Encore of Revival: America, August 17, 2020

The ability to attain and maintain peace is special, especially these days. It’s what government should do, but doesn’t always know how. The police in Kalamazoo, Michigan did the right thing by being close enough to act if needed, but not being the “main event”. The role of the police is to preserve the peace, not to prevent the consequences of a radical group choosing to provoke another radical group. Conflict only lasted 10 minutes, then quickly calmed down. Less could be said for other parts of the nation.

Our president’s brother passed away at 71, God rest his soul. As the family grieves, business in the nation continues.

Israel now has formal ties with the UAE, which could mean direct flights between Dubai and Jerusalem. The Palestinians aren’t happy; the world isn’t surprised. This affects the Unites States on the international stage as well as the election. Foreign relations help at the ballot box.

Biden has all but formally announced the VP nominee. It won’t matter because he doesn’t stand a chance of winning. Headlines about the Democratic ticket doomed to fail do little more than distract Democratic voters who don’t know they have been duped by the media into a false hope based on false fears and slanted polls. But, those lies sure do sell newspapers!

Trouble is on the rise. It comes in spurts, but it is growing. People are moving out of Californian cities. Protests continue in Portland and Seattle. The trouble is complex, much of it is deserved, and much of it is necessary for our nation to confront the issues that keep us from healing from our past. The only way out is through. To do that, we’ll need to listen to each other.

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Encore of Revival: America, June 15, 2020

America faces a new kind of reconciliation. Democrat voters in Seattle have decided that government can be overbearing. Usually, that was a patent held by Republican-voting Conservatives. A group of citizens expected the government to obey their desires, another idea Conservatives faced opposition for. And, the news media falsely claims that this group in Seattle wants to become a separate nation and erase all borders. Usually, slander from the media was an honor reserved for Conservatives.

Things have reversed.

If a group of people have bad beliefs, the best way to survive those beliefs is to have those beliefs known so they can be rebutted fair and square. Listening is a vital part of proving someone wrong. The nation has a lot of growing up to do.

Democrat voters and Republican voters hold this in common more now than ever: refusal to listen. Republican voters believe that if a group in Seattle has an opinion, they are automatically wrong and therefore shouldn’t be heard nor should any claim of what they say be confirmed. Likewise, Democrat voters think if Trump says something, he is automatically wrong and anyone who says otherwise should be ignored without checking facts.

We have much more in common than we thought. But, the mutual refusal to listen tells us that fighting will only increase. Peace only comes to those who want it. Perhaps, the troubles our voluntarily deaf ears create will drive us to want to not fight more than we want to not listen—maybe.

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