Instead of the usual political memes I want to share a heart-felt letter sent to me from Milleson, a friend I've made through this blog. He is not alone in his concerns and fears for the future of our country...
Where we were, where we are, where we're heading
I just don't know anymore. It seems we should have seen this coming years ago and stopped it before it brought us to this place in time. This ultra-conservative groundswell of anti human rights legislation in this country didn't happen overnight. Since women and then blacks were given the right to vote, since homosexuality was no longer considered a mental illness, since immigrants were allowed entry to the U.S., a cabal of angry old white men has been working stealthily to reverse all the gains we as a country have made. It's the "What I say is right or wrong and you have no say at all and that's the end of this discussion" mentality that is consuming and blocking free thought in the red state legislatures and there seems to be no end to the damage they want to do.
I say we should have seen this in our future, if not 30-40 years ago, then certainly in 2014 when d. tr**p began his conquest and bastardization of the Republican party, to change it seemingly forever, and to give these hateful, ugly legislators and ignorant citizens a voice that they didn't have before. He is totally responsible for the anger and divisiveness we see today and he will reap the rewards or the condemnation for his actions. History will hold him accountable, that is to say if we have a future where the facts can be studied and written down for posterity. I have my doubts.
This November will put all of this in context. If the pendulum swings further to the right, if they gain control of the House, Senate or the White House, we are doomed to return to the dark ages, there will be no light, no hope. And their rage won't stop with all the anti-abortion legislation now being implemented in state houses, with help from a lopsided Supreme Court. They will find a way to return blacks to some form of indentured 21st century slavery. They will chip away at women's rights, immigrants' rights, all rights with which they do not agree. And we, the LGBTQ+ community will not be neglected by their hatred. They will work very hard to overturn gay marriage first, then make homosexual behavior a crime again and start locking up the gays. I'm not overdramatizing here, the November election will be the most important in our history. We will either succeed in halting or stopping these mad, angry people from doing further damage, or they will get carte blanche to continue the destruction of our country.
I don't worry for myself, an old gay man with little to fear. I am concerned for young gay kids who will be so scarred from living in a country under this restrictive governmental regime. But I know this. If I am called to engage in the battle to prevent any of this from happening, I will fight with everything I have until I no longer have life.
Sorry for the long missive today, so much happening in the World and our country now, hard to hold much of this in. Thank you for being an ear for me. Sincerely and with journalistic love, Rick
Addendum: Milleson's real name is also Rick.
21 comments:
As a Canadian I cannot say how USA's politics will be in the future but looking how the «conservatives» (call them regressives) are mining the minds of many uneducated Americans, nothing good for human rights is to come in a near future.
The 2022 election will be the ultimate challenge.
When we saw «Tr..P» and his FuckNews propaganda machine were praising Putin, nothing good there and it was very anti-American and they had no great backlash on their words. So bizarre in a country which is the flag ship of democracy to praise a dictator-bloody-criminal.
Will this agression toward a peaceful and democratic country like Ukraine would shout a huge wakeup call so ALL Americans see how fragile democracy is?
There is a lot of work to do in your country so the words LIBERTY and FREEDOM could apply to ALL your citizens.
I told you about our differences between our countries as LGBTQ, race or religion rights as our FREEDOM of these are in our Canadian Rights and Liberty Chart since 1982 and NO ONE in Canada can go against or bully the other for its difference without being prosecuted in court on that Charter.
Spot on, Rick. Spot on. I am absolutely disgusted with the current state of our country, and with all of the anti-voting rights legislation that any state with GOP control has full-throttle shoved through into law, I suspect November 1 will be the final day of American democracy.
A problem I have is my absolute, to the core, hatred and distrust for all things Trump and Republican. Watching Bill Mahr, his commentary is that we as a society will never recover if we can't get to a middle ground. But when the other side refuses (the Trump lovers, GOP, etc.) to come to any sense of a middle ground and just takes the ground we compromised on; I find I just can't grow up and out of this hatred. There is no proof of any empathy for all Americans; just grift and greed and ginning up hatred from within their base to hold onto power. Meanwhile, Earth 1 is about to die.
I am also an old gay. Retired with a sufficient nest egg to live comfortably. There will be no progeny. No heirs. If I am lucky, I expect to live perhaps another 15-20 years. I'd like to live out those years in peace - married (currently) or single - makes no never mind.
Amen Rick. I agree with everything you said. I think these people have always been here. But, they were smart enough to hide under white hoods and meet in back rooms to discuss and plan these perverted deeds. But D.. Tr. empowered them all and all with the blessing of the so called religious right. Funny thing they have been talking about, and worried about, the anti-christ for decades. Then when he finally comes along they elect him president.
JiEL - You are very correct: U.S.A. has a lot of work to do to repair the damage done by these so-call "conservatives". I like your "regressive" term.
Rad & Bob - I'm glad you liked this letter, but it was not written by me. The author's name also happens to be Rick. I should have clarified that more. Each of you had an additional good point.
Rad - That they have contributed to the death of Earth 1. (Earth 2 will survive, but probably with no homo sapiens to wreck it again.)
Bob - They elected the anti-christ to the highest office in the land. How stupid is that?
I don't feel he is over dramatazing. I have thought the same thing. If the Republicans gain back all three branches Democrats may never get it back....or even if in the next election Biden would win...and we lose the house and Senate...we'll have a lame duck president and nothing will get done then.
It's getting scary....and I haven't been happy about politics in some time.
xsomsa
Hey. I'm with you. Get angry. Cast a vote. We need to talk about all of it... always. It's a travesty. Thank you for your insightful post!
Mistress - It's very scary indeed!
Anon@12:51pm - What does that mean?
Gosh, he is not alone. He is correct that we really should've seen this coming from a long way off. At least from the days that Twitler started getting followers with his Birtherism bullshit.
There will be a tough battle ahead. It's a long shot - but we have to try. Because if we don't try.... Well, every inch (and then some) of progress will be reversed.
Thanks for posting it - it helps folks know they aren't the only ones battling the fear.
Pat - Milleson is a good writer and expresses himself well. That's why I asked him if he minded that I post it. I'm glad he agreed; it's definitely on the minds of a lot of people.
Here's another gay, older, retired follower (who came out very late in life and has experienced much in life) and who's had so many years to observe and ponder these same ideas for years. Having spent so many years in the educational field and seeing the trends there (nothing positive from my viewpoint) all the political, economic, religious, and social issues have multiplied to explosiveness. Rick's letter is so articulate and expresses my own viewpoints so eloquently. I do not think he is being overly dramatic. I have talked with young people who hold similar depressing viewpoints. The media and politicians and social platforms aren't presenting the "grass roots" views many of us.
One night, while sitting beside an older man and his wife during intermission at a performance of "Southern White Sissies," hjs lovely wife said, "People don't listen to those of us who speak softly and care. They listen only to the loudest voices."
Sorry that this response is so long, but my own feelings for my fellow citizens and the possible future of our country sometimes overflow.
taurusd2 - Live has trended less positive for a long time. Things are working themselves to a head. I liked the wife's comment.
Great letter! Very accurate, too! Being "disruptive" is what DJT does very well. That's what got him elected, to "clean things out", but rather than draining the swamp it became his gated community. Bad thing is that many younger people consider that to be "normal", or what we might term "the new normal". Which is not what it should be! It seems that our nation's history is certainly racist and female-submissive in nature. No getting around that, BUT that does not mean we should return to those prior times, by any means. YET many don't want to admit that, as they seek to dictate how history is taught, even in colleges and universities.
WHY can't we all just be HUMAN BEINGS and get along? Making the world a better place in the process? Rather than having being a society defined by whom has power and who has less? DJT wanted to isolate the USA from the rest of the world as he praised Putin (a definite red flag!), but now the majority of the world has isolated his observed idol's country and operations.
There must have been LOTS of kids who didn't pay attention to one reason we fought World War II and high school government class! Otherwise, they would have known that a lot of what DJT claimed he could do, he could NOT do.
The timing of all of the Red State Legislation seems to indicate that MANY are talking and conspiring to please DJT, which is not good.
I don't believe in religions, but I believe in reincarnation. For this reason what we leave we will find in other reincarnations. So I can't even have the comfort of a selfish death.
Thank you Rick for posting it, and thank you Richard for writing your thoughts so eloquently.
As an observer from abroad I felt concerned as from the start during the 2016 US election campaign when Trump won the primary. I remember thinking something like "if that disgusting imbecile wins that'll be even worse than with puppet-Reagan. Reagan was numb, but this one seems as bad as hubris and greed can get". And during the following years 'worse’ has proven to be a slight word, ensuing a cohort of elected GOP people who are no longer ashamed of publicly attacking and destroying one by one each and every progress the American society has battled for throughout the 20th century.
Looking at the big picture on a worldwide level, the rise and spread of authoritarism among many countries since the 80s (that’s just half a lifetime) led us to a situation that resembles way too much to how things looked like exactly a century ago. Except this time, wherever the worldwide conflict will start, I fear the Americans will be too busy fighting each other to care for a global collapse.
Incredibly, maybe the reach and means for stability will come from the East, whenever China sees fit to intervene as per her own interests agenda. The following statment from China’s ambassador to the US is obviously not to be taken to the letter, but sheds its own light on the global situation and what may come. Originally published by the Washington Post (through subscription) but available at Jobsanger’s blog thanks to Ted McLaughlin: https://bit.ly/3KP2OuH
Then there is Ron De Santis. Heir apparent to the top of the GOP ticket. He's what we would call a "Smart Trump"; comes off as suave and uber-Xtian. Does have an empathy switch (recall him sharing a meeting with Biden during the condo disaster last year) that the Orange Turd lacked.
But otherwise just a detestable shit. But a shit that the GOP and the Xtians will likely hitch their wagons to in the next year or so.
If he gains traction...
Anon@9:08pm - Yes, all these backward legislations are pandering to twitter-ass and his stupid base. This damage will take decades to repair.
Xersex - Oh dear! Your comment is on the wrong post.
Laurent - Your observations are very accurate. Thank you for the link, I'll read it later this morning.
Rad - So many shitty brown-nosers taking this country down a frightening path.
Don't think these same thoughts haven't been plaguing me and many of my friends since T**** stole the last election. If my father, who fought the Nazis in WWII, could come back to life now to see these developments, it would surely kill him all over again. I blame FUXNews for their relentless spinning and ginning up hatred in the "low-information" sector for over 25 years now but what good does that do? It's kind of a fait accompli at this point. With mountains of rigged elections headed our way (with the help of Manchin & Sinema, of course) I don't see things getting any better anytime soon. I just keep doing whatever I can and try to hold out hope that something (ANYTHING) good will happen between then and now.
Thanks to both Ricks!
Jimbo - I have that hope as well. At the same time, I'm not holding my breath.
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