Encore of Revival: America, July 6, 2020

Happy Independence! Americans celebrated their declaration almost 250 years ago on Saturday. The country has coexisted with unseen freedoms in many ways and unheard deafness to its own oppression in others. It serves as a reminder that we live in a Republic only as long as we keep it. It’s not the job of presidents nor judges nor legislators to preserve our freedoms for us.

Chief Justice Roberts made a decision that baffled some, but not those who remember his deciding vote on Obamacare. Arguably, having voted to keep Obamacare on the books was the bail of hay that broke the camel’s back and elected Trump. Now, this election mover has stirred the electorate once again toward a choice that will move us closer to the inevitable reversal of Roe v. Wade.

As we approach “election solstice”, the Left puts out every argument it can drum up to oppose Trump. It seems overdone for a group that claims to believe they will win November. And, they ignore deeper matters that move Trump votes.

Much more is at stake other than abortion. China is taking over with a force to eclipse Japan’s expansion in the 1940s. No one was willing to not capitulate to China except Trump. If he were not re-elected, we might have no discussion on civil rights because the Chinese would be killing everyone in America who is not Han.

But then, America’s military is spread too thin and neither Republican nor Democratic president has worked to reduce our expanding global presence, none except Trump. There’s also the matter of manufacturing and closing the border to China over a virus when Democrats wanted to keep it open.

While our nation is in no position to decide an election on the social issues when basic needs are at stake, we are thankfully forced to address our neglected past. Intolerance over the atrocities of racism won’t shift the election because those lines have already been drawn. By not being distracted with yet another failed political solution to racial healing, we the People will actually have to deal with the wounds of racism ourselves. Maybe something will finally get done.

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Encore of Revival: America, June 8, 2020

As if shutting down for a virus weren’t enough, the police just had to keep up old, bad, dirty habits. Few people question the reasoning behind vandalizing buildings when needed change hasn’t happened. Floyd was killed in a Democratic district. Los Angeles and New York are Democratic districts. Republican and Democratic voters are equally irked; both believe not changing their vote this November is the way to make the needed change, except that Minneapolis seems bound to get a different mayor, which doesn’t leave many party options. Through the partisan divide, other shady things have happened.

Reports of vandals being from out of town smell like rent-a-mob mischief. A construction site just happened to have an unattended pile of bricks, which just happened to be used to destroy the building across the street? Protests must be heard, just as fake protests must be investigated to find out whatever truth tells. At the end of it all, we are likely to find mischief both real and fake.

Dirty cops should be blamed for buildings destroyed. Dirty cops should be blamed for giving rent-a-mobs an excuse. And, dirty cops must be shut down, people are fed up and have been for a long time.

The country will carry on. Peaceful and fair people who look after their neighbors will shine during these times. Those who harbor blame and rage won’t be able to contain it, they won’t even be able to function. The election will most likely continue on schedule. Rioting will only make it harder for Democratic districts to vote and injustice will only make it harder for Democrats to win re-election. We all face a choice.

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Encore of Revival: America, October 2, 2017

Eagles are attacking drones in Australia. Maybe they don’t like “terrible horrible no good very bad drones” in Australia. So far, North American eagles don’t seem interested… so far.

Several ratings are up: presidential polls, the Dow Jones, Hannity at 9 P.M., and an opposition senator in Alabama. NFL ratings, however, seem to be in severe decline. According to recent stats, the league’s popularity fell by about half in the general public, but by more than half among Trump supporters.

The “kneeling players” don’t seem to understand what they have gotten themselves into. They are not “bad” people. NFL dissidents do not generally begrudge the kneeling players as much as they begrudge the league. The nation is lucky that the US does not have a current formal declaration of war, lest protesting the US on foreign soil, namely Britain, be a “treasonous” offense. The players probably do not know that they are protesting the entire nation by not standing during a national anthem, nor about the legal meaning of protesting a nation’s flag while in another nation.

Walter Williams says that the problem goes back to education. While he focuses on Blacks having been, more or less, “nannied” too much, education around the country has declined. Racism should be discussed. Most Whites agree. Whether this person or that person said, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” is a technical question of fact, not any view of the importance of the ongoing problem of racism. But, the American public has not been educated to know the difference. For more and more Americans, to deny “hands up don’t shoot” in a specific situation means to deny that there is any issue of racism at all. Nothing could be farther from the truth. But, many people just don’t know the difference. That is a failure in public education.

The NFL players should be educated about the meaning of their actions. They are genuinely asking for something good. Doing it in the wrong way was not their intent, but it was the wrong way. The responsibility belongs to the NFL. But, the league has allowed itself to get too involved in politics and not done enough to prevent controversy driven by confusion, the kneeling players being only the latest in a long slew of grievances with their viewer base.

There is opportunity for deep change in America, especially with the NFL. The league could get back to football and stop playing “politics”. The players could be given a microphone and offered an alternate way to express their legitimate concerns. The country could clarify the truth about progress and “adaptive infections” where racism is concerned. Maybe the crisis in the NFL will initiate much needed conversation in America about many things, including thankfulness for a nation where those discussions can be held honestly. Whether the league chooses to save itself, however, is another question altogether.

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November 10, 2015

Israel remembers, Germany, 1938; viz modern Antisemitism (JP)

Obamnesty ‘could’ be heard by SCOTUS, possibly implemented summer 2016 (POLITICO)

2nd LA missile muscle flex: Did US Navy plan social reaction? (WP) (LA Times)

U. of Missouri prez resigns, slow response to racism, “stop yelling at each other and start listening…” (AP)

Music censored: China may have just made it harder for its citizens to ever get Spotify or Apple Music (QZ)

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