I Can No Longer Be Silent
But It Will Cost Me
After some months of staying away from my writing, my opinions are still as strong as they ever were. In between juggling health issues, and cowardly stalking from a disrespectful stepson in his 60s, I have been immersed in learning more about politics, including how the City of Los Angeles — on direct instruction from Sacramento — is planning to destroy our once “nice” neighborhood, and any other area in the state that dares to maintain “empty” spaces, such as a handful of neighborhood parks or inhabited single family residences. (More on that in a future post.)
Of course, politics is a bottomless pit of corruption, more particularly on the far right who have hijacked what used to be the Grand Old Party. Trump’s MAGA cult — let’s call it what it is — does not stand for Make America Great Again. That’s a dog whistle for Make America White Again. The Orange Man knows it perfectly well and so do his sycophants. They sincerely believe that what became the United States of America was meant solely for those of Caucasian descent, though it was perfectly ok with them and their ancestors to use slave labor and immigrants to do all the dirty work. Still is, for that matter.
The Pilgrims and Puritans came here to escape persecution and turned right around to persecute everyone else who didn’t follow their narrow religious beliefs. And thus the waterfalls of contempt, disdain, cruelty and prejudice flow to this day.
Good, intelligent, decent men and women still enter politics but are soon swamped by a tsunami of evil. Relatively few survive to run for a second term without becoming contaminated. Fewer still have the courage to speak up about the changes that are desperately needed. We can reread President Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, and absent the likes of Trump and his scared puppy dog followers, Obama might have been writing about the reality of politics today instead of 2006.
Another reason I have remained silent is that a large majority of my fellow church members are so stubbornly pro-Republican in a Blue state with its own many issues to solve, that I cannot trust anyone not to disagree with me violently, or to cut me from their social groups.
(That has happened privately and on Facebook. I do not value Twitter/X but both social platforms have also tossed me off on multiple occasions, funded as they are by billionaires seeking political power.)
However, I have always been prone to swim against the current of surrounding opinions, and nothing has changed. Even so, when I wasn’t allowed to include quotations from spiritual Black leaders in our congregation’s newsletter, because of the expected fallout, my civil rights genes boiled. I dutifully did as I was instructed since my ecclesiastical leader has church authority over me but there is more than one way to get a point across.
Heather Cox Richardson is an esteemed historian – she has recently written here on Substack about the forthcoming book War by Bob Woodward.
If her Substack article doesn’t wake you up to the extreme dangers of another Trump Presidency, I don’t know what will.
And let’s not forget how much the man’s mental and physical health has deteriorated! He is a menace to himself and more importantly, to the United States and the entire world. His choice of vice-presidential candidate is as or more dangerous.
OPUS: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking and Right Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church… by Gareth Gore. Opus Dei is an extremely secretive and very powerful Catholic sect that has existed for centuries and still infiltrates the halls of power, even in the USA.
Michelle Obama told us all “to do something” in her dynamic speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Additional YouTube Videos:
If you only read or listen to right wing material, please educate the other half of your mind by visiting Meidas Touch Network (MTN) on YouTube. They have a dozen or more channels now and a few of them you will not like because their language is uncensored. But if you’re truly looking for Truth that isn’t MAGA’s version, you will find it on their network.
MTN’s sponsors’ ads may or may not be annoying but wait them out. The sponsors all appear to be pro-Democracy and don’t dictate content. YouTube, of course, does its own annoying interruptions, presumably if you can’t afford the premium version.
Ditto for Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner. Watch them, too!
And if you’re a little bit country or bluegrass, follow Tennessee Brando! He’s been on YouTube for a while and recently joined MTN with his unique political commentary.
If you value your freedom, if you cherish Democracy, check out all of the above!
A version of this article was recently posted on my website which I am reactivating.