Is anyone there? A Rant.

 

I am watching my country and all that it stands for disintegrate around me.  I do not understand why so few others seem to notice or to care. 

I recall not that long ago when everyone was strident about nearly everything that was going on.  The media was of course then encouraging the discontent and the hatred.  Then the media told us that all would be fine once Biden was elected.  I guess people listen and accept what they are told.  But look around – one glance should assure you that the media is not always right (or honest).

Of course, unlike the daily crises created by media commentators when Trump was elected, today much of what is going on is not reported or, if it is, even crises are so downplayed as to become just a big nothing.  But eventually they begin to leak out.

But people, look around you.  Hate and intolerance are on the rise.  Immigration is a mess and a crisis (even though the White House does not want us calling it that).  Cancel Culture is rampant.  Victimhood is idealized.  Radicalism is applauded.  And those who believe in traditional American values, the U.S. Constitution, and our basic freedoms have graduated from being “deplorables” to being “Neanderthals.”

Biden and his people insist there is no crisis at the border.  But even the mainstream media now at least have to mention that there might be a problem.  Ya think?!  We have the Obama/Trump “cages” now called “facilities” at full capacity.  We have unaccompanied minors being shipped across the country without any real inquiry about to whom they are being delivered, a definite gift to child traffickers.  We have mobs arriving at the borders wearing Biden tee shirts and demanding immediate fulfillment of his promise to open the borders.  DHS is anticipating a 20-year surge of illegal immigration. 

The Biden administration is looking to transform the southern border into a rapid-processing site where foreign nationals can arrive and expect to be quickly released into the U.S. interior.  In contrast to Trump’s historic lows in illegal border crossings we currently are arresting daily historic highs of illegal immigrants; rather than return them to their country or to the other side of the border to await legal entry, we simply release them to go where they please.  These new immigrants, both legal and illegal, will likely receive benefits that were once restricted to citizens and paid for by tax dollars.  In some instances, the Biden administration provides incentives to favor hiring of new immigrants (legal or illegal) over Americans. 

What this crisis gives us is de facto open borders.  An open border, in contrast to a closed or a controlled border, is one that allows free movement of people across with little or no restrictions.  Borders between the states are examples of open borders.  Most countries, however, at a minimum control the borders which delineate the boundaries of the land that encompasses the country.

I understand that there are some on the Left who desire open borders.  But at present the United States has immigration laws that, in a variety of ways, control both the number and characteristics of those who enter this country.  Yet, these immigration laws and the policy and reasoning behind them are for the most part currently being ignored or overridden by executive order along with executive inaction.  

Whether out of altruistic or sinister motive, or simply due to lack of logic and understanding, the Biden administration has effectively opened our borders to any and all who would enter.  At the same time Biden has closed our capitol, filling it with military to protect the administration and lawmakers from imagined threats. The irony is that we desperately need that military protection at our country's borders, but no one is noticing.

Beyond the border crisis there is the current belief, being fostered by the Left, progressive politicians, as well as big tech, that is is perfectly OK to silence, cancel, censor those people and beliefs whom the “woke” find offensive.    Does no one understand that this goes against the very core of American culture: the ability to hold and speak diverse views? 

We applaud people who share their “traumas”, but only if those who do so are sharing in a way that fits with the woke.  Thus, the White House applauded Meghan Markle’s self-centered tale of victimhood but seemed unable to comment on the ever-growing number of women accusing Gov. Cuomo of sexual harassment. 

And speaking of those accusations, when required to speak about Cuomo, the Left and its media prefer to focus on the growing number of “MeToos” rather than the hundreds (or is it thousands?) of elderly who died as the result of Cuomo’s early Covid orders, orders that he then covered up along with the death numbers.  The Left would prefer not to begin a discussion about those deaths because it is likely that it will then lead to revelations about at least 4 additional Democrat Governors who acted similarly.

Speaking of Covid, it has become abundantly clear that the handling of the pandemic by governors and others was driven by politics and not science, no matter how much they claim otherwise.  Similarly is the handling of the vaccinations, and the processes of re-opening, returning to schools, etc.

Athletics are also reopening, but with new rules that essentially destroy women’s sports.  In addition to Biden’s effective discrimination there, we see nearly every action that he takes in the name of “equity” having a discriminatory effect, usually against those groups that are out of favor with the Left. 

Moreover, the actions of this administration seem to be taken so as to check off some box on the “woke checklist” without any real thought or understanding of the effects of those actions.  In addition to the above I point you to the “Equality Act” and its other sections beyond the evisceration of women’s sports (the Act also exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Act when it comes to forcing its agenda), or the latest Covid relief bill (a 1.9 trillion fulfillment of Leftist dreams that have nothing to do with Covid and which are paid for by our tax dollars) or the Voting Rights Bill (that essentially destroys the likelihood of election integrity). 

I point you to the proposed mandatory curriculums such as training in the biased and discriminatory Critical Race Theory and promotion of the Left view of sexual orientation and gender identity, along with training and promotion of guilt simply for being White and conservative.  Reparations are definitely on the table.  And I encourage taking a look at the radical agendas of most of Biden’s appointees and hires.  Their pronouncements of hate speak volumes about Biden’s promised “unity.”

Now I do understand that there are those who favor the radical agenda of this White House.  But I find it hard to believe that the majority of Americans are as radical as this agenda or care so little about America as one who supports it must. 

I know that there are many who voted for President Biden solely because they did not like President Trump (or at least the President Trump that was portrayed by the media; I suspect that many have no idea of what Trump actually did while president or the many positive effects that his actions had on this country, especially minorities, as well as on the world).  But do these people have any idea what is going on, and if they do, are they really OK with it?

I want to knock on every American’s head and ask “Hello – anyone home?  Do you know what is going on?”  Because the silence is deafening.  And it is not only a silence of any disagreement; it is also silence of any in agreement (except of course from the vocal woke Left).  Just silence.  Is no one looking, listening, paying attention, thinking?  

With Covid vaccinations we hear more and more talk of “herd immunity.”  Actually, I think we are already a herd – of lemmings headed to the sea.  And yes, another phrase comes to mind here:  “Ignorance is bliss.”  I hope that those who are not paying attention are enjoying that bliss now, because the radical changes taking place unchecked under this administration will ultimately leave us and our country with nothing but despair.  

Is This Really What You Meant To Say?

"Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein. Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status."

This statement came nearly a week after the Weinstein allegations first appeared and so we can assume that there was plenty of thought put into its crafting.  Yet, note the qualifier about the demeaning and degrading acts: “Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion…” Does this mean that there is some “fashion” – some time, place, or manner – in which it is acceptable to demean and degrade women?  That is what this sentence implies.

In a world where the media loves to play gotcha with every word and phrase spoken or tweeted by the president or his supporters, I hope that someone will pay some attention to this phrasing.  Not because it came from the former president or from a Democrat, but simply because of what it says. 

This phrasing says so much about so many things in our society.  First, its delay suggests that it needed to be carefully crafted so as to hit just the right tone and not offend the wrong people while at the same time showing disgust at something the majority and the media have pronounced to be disgusting.  This makes one wonder how sincere is the disgust itself.  Is it something that comes from the heart, or simply from an understanding of what is good for one’s political career or what one is expected to say?

That the qualifier phrase was not caught by the writers (I assume there were several) or the issuers of the statement suggests that demeaning of women is so accepted or ingrained in our society that one does not even notice such things.  It takes something truly shocking for many to even notice that women were demeaned, and even then it is only the shocking behavior that is perfunctorily condemned.

Such disgusting behavior is seen across the spectrum of our society, from those with all political views.  The Weinstein incidents probably should not be so shocking since they come from someone who is a part of the Hollywood culture; that is the culture that gives us a plethora of visual images of such degradation in our movies and on our personal TVs and media devices.  And yet those images reflect our culture, for Hollywood primarily gives us what we want – what sells.  Perhaps we should give some thought to why this is so popular with the masses.

The Obama statement does go on to say, “And we all need to build a culture -- including by empowering our girls and teaching our boys decency and respect -- so we can make such behavior less prevalent in the future."  Yes, we do need to build a culture filled with decency and respect, not to make such behavior less prevalent, but to make the inner characters of every person in that culture not inclined toward such behavior.  That is, behavior is an external, superficial reflection of what is within one’s soul.  It is not until we change that inner character that we can change the behavior that is its reflection.  And that character is something that some “we” does not just place upon us like some cloak; it begins with each child and the values they are taught in their homes.

Now I also note something else about the phrasing of this sentence.  It tells us “we” need to empower our girls.  That sentence says not only that girls are not powerful, but that their power comes from without rather than from within; that is, it implies that it is someone else’s job (whoever that “we” is) to empower them.  This image is itself demeaning.  I’m sure it was not intended in that way, at least not at a conscious level, but there it is, nonetheless. (And, since the statement came from both Barack and Michelle, we can’t forget Michelle’s recent statements implying that women are told what to think by men and that they all must think and act alike, with no mind of their own or ability to form diverse political thoughts and positions). 

Demeaning and degrading can take many forms.  I am happy to see outrage (even if late coming and even if perhaps not sincere) at the recognizably demeaning behaviors of Weinstein.  But I would be happier still if we paid more attention to the subtle and daily barrage of activities and words that present and perpetuate views that demean women, that suggest that they are somehow lesser in some way than men, that suggest that they need someone other than themselves to help them in one way or another to survive. 

We as individuals and as a society need to find that decency and respect, for women and for everyone, within ourselves and within our souls.  We all need to be alert to the many subtle messages that we hear and see, and to those that we ourselves send, that further a culture devoid of any decency or respect not for just women but for all our fellow human beings (for, if we truly believe that women are equal, then they are among all those human beings that we must respect, not needing of extra help, but simply of the same decency that everyone should expect).

So, let us say what we mean and mean what we say.  And let us challenge those who say something that, whether intended or not, furthers a culture that is demeaning to women.  Let us not be afraid to ask, “Is that really what you meant to say?”