A VIEW FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE ESCALATOR

Those who voted for Trump represent a large portion of the U.S. and have no more or no less a right to their opinions. Some would, and do, dismiss them all together, similar to how they treated Obama supporters. The easy math would make for a fairly good definition of an evenly divided country. At one end the differences are resolved, usually through compromise. At the other end, they are resolved with civil war. Right now we're probably closer to civil war than we are to compromise. But let me say that it is artificially that way.

By the time that Trump was to the bottom of the escalator on his way to announce his candidacy, the tangent was already starting to develop into what now is the sideshow of a cable TV presidency. Previous presidents have been somewhat tangential, perhaps it comes with the job, but never was it fully developed to the detriment of our country and/or the self-aggrandizement of a narcissistic  personality who lacks any ability to reflect on his beliefs, behaviors, and emotional immaturity. I admit that I wasn't too concerned with his running in the primary until he insulted John McCain and, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star family.

No draft dodger gets to insult a POW or a military family nor any honorably discharged veteran of war. All that came after that is plainly absurd. Most all of the Republicans, some independents and even a few democrats jumped on the bandwagon despite their prior criticism. I get wanting things to be done differently or just completed after many years of stalling and neglect. But it seemed as if the hatred of Obama, the mistrust of Hillary, and the foibles of the Electoral College placed the nations hope for change on someone who needed to become presidential instead of cartoonish.

The other factor was the single-issue support of fundamentalist Evangelicals and Catholics who eyed the prize of overturning Roe v. Wade. I admit that I didn't pay attention for part of my upbringing in fundamentalist churches but when I did, I think,  come to know the what and why of the approved beliefs and behaviors. So, imagine my surprise at the adamancy of the religious Trump supporters (most of who were in my family .....he said satirically) who either held their nose, overlooked, rationalized, made excuses, chose the lesser of two evils or experienced the ecstasy of submission to God's will as they voted for someone who was a doppelgänger of Elmer Gantry.   

I thought that surely the foolishness would stop some place along the way along the way. If only on the belief that America was something that worked well if lead by honorable representatives. I can see how having a majority of women in office might make decisions and agree on resolutions that are the most practical if not restorative. But Democratic women right now are setting themselves up for defeat with how many have already entered the primary. I would love to see an all women ticket that minimized the dirt and the spin of the press and the Republican opposition. Almost two years of electioneering is ridiculous. They could make an opening for a Democratic Elmer Gantry who preaches the promises of progressive politics, the "you get a car" approach to world that doesn't exist.  

There is a cowardliness on the part of many who were elected to serve and especially those in power in Washington who don't care how far a tangential president can further divide the nation. As long as cooperation and compromise are anathema, there won't be any movement on things like immigration, infrastructure, taxes, election reform, military spending or the national debt. Perhaps the two party system is passé and is incapable of dealing with modern times. But will redesign be the answer when people at anytime are willing for greed and addiction to power to swallow it up? 

BONUS MEME

WERE IT BE TRUE BUT NONETHELESS ....RATHER FUNNY IF NOT REALLY IRONICAL (RE-GRACE ADLER).

IT ALL BEGINS WITH A VOLVO

I'm not sure if my journey in politics is parallel to the cars I have owned over what now covers quite a few years or if it's just a matter of circumstance where any parallel is purely coincidental. Cars and politics have stereotypes whether they are factual or not. What do you think when you see someone driving a Volvo wagon, a Prius or VW bus with flowers painted all over it? And you might have a particular political thought about someone driving any new American pick-up of any kind, a Cadillac Escalade or a Hummer with the special order machine gun mounts. Then of course, anyone riding a motorcycle in the winter snow of Colorado has to be an independent. 

   

Studies show that Republicans do prefer domestic pick-ups and democrats prefer small foreign sedans or tiny SUV's. It used to be that car ownership paralleled social status and income, or personality type. Those were the good old days. But if there is some direct political association in my journey, I must say that it wasn't all that clear to me at the time. Pre-politically, I had a '53 Chevy (blew the motor), a 57 Chevy (wrecked), a '58 Chevy (just died), a '61 Pontiac (can't remember) and a '65 Chevy wagon, dark blue with black interior (too many miles). Politically I've driven a Chevelle, a Toyota camper, a Camaro, a Volvo wagon, a Dodge van, an old Buick, and a Hyundai to name most of them in no particular order. Currently, I drive a Ford Explorer (Bronco Orange) or as some call it - an upgrade from a coffin on wheels. 

Then I first became political many years ago when I put a George McGovern for president bumper sticker on my Volvo 1800. I was a student at a fundamentalist Bible school, had a family, worked in a hospital and had served in Vietnam. I slowly found out that others had political concerns and like every war, the first casualty was the truth. I at first talked about my experience but soon realized no one was listening. They mostly wanted me to affirm or validate what they already believed. I was considered as unpatriotic - but ignorantly so. I could live with that. So it wasn't until near the end of my senior year at the Bible school that another student, whom I considered a friend, said that it was God's will for Nixon to be re-elected.

That was my first encounter with the God and country politics of the religious right with emphasis on RELIGIOUS and RIGHT. Of course most of that blew over my head. All I knew was that peace in Vietnam was nothing more than a slow surrender. It took a while to fill in the Left-Right political playbook and come to be in opposition to both. But it was the militant fundamentalists who stood out the most with their "my way or the highway" tactics. They loved pointing out what was of God and what wasn't. But even more dogmatically, they loved to say what being Born Again meant. It was forever the main belief and experience in Evangelicalism, Billy Graham Crusades, and Chick Tracts. And perhaps first heard of by many from an interview with Jimmy Carter in Playboy magazine which both irked and amused many of the faithful. 

Yet, somewhere along the ever expanding line of Evangelical development (I say somewhere because I don't believe patient zero has been identified yet) and in the midst of it all the posturing for position, many of the fundamentalists who came out of the fight against modernism in the mainline churches added the political component and it worked quite well for them. Yes, this is simple understanding, but it really never gets too complex. They wanted what others had - imposition of values, morals and cultural beliefs through law.

So when repealing abortion was used as a political hook, many believers saw it as their God-given duty to support it until later when it became their only duty. Even if it was to the extent of supporting the ridiculous. Even if it was against Biblical teaching. To which I say, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" ...It's as if Ayn Rand had been born again. Some Evangelicals have always been against having to wear political blinders and some are now casting them aside. But I'm still wondering what the dynamic is where God elects politicians. My brother used to say that when a Republican won it was God's will based on a lifting up and taking down principle. But when a Democrat won, he said the people got what they deserved. I wasn't as sure as he was that the Bible was written with a focus on the United States.

All of this made me think if I'll have a Post-political time period. If so, what car should I drive? If I wanted to get a step ahead, I should drive around in a black Cadillac hearse carrying my ready-to-go pre-chosen casket. That would send the right post-political message but for obvious reasons, it better speaks of our politics today. Therefore, my choice would be a Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, fully equipped, black and white, with the number 54. I think it would be the perfect vehicle to go four miles to my little town to get a gallon of milk and a 5 loaf bag of Rhodes Bake-N-Serve Frozen White Bread. And then, after making numerous false arrests and after finishing my last trip to nowhere in particular, I would clearly understand the parallel. ...And maybe finally admit that I've gone through way too many cars.

POLITICS 2019-20

Politics in 2019-20 has the potential of being interesting but only in one way. As compared to all that was part of the Nixon impeachment, we might see another impeachment played out but this time with constant coverage, commentary and criticism. All the while, candidates will be vying their party's nominee for president along with those campaigning for other seats. This could give new meaning to "we've got a lot of news to cover" or a good reason to marathon even more shows especially all the seasons of "Gunsmoke." But there's that making history thing. Having lived through a lot of amazing history already, like the muscle cars of the 60's & 70's, I can really appreciate what being there means. 

My memory goes back as far as my Grandpa Copley working his farm with horses, Dick and Don. I think starting with those images gave me a perspective of time, change and experience. An older couple once asked me, "How old are you anyway?" However, it wasn't that long before President Kennedy was assassinated. Then we had put a man on the moon amidst the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and all the problems those damn hippies caused. At the time, I thought I was just living. But with the Nixon impeachment, the fall of Communism (if indeed it really did) and all that has unfolded in the Middle East there has been some significant history in both the political and social realms. Interestingly, these provided fodder for all the changes that the computer could and did make. For me, the play of circumstances, forces, opportunities and coincidence was rather remarkable and likely meant something other than the fact that mankind is good at making, doing and destroying. 

As curious as I am about actions, results and ramifications, I am tempted to go off the grid and hope that somehow more will agree on a peaceful resolution than a hateful conflict. But the head-in-the-sand techniques rarely work. And if the deep divide we are currently experiencing turns into some eclectic form of civil war, one might want to know why and how things had gone that far. But if we hold to at least some semblance of democracy by assuring elections and their outcomes, the state of the union might remain as stable as it can get. This I think makes good sense to many people but over the last couple years I've begun to wonder how many really know what is at stake and how easily it could be lost. It's certainly not most of the politicians. One in particular stands out, head above others, a super human demi-god worthy of blind allegiance. But he is only a new symptom of a chronic disease. 

Without possibly knowing the outcome of the next two years, I predict that the idea of not lying will never become popular, that one issue voters won't find another issue, that the Supreme Court will rule according to some interpretation of the constitution regardless of how unrelated which may or may not align with a political party, that the wall between church and state will be even more damaged, that spending will not be cut, that taxes will be raised,  and that despite the of all that needs pragmatic resolution or reform, congress will be too busy keeping the swamp at the right temperature. But to be fair, it has become impossible to make people happy in the way they want (or demand) to be happy. Compromise is a sin or at least a sign of weakness. It seems that there's plenty of self-interest or self-gain but hardly any self-sacrifice for the greater good.  Yes, the greater good. That does seem to be the sticky wicket.  

I, admittedly, recoil at groupthink. I am even more abhorred by the many following the one who claims to have all the answers. Likewise the Plu and Ply approach (people like us v. people like you) approach is as insulting as it is comical. Some want a nation that looks like them or where them is at least in the majority rule. Some want a "Christian" nation or maybe just a return to a time that never was. Some want a place for everyone even if they didn't deserve or earn it. I want a nation based on intelligence, common sense and practicality. But that's not even a remote possibility. Regardless of what we want, we are all in what is; which moves as soon as you figure out something to do. The word muddle comes to mind but maybe it's more like a muddle with some direction. And all we can do is try to move in the same path and reject any tangents or reversals.

The politics of 2019-2020 maybe crucial in that we become something we never were meant to be or it's a bump in the road that jounces us out of us out of accepting extremism on the same level as reason. And making us readily aware that one kind of absolutism leaves no room for all the other kinds of absolutism. But maybe even more importantly, be the first to reach across the divide knowing that sometimes all you can do is take their hand, smile and pull them into the sacred abyss.

NATTERING NABOBS OF NEGATIVISM

Let's see now, from revoking White House press credentials to inserting an unconfirmed attorney to the top law enforcement office, the president can do anything he wants. V.P. Spiro Agnew wonderfully called the press "the nattering nabobs of negativism", but I don't think any credentials were revoked because he didn't like their criticism or challenging questions. It's too easy and too obvious to blame the press for your administration's "failures." Granted, they have an agenda and report the news with varying degrees of bias. Of course, such is denied or covered over even when most on the street know which is which. i.e. MSNBC is liberal and FOX is conservative with very few in-between who are trying to be totally objective.

My criticism would be of a press that didn't even come close to doing their job. They act like someone who has utterly failed to be a presidential president should be given, still yet, more chances to do something different. I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen because he believes his KAOS (not to be confused with any international crime organization) is working to achieve goals that otherwise wouldn't have been allowed. Forget about the comparisons to Obama or any other president as to what they couldn't have gotten away with. My great aunt would say to nip it in the bud. But that won't happen as long as so many can overlook most anything especially if it puts more money in their wallet or makes what they believe the law of the land.

A line from a Bee Gees song that I never understood is now beginning to make political sense. "I started to cry which started the whole world laughing." (except for the other nations that are being taken over by demagogues) I've never understood aid for foreign leaders to put in swimming pools at their already taxpayer paid for mansions when many Americans had real needs neglected or even dismissed. But there is no doubt the needed stabilizing role of the U.S. in global matters regardless of how miss-guided at times they may be. I'd hate to wake up someday and find that America no longer has a chair at the table of peace. 

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

To tell you the truth, I'm having a feeling of foreboding as to the election results and it's not just from the thought of having to hear that election theme music over and over again. Neither is it because I didn't get any "I Voted" stickers with my mail-in ballot. It's actually from realizing that the voting will show even more of the America that I've seen over the last two years. You know the one  where one half won't vote, and the other half hasn't ever read The Constitution or a holy book that has a secret message or a better idea. The one where the races will be tight no matter how far apart they started, where the media will scramble for eight hours to find many different combinations of thoughts and words that mean the same thing, and of where you begin to prepare for the inevitable conversation as family and friends gather to fight over who gets the wishbone.

CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS

After thirty years of struggling with chronic pain and illness, it gets a little edgy - at least for me. Gone is the wherewithal to get something done no matter what. But in my extensive seclusions from life I still see some things that made me go HUH....!! Or at least Hmm.....!  Perhaps just being curious enough to see how things turn out or the next thing that will take me my surprise is what keeps me going, if only at a minimal existence. Some these Ah Ha! Moments are listed below along with my usual gripes and other shortsighted observations. 

ITEM ONE 
My biggest gripe is the hypocrisy of Trump supporters who were so adamant about the supposed evils of Obama. Most Republicans overlook their leader's moral, social, political and spiritual ineptitude because they still think they are going to get what they want out of him like money, power and no jail time. Many nations seem to clearly see what is happening here. Yet, too many in our fourth estate carefully make a place for ridiculousness. From the start, the media failed to confront all of the self-aggrandizement, brutish rhetoric and lies that would have likely disqualified anyone else who was running.  Instead, they let Trump run the course and now have little ground to mount any challenge to all of his abuses and defects.  

ITEM TWO

Sure war at first sounds like a lot of fun if not rather romantic, i.e. Hemingway. And there's a lot to do like pack MRE's, buy condoms and Skype. But after awhile-even war gets a little old. America as an almost continuous war nation might have something to do with the current extreme absolutism on both sides of our political society. I think one could rather easily confirm that we lack the wisdom to deal with major issues in any real or practical way. Yet extreme views seem sensible to so many even if few receive any benefit, resolve or protection. For some, the reality of a less than perfect world is not even a consideration when thinking about right and wrong. The USA has entered the crazy zone of civil war (with or without weapons) that makes for an even more divided and hateful nation.

ITEM THREE

White Evangelicals/Fundamentalists are now not only in the world but they are also of the world in an ever growing way. I guess you can keep separated for only so long. What was special or different about "born againers" now is only a feature of just another organized religion that wants its place in the mainstream. True, some are returning to the sojourner status that they once enjoyed, but for many the cat is out of the bag as it were. The militants have won. Previous prohibitions have been modified or just forgotten. The great Satan of liberal socialism must be defeated. And they are more concerned about the splinter in your eye than they are about the 4x4 that is in theirs.

ITEM FOUR

Perhaps someday, the treatment of children will be the standard by which all else is judged. ...Perhaps someday. But not when witch doctors are sacrificing children in Africa to effect the drought conditions. I'm thinking it's the witch doctors that should be sacrificed. But how many children are sacrificed to people with guns, lack of proper nutrition and health care, abuse and molestation, and indoctrination into radical fundamentalist beliefs both religious and political ....or cultural and social. Thankfully, there has been movement against the practice of genital mutilation in some countries as are laws being passed against child marriage, and other mistreatments. But there's so much yet to be done for children who know nothing but an uncaring world.

ITEM FIVE

Okay, this complaint isn't necessarily on firm ground. In fact, I somewhat understand the reactions to life changing illness. I remember on OPRAH, back in the day as it were, a Catholic priest who contracted AIDS talked about how much his spiritual understanding had changed even though he was going to die from the disease. If I remember correctly, he said he would want to be infected again if it meant getting the spiritual understanding and peace that he now had. Well, that's all familiar as many have a similar story to tell. God bless them all. ...BUT let's not think that a terminal disease or a personal crisis is necessary for spiritual enlightenment or peace. Just be still and know. Which is likely why if we are going at a hundred miles an hour, it takes something to slow us down to the point of being still. Depend on what is within. Because what is without has happened to so many other people without very little enlightenment.

DOGMATIC DIVIDE (PART FOUR) CONSERVATIVE VS LIBERAL

God is no more a Republican or a Democrat than God is a Denver Broncos fan or (God forbid) a New England Patriots fan. God is clearly a fan of all the NFL teams and wants them to play nicely with each other. Also, sharing must be in there somewhere. Oh Sorry! That's more like what liberals want sports teams to do. Boring! Conservatives want sports teams to win at any cost or by any means of unprovable cheating or through any need to look the other way on physical or sexual assault charges. But to their credit, murder is seen as stepping over the line.

It's easy to stereotype. It's a lot harder to deal with the realities and complexities. Earlier elections have shown there is not a God Gap between the two main political parties as much as there is a cultural belief gap based on regular church attendance, family values, contemporary moral issues and etc. How is that not a God Gap then? Well, given that God has been freed from organized religion and that God is invoked in many other substantial ways, placing more of God on one side than the other or equally on both sides is purely subjective.

Cultural beliefs about capital punishment, abortion, guns, military service, sex, drugs and alcohol, entertainment, war, poverty and riches, immigration, marriage and environment are some of the main areas of contention that are informed by political ideology, theology, ethnicity, tradition, history, education, philosophy and experience. These and more, to a variety of degrees and focus, sometimes neatly fit into a complimentary package ...and at other times there is the assumption that they do. Which is part of the hesitancy to make any changes, even when confronted with contrary information or what is known as actual, alternative or fake facts.

The divide comes with a "people like you and people like us mentality" that exudes rightness, superiority, exclusiveness and in particular a special knowledge and understanding that others can't get or see. It's very much an "our differences make us who we are" emphasis rather than an acknowledgment of "what we have in common." Each believes theirs is the better way. And yes, some believe their way is from God or reflects what God would want without recognizing that they are not the only one holding a God card. If any of them would ever really look, they would see that the photo on the card looks a lot like themselves.

As just about everyone knows, one can generalize two main divisions that appear in so many areas of life like churches, schools, economics and the judiciary but especially in politics. Conservative cultural beliefs versus liberal cultural beliefs used to be part of the give and take until they became hardened and entrenched causing the demise of tolerance and respect. Regardless of what you might think about all of this, the fact is that not much is getting done about the 20+ problems and situations that this country faces that are more important than what is currently playing on the main stage.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there are divisions within the two main divisions that are creating even more distance. Which begs the question of what it means to be an American and the question of what a future America should be. We can not go back in time to what never was nor can we afford to believe that government spending will solve all our problems in the future. Overall, the dogmatic divide comes in the differences in how America works and how it should work. The haziness of the past has become a rather strident clearing of ever hardening beliefs to the extent that hating your neighbor as your neighbor hates you is becoming an ideal.

Previous animosities however understood had some merit with each trying to prove the other wrong. Now it seems that if you're not drawing blood, you're really not in the fight. Talking to each other is seen as   collusion and co-sponsoring a bill as treasonous. This is perhaps a little extreme but try voting against the party line and see what happens. Trickle down economics, or voodoo economics, may not work that well but legislative fights trickle down to the local level in alarm letters about situations that only more donations can fix.

But pop culture is rife conservative and liberal labels like - They are the only two conservative actors in Hollywood. Or, all the professors at that school are liberal. Nothing is all that simple nor does being more one thing than another give automatic agreement with everything that label represents or is attributed to it by the culture. Yet, a dogmatic division has developed. Some of which is due to the differences between a more liberal popular culture and a conservative religion that is fighting against its own liberal trends and having debates about who is the truest and best Christian. Which is always a good question to get a dinner party conversation started. 

One might say, in general, that liberals live more in the urban areas and conservatives live more in the rural areas but that might be it. Other factors, situations, issues and presuppositions soon come to bear. Some of which, like abortion, immigration and domestic spending, are constant battles that engender strong emotion and make party conventions the spectacles that they are. Another over stated stereotype is that liberals are communal minded and conservatives are self-minded. Experience with both can produce some interesting antidotes as well as notable kindness and glaring hypocrisy. For safety reasons, neither should be pointed out. Groupthink is quite popular and various litmus tests apply. But it's not until extreme militancy from either side of the divide takes over that things like freedom, equality and justice are made into meaningless platitudes. In actuality, this is something that few would really want to see. ....But it is something that is alarmingly possible.

BONUS MEMES