citizens adversely affected by this dismantling voted for Trump.
I didn’t consent to this. If you did, I hope you and Republicans in Congress change your minds before midterm elections. If not, we could all lose our right to express a lack of consent.
A few thoughts on five days in sandals.
A shower of sand fell from my pack as I emptied it today. The stuff is whiteish, with gray and tan highlights. In my mind, there’s a big mystery about the color. Why is it almost white when near all the stone surrounding it is some permutation of black? The
A few thoughts on trees, O2, CO2 and basic breathing.
It’s 4:19 pm on the day when A Few Thoughts is due, and I’m just getting to it. It’s been on my mind, but my mind has not been coming up with a good subject, which is not a new phenomenon, but one I’ve not had trouble with for at
A few thoughts on politics, the weather, religion and literary license
Politics: Bombing Iran? So, what’s new? We’ve been interfering in Middle Eastern politics since forever. The argument that Donnie will keep us out of wars is now moot. Maybe 100 times more folks showed up for “No Kings Day” than for Donnie’s birthday parade ala Red Square. The military seemed
A few thoughts on writing for free.
After 61 days away traveling the West, with ten days on Maui thrown into the middle, it’s good to be home. I drove 7,434.8 miles, took way too many pictures, played golf, skied, ate out my cooler, camped out, stayed with friends and stayed within budget. It was a good
A few thoughts on the power of consent.
I turned 74 last week, and I’m thinking of turning away from political commentary. I have tried for 25 years-plus to get people to think for themselves about who will be the best leader for the future of their kids and grandkids, but bottom line always seems to be the