Berlin Wall – Mexican Style

To escape tyranny and repression in the pursuit of liberty and safety, those who lived in Communist occupied East Berlin fled by the hundreds to West Berlin.  In 1961 the Communists constructed a wall separating East Berlin from West Berlin. This prevented any further migration in search of a life absent of brutality and ripe with hope.  Today, millions attempt to flee into the United States for exactly the same reasons.

There are those who will argue that our Mexican wall is not intended to limit freedom and liberty or to prevent the escape from poverty and brutality but rather to protect our boarders.  The Berlin Wall was also touted as a “wall of protection” to counter its accurate description as a wall of repression.

While limiting freedom and protection may not be the stated purpose or intent of our Berlin Wall on the Mexican border, it is, nevertheless, the end result. Germany could manage the migration in the 1950's and Jordan can manage it today but America can't?  That should be of real concern to us.  We also need to consider if this wall is truly the only means by which we can stem the tide of illegal immigration or if it just the simple-minded and most visible approach, and thus the most politically expedient.  

How about a diplomatic solution comprised of creative thinking, negotiating skills, and hard work?  This certainly would not be difficult for our new Chief Executive (President Trump).  How do we know this?  Because we have been told, on many occasions, of Trump’s world class negotiating skills in arriving at successful agreements.

How about we find a solution that encompasses our making friends rather than enemies through alienation?  How about we demonstrate some worldwide leadership through compassion and understanding rather than through bullying in the creation of a climate of fear and intimidation?  How about leadership at home that stems the tide of national hatred for, and fear of, immigrants rather than intensifying and exploiting those hatreds and fears for political gain?  

Is this really what we have become? Is this really who we are?  Rest assured both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan are turning in their graves.

How many times have we heard “economic progress” used as justification for the Berlin Wall and now for the Mexican wall.?

 “And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism (repression) is evil, but it permits us to make economic progress…Let them come to Berlin.”    ~ President John F. Kennedy

 “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”  ~ President Ronald Reagan

 Illegal immigration and the refugee crisis are golden opportunities for America to restore much of her lost respect.  Yet it appears as though we lack the mindset, skills, talents, will and political courage necessary to take advantage of the opportunity and are content to squander it. 

 There was a day when America was indeed far more noble and committed.  Certainly, reviving that sense of moral obligation would go a long way toward making America great again.

“Do Unto Others...” Isn’t Profitable

Aaron Rodgers’ father recently spoke to the “New York Times.”  What he told them was very ugly and of no value to anyone.  So, naturally, “The Times” printed it.

 

When yellow journalism like this is seen some of us always ask: “Why do we NEED to know this?”

 

Why did we need to know that Vernon Presley spent time in prison?  That Marilyn Monroe’s mother was in and out of mental institutions?  That the man who saved Gerald Ford’s life was gay?  That Frank Sinatra attempted suicide? and on and on and on and on…

 

One of the cruelest fates that can befall any on us is to grow up in a dysfunctional family.  Forms of selfishness and cruelty brought on by mental illness leave scars and challenges that last a lifetime.  There are always two sides to these stories.  Even if both sides are aired, the end result is that people always believe what they want to believe and not necessarily what is true.  To encourage victims to discuss this pain by having to defend themselves publicly is every bit as cruel as the environmental hand they were dealt. 

 

There once was a day when “The National Inquirer,” “Star” and all other such publications were viewed with utter distain in America.  Now they are billion dollar enterprises and therefore encouraged.  Such behavior has led to a vast number of putrid television programs with more and more of these gutter style stories being provided by what is supposed to be responsible mainstream journalism.  The American public is directly responsible for this vicious promotion of gossip, innuendo and outright falsehoods.  This serves as the biggest mockery of “Do unto others” ever perpetrated.

 

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this information was not only released by a New York publication (Packers 38, Giants 13) but also released at the height of the most successful point in Rodgers career.  Why now?   Is this yet another sterling example of the evil of hatred and vengeance or jealousy?  Is it because Rodgers popularity has never been greater and will therefore provide greater notoriety to those who wish to demean him?  Are books and television interviews to fatten pocketbooks forthcoming? 

 

We all have our demons.  Both compassion and understanding should prevent us from ever having to deal with those demons in front of millions of spectators.

 

Just as WONDERFUL !!! Today

In the December1st News & Views section of USA Today we find an article so preposterous and infuriating as to demand a rationale perspective.  It comes to us in a baseless trashing of the classic motion picture “It’s A Wonderful Life.”  It is penned by an obviously very, very young lady way out of her depth of understanding.  It certainly isn't unusual to experience that loss of understanding among American

generations who have a woeful lack of historical knowledge and therefore a tainted or uneducated perception on our cultural evolution.  What is preposterous is learning that apparently no one on the USA Today’s editorial staff is any more mature or enlightened than the author. 

Erin Jensen begins by stating that she didn’t find the movie to be “merry or bright” although she concludes by saying that she did find herself “getting choked up” during the ending scenes of the movie.  It would appear we need a definition of merry and bright from this literary scholar.  

She has trouble with endorsing seventy-year-old visual effects.  Any person with an expectation of enjoying today’s modern miracles in a motion picture from that era would have to be delusional.  To allow the story line or overall message of the movie to be lost or dampened by such nonsense only suggests she was looking for any little disturbing nuance she could find to support a very weak argument.

Ms. Jensen is also very disturbed at George’s yelling and screaming at his wife and children when it becomes apparent he is on his way to jail.  Did she expect to see him dancing through the door of their home singing “Jingle Bells” when he is facing the same fate as Bernie Madoff?  

She is no less troubled by her contention that we needed more of a resolution as to Potters behavior.  This thought clearly indicates how very badly she missed the message of the movie and/or how unobservant she is as witness to human greed and dishonest comportment.  Is she living in La-La Land by expecting to see Potter make amends?  Ms. Jensen is obviously unaware that Wall Street never paid back a nickel of what they deceitfully absconded with.  Did she want to see his theft uncovered and Potter punished?  How many Wall Street executives were punished?  She is unable to appreciate that all of Potter’s wealth and greed has done nothing more than turn him into “a warped, frustrated old man.”  But most importantly, none of this has anything to do with creating the message of caring, love, compassion and giving through a sense of strong community.  As Potter is void of any semblance of that kind of decency he will be left with a lonely existence while George and Mary Baily end up the richest people in town.  

Which brings us to Ms. Jensen’s motivation.  It’s not until her contention that “It’s laughable…(that) Mary (Donna Reed) suffers the worst fate of all in a world without George.”  She is absolutely outraged that Mary needed the deep love of another human being (especially a man) to experience life’s greatest joys and success.  She seems to be oblivious as to our culture and lifestyle in the 1940’s.  Women didn’t have the opportunities they enjoy today.  Yet, they had the greatest impact on our society and culture as mothers and wives as the movie accurately depicts.  For it was primarily their love and devotion that was the backbone and very foundation of a society and culture that served us so superbly for decades. 

We all know that there has never been a movie made that appealed to everyone.  Value and beauty are always in the eye of the beholder.  Yet some sense of proper perspective and intelligence needs to be the basis for any argument, pro or con.  Ms. Jensen’s article has nothing to do with honestly or accurately evaluating a classic motion picture.  She rather attempts to further discredit a lifestyle that has long since evaded us.  Her major objective was to further her own point of view on a social issue.  In the final analysis she did nothing to diminish just how wonderful “A Wonderful Life” is or the fact that audiences will continue to love, value and find it merry and bright for at least another seventy years.

 

Irrational Recount Is Dangerous

Jill Stein has determined, in her infinite wisdom, that we need a recount of the presidential votes cast in Wisconsin.  She has also alluded to recounts being considered in Michigan and Pennsylvania.  Hillary, who has conceded the election, and all her ardent followers are naturally in favor of this mischief which begs the question – WHY??? 

In 1960 Richard Nixon refused to allow a recount in Illinois where it was suspected, and highly probable, that Mayor Richard Daily rigged the voting machines.  Nixon’s contention was that such an action risked throwing the nation into a constitutional crisis.  While never stating it, it can also be reasonably assumed he was aware that even if he did win Illinois, he would still fall short of the Electoral College votes he needed to claim the presidency.  It would seem this patriotism and wisdom has escaped us today. 

As far as addressing patriotism; it is clear that such an endeavor would clearly be a waste of time and effort.  The contemporary view of such a notion only extends as far as the belief that if it’s something “I” want and believe in then it is patriotic to support it.  Colin Kapernick’s dissent was unpatriotic while Tim Tebow’s was patriotic or vice-versa??  Both were acts of courage protected under the First Amendment.  Yet good luck in trying to convince the hardliners and, one might reasonably suspect, the majority of Americans of that reality.  So where does one even begin in dispelling thinking this farfetched? 

As far as the numbers and their blunt reality:

·        To secure the presidency a candidate needs 270 Electoral votes

·        Donald Trump is credited with 306 Electoral votes

–     290 if one refuses to accept the outcome in Michigan

·        A recount in Wisconsin places 10 electoral votes in dispute

·        A recount in Michigan places 16 electoral votes in dispute

·        306 – 26 (Wisconsin Plus Michigan) = 280 – Still Enough for Trump to claim the presidency

·        A recount in Pennsylvania places 20 electoral votes in dispute

·        To topple the election, Pennsylvania must also be turned blue. 

Currently President-Elect Trump has a 22,252 vote lead in Wisconsin, a 11,612 vote lead in Michigan and a whopping 68,030 vote lead in Pennsylvania. 

A recently mandated recount in a Wisconsin election where the margin of victory was far less than the margin Trump enjoys, found only a 361 vote irregularity. So chances are excellent that a recount in Wisconsin will result in almost no change. 

While Michigan is a tossup, the chances of reversing a 68,000 vote lead in Pennsylvania while winning Wisconsin requires a very vivid imagination. 

Then we get to the ugliness that will be the ultimate result of this irrationality.  As we should have learned from Al Gore’s action in 2000, these recount actions will only serve to propel further hatreds on both sides of the political spectrum.  It will further divide us as a nation and retard, if not altogether prevent, the unity required to reach compromises in finding solutions to our current challenges. 

This behavior is what the country feared when Trump was saying the system is rigged.  Therefore, we had a reasonable expectation that Trump supporters would try to generate a constitutional crisis.   Yet what we are now witnessing is those who were forcefully opposed to this expectation now engaging in it.  

Would those Hillary supporters justifying this outrageous conduct justify it if Trump had won the popular vote and Hillary had won the presidency?  Would Hillary supporters still be adamant in their support of a constitutional crisis through recount shenanigans and the repeal of the Electoral College if it were all perpetrated by the Trump faithful? 

This is all very reminiscent of a father raising three daughters.  When they were four-years-old their father was the smartest man in the world.  By the time they reached 13-years-of-age he was an idiot.  The constitution, like a father, is okay as long it doesn’t forbid us from lying to authority figures or breaking curfew. 

We must all begin adopting Richard Nixon’s patriotism and wisdom. We must begin to recognize that when our own desires become more important to us than the constitution, we are no longer Americans.

Misplaced Frustration and Anger

MARK SHIELDS: “…I think the worst thing the Democrats could do is to follow the playbook that Mitch McConnell and the Republicans adopted in 2009 against Barack Obama. And that’s just total, all-out obstructionism….I think that America has had enough of it. It doesn’t work. And it’s not the best of the Democratic tradition.” 

Post-election outrage over Donald J. Trump's victory to serve as our forty-fifth president has not relinquished its fervor on social media.  Every silliness imaginable from embarrassing pictures, to mean-spirited, unfounded vicious criticisms of those who voted for him, to which entertainers will perform at his inauguration continues unabated.  It’s time to take a breath and count to ten. 

We did not elect an emperor, a monarch, a dictator, a czar, or an ayatollah.  We elected a president, whose power is NOT absolute.  That power is curtailed by our constitution, a congress and the American people, if we choose to be heard.  The continued hatred and mistrusted being promoted through fear mongering boarders on the absurd. It is primarily bitterness perpetuated by those unable to come to grips with our election process and its outcome. If wrath is a preferred method of expression, then perhaps one might want to focus it where it will provide some positive results and benefits.   

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Party played a huge role in the election of Donald J. Trump.  They manipulated their nominating process to mandate no opposition (Bernie is an Independent) in their selection of the worst possible candidate to oppose Trump.  Hillary Clinton was the only Democrat Trump could have defeated.   

Also, over the last 36 years the Democrats have turned their backs on the underprivileged, poor, and middle class in favor of corporate support in the form of huge campaign contributions. 

As a result, some of the poor, underprivileged and middle class, having lost their political voice turned to Donald Trump in the hope of having that voice restored.  However, the vast majority of others betrayed by the Democratic Party simply stayed at home and didn’t vote. Trump lost the popular vote and only received support from a mere 26% of the voting electorate. 

The Democrats suffered one of their most humiliating defeats ever.  A big black eye which they earned and so richly deserved.  

So, where distain needs to be focused is on the Democratic Party in hopes they will return to the compassionate philosophy, principles and ideology of “The New Deal”, “The New Frontier” and “The Great Society.”  For if they do not embrace such a course of action, then rest assured, more tears will yet flow from blackened Democratic Party eyes.

  

Thanksgiving – True Spirit and Intent

At the urging of Publisher, Sarah Josepha Hale, Abraham Lincoln establish the current Thanksgiving Day holiday.  Lincoln was long dismayed by what he perceived as America’s arrogance in believing we alone were responsible for the many blessing bestowed upon us.  Lincoln therefore, viewed the establishment of a precise, single, national date of Thanksgiving as an opportunity to awaken and recapture a proper national sense of gratitude which he believed extended way beyond that of just human efforts and enterprises.   

Lincoln’s National Fast Day Proclamation - March 30, 1863

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown.  But we have forgotten God.  We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”  

Proclamation of Thanksgiving – October 3, 1863 

“Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore.  Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.” 

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.  They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.” 

“It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.  I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”

        

Supporting Our President

Our Republic was founded on the precept of a government that serves the common good and general welfare of all its citizens.  That not only requires hard work and commitment but most importantly doing what is right when it can be extremely difficult to do. 

Upon the election of President Barack Obama, the so-called loyal opposition immediately stated that their primary, if not their sole function, would focus on making Obama a one-term president.  He hadn’t proposed any new legislative action or initiated any policies of any kind.  

Those thinking more clearly saw this as partisanship or tribalism – some as racism and bigotry – a blind loyalty based upon some form of hatred.  The blindness is glaringly apparent in that the country was faced with serious difficulties requiring immediate attention and a unified course of action.  Yet a hatred of the new president was the most predominate element in their thinking.  Demonstrating, once again, the most destructive and evil nature in hatred. 

Now we are at it again. 

Some Americans are of the belief that support for President-Elect Trump should be withheld.  They argue that he won the election based on the support of bigots and therefore to support him would be to further the cause of hatred.  They also believe his failure to win the popular vote justifies their outrage and opposition.  Like President Obama, Trump has not proposed any new legislative action or initiated any policies of any kind.  We are supposed to learn from history to avoid repeating the same failings from the past.  It appears that wisdom is escaping us.  Yet, another residual of hatred. 

To be certain Trump’s lack of civilized and moral demeanor is a concern.  Yet we have no idea how his demeanor will affect his governing. Everything surrounding this objection is purely speculative.  

The other major objection is that he was elected without winning the popular vote suggesting his victory is bogus.  What is necessary here is a reminder that this nation is not a democracy.  We are a Republic based upon democratic principles.  This is crucial to the stated objective of our government to be representative of ALL its citizens.  Thomas Jefferson; “…that the MINORITY POSSES their EQUAL RIGHTS, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” 

Next it would be wise for us to remember that the popular vote still has a strong influence in determining the outcome of an election.  To win the electoral votes in any state requires winning the popular vote in that state.  As well, the number of electoral votes is based upon the population of the state.  It’s a brilliant system in that it still gives a strong voice to the majority while also providing the minority with a voice that cannot be ignored. 

Trump is the fifth president to win election without the support of the popular vote.  There is absolutely no evidence that this has been extremely detrimental to our Republic.  Would Al Gore have been a better president than George W. Bush?  To believe that is completely speculative.  Al Gore would have to serve as president for us to honestly answer that question. 

Therefore, it is disingenuous to suggest that Trump’s victory was bogus.  He managed his campaign with the goal of achieving electoral votes, NOT with a goal of winning the popular vote.  Had the popular vote been his goal, he would have conducted his campaign in a far different manner.  The point isn’t that he would have won the popular vote, but rather, that it is hardly congruent to suggest he failed when he achieved what was required of him to win the presidency. 

We have mistakenly begun to believe that total opposition is justified upon one difference of opinion or misgiving.  We have never had a perfect president nor have we ever had a president we can all agree with in total. 

What is required of us is to evaluated thinking and course of action on each individual issue.  We then formulate an evaluation on the merits or drawbacks resulting from those thoughts and actions.  This sometimes takes years to properly assess.  Once a president’s time in office is completed a tally of his influence and direction can then be properly assessed.  None of this seems to be an exercise most Americans wish to engage in today.  

With the help of an irresponsible press devoting much of their time to supposition and speculation, we have become a knee-jerk society in our evaluation process.  This has not benefited to America. 

In the final analysis, if we are committed to strengthening our Republic, we must suspend all this irrational thinking.  We must abandon our polarization and intransigence.  WE must begin this process by supporting our president when he is serving the best interest of all Americans, regardless of how we FEEL about him.  We must recognize our criticisms surrounding flawed thinking and failings, while necessary, isn’t more crucial than our earned support.  We must realize that our support lends far greater credibility and legitimacy to our criticisms.  We must base those criticisms on issues and actions and NOT on some predisposition embedded in hatred.  We must act as Americans.