USA Version 2.0

For the third time Donald Trump has thrown his hat in the Presidential Ring.  Some are calling it "Trump 3.0"

What shall we make of that?  What should the person who wants the best for our country, who wants us to succeed, who wants our system to work and to prosper DO?  For sure, the thoughtful person will not panic.  The election is a full two years away - time enough to see what happens and to find out all we need to know to make a sensible and well-considered decision.  If that is, indeed, what you want to do.

It is already clear, from the speculation during the ramp-up to his announcement and in the very few hours that have passed since he formally declared as a candidate that there are a significant number of people who not only do NOT want or intend to make a careful, well-thought-out and logical decision but rather will immediately and totally oppose Trump at all costs and seemingly without reason or actual justification.  They oppose him just because he is Trump and because they hate him.  They are the same people that are largely responsible for a great deal of the troubles faced by Trump's administration and Presidency the first time around.  They are, collectively, a mob of the emotional, the illogical and the irresponsible who are already baying like hounds without minds to bring him down once again.  Already some are saying that Trump should not run or should not be re-elected because it would result in too much discord, too much contention, too much confusion and difficulty.

So, shall we sacrifice our precious decision about the future of our country, about who should lead us, about where our country should be going in order to gain a little "peace and quiet"?  To paraphrase the words of  Benjamin Franklin, "Those who would give up control of our nation for a little 'peace and quiet" deserve neither."  If we will allow the discomfort of a difficult struggle to prevent us from preserving the principles and goals of our nation, the ideals and values that our Founders fought for so valiantly then we do not deserve to enjoy them in the first place.  We may as well lie down meekly and submit without objection to whatever we are told by our masters to do.  All too many Americans already have done that by allowing and accepting what was done to Trump the first time around.

The truth is that this is really only Trump 2.0 - or even Trump 1.0 - Part 2 if we want to be strictly correct.  Why?  Because beginning with his success in winning the Republican nomination for the 2016 election almost the entire US political establishment mounted a campaign to prevent his election, then once elected to prevent his administration from having any success, then when successes were accomplished to destroy the man personally and discredit him completely and, finally, when that was not achieved to prevent him from ever being able to hold office again - an effort which continues even now.  No other person in the history of our nation has been subjected to so much hate, so much destructive effort and so much opposition.  NEVER in the history of the United States, perhaps in the history of the modern world, has so much effort been made to prevent ONE PERSON from doing what The People chose him to do.  So the reality is that he was never actually given a fair chance to BE President and DO what he might have done for our country.  It's a minor miracle that he was able to accomplish what he did accomplish.  Why do they fear him so much?  And why can they not give him a fair chance to serve our nation, just as others have been given their fair chance?

I believe they fear and oppose him PRECISELY because he is the first candidate in many, many decades who is not in the pocket of one of the political parties or the special interests.  He cannot be bought and is therefore free to pursue an agenda without obligation to any donor or power group who would hold him hostage for their support.  THAT is the biggest benefit of a Trump candidacy - it was so the first time around and it's equally true now.  The Trump Presidency showed us clearly just how deep and foul "The Swamp" has become.  We can see now just how little the established Washington Bureaucracy cares about what The People want and need and just how much they care instead for the interest of those who fund them, who benefit from and for their own benefit and profit.  Washington has become a cesspool of the corrupt, who feed on our taxes and manipulate us to maintain their positions of power and profit.  BOTH major parties as well as the entrenched "Deep State" complex of departments, agencies, bureaus and committees are invested much more in what benefits THEM than in what is good for our nation or for the average citizen.  THAT is what needs to change ... and it will take an outsider who owes nobody his allegiance except to the American People.  More than anyone else in recent history, Trump meets those criteria.

But some complain that Trump is a "wild" card.  Can we accept and/or tolerate his maverick tendencies, his ego, his changeable nature and the other "quirks" that many have complained about?  First we should take a closer look at the man as he is NOW.  Again, we have two full years to see exactly how he behaves and there is no reason why we should not reserve judgement or be conditionally supportive until we have seen what we need to see.  That same window of time will allow us to observe others who seek the office and how they compare.

If the election were held today I would absolutely, positively vote for Trump over any of the other likely candidates because what he brought to the table in 2016 he STILL brings to the table now and there is nobody else out there who is offering anything better, in my opinion.  Everyone else seems to be a choice for the same old domination by Big Government and special interests.

 

 

I know you are busy ... I'm busy too.  So many things to do.  Work, Family, Kids, Friends, TV, Sports, Chores ... the list seems endless and there's never enough time to get it all done.  Then some "patriot" (like me, maybe) pipes up and starts spouting off about how the nation is going to Hell in a handcart and we're all doomed if we don't do this, or that or the other thing that HE says is vital to avoiding a total catastrophe.  So we ignore it and go back to "the usual".  And, for the most part, nothing changes.  Much.

But then one day we notice that things are maybe not as nice or as convenient or as comfortable or as pleasing as they used to be and that bothers us, because we LIKE OUR COMFORT.  But ... it's no big deal ... so we do nothing and life goes on ... just a little bit different, a little bit less convenient, a little bit less comfortable, a little bit less pleasing.  For a while.

Until, one day, something happens that MATTERS.  Suddenly we look around and we see that everything seems so different and out of control and confusing ... and it seems that there really isn't anything we can do about it - at least not without a HUGE EFFORT on our part or by MAKING WAVES.  And we can't really have that, can we?  After all, there's already too much to handle and nothing any ONE PERSON can do will really make any difference anyway, will it?  Best to just walk on, tough it out and make the best of it.  But it really sucks big time and that grates.  Can't have everything we want, right?

Eventually, if we DO NOTHING, a LOT WILL CHANGE and it will be changed by OTHER PEOPLE who actually DO SOMETHING ... the only thing is that they will change things so life is the way THEY want it to be, even if that turns out to be a royal pain in the but for you and for me.  And the people who seem most active in that way fall into just two categories: the ones who truly want everybody to live the best possible lives they can have; and the ones who want what they want for themselves and really don't care about the rest of us.

There's really no way around this.  If we DO NOTHING then we will end up with a World created by those who want only what is best for themselves at the expense of the rest of us.

I know you are busy ... I'm busy too.  But I AM DOING WHAT I CAN to help make our World one which is as good as it can be FOR EVERYONE.  I just can't sit by and DO NOTHING because I know where it leads.

What are YOU going to do?

As a part of the basis of thought, rationale, logic, reason and justification for breaking away from England and becoming a separate nation certain principles were enshrined in our Founding Documents.  Those principles must be instilled in our children and in our citizens and both preserved and promoted if we hope to KEEP the freedoms and liberties that are naturally ours and which our Founders and many who followed have struggled, fought and died to protect.

Among those principles are two that are vital: the ABSOLUTE right of The People to define and control government and the associated Right of Nullification.

The Declaration of Independence states, in part, that when any government becomes too controlling or abusive of its power and encroaches too far onto the natural rights and liberties of The People, "it is their right, it is their DUTY (my emphasis), to throw off such government" and that "it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."  The Principle is clear ... GOVERNMENT is NOT the master, even through those elected to represent us ... THE PEOPLE are always the MASTER over the government.

The Declaration comments on the patience of The People, referring with regard to conditions at the time of our revolution that "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."  Accordingly, means and methods were provided in our Founding for an ORDERLY modification and change of government By The People in accordance with THEIR interests and it is, and always HAS been, preferable for change to be made through those means.  But just as at that time, if and when conditions are no longer "sufferable" then The People have a RIGHT and a DUTY to THROW OFF THAT GOVERNMENT by any means necessary and to replace it.  What some will label "sedition" is therefor only our natural right and duty to ourselves and our posterity - not to be undertaken lightly but ultimately superior to any right of an existing form of government to continue.

The expressions of disagreement, demonstrations of that disagreement, and belligerence against existing government are ALL natural, acceptable and protected rights we each enjoy.  Attempts by government or others in any form to withhold or deny those rights are unacceptable.  It is only if individuals ACT to harm others or to deny them THEIR rights that the law may rightfully interfere - not simply if someone is offended or even alarmed by the opinions of others.  There is always the freedom to turn away and not listen to that with which we disagree and THAT, rather than forcing others to comply with OUR views or denying them their right to express THEIRS, is what should be done.

NULLIFICATION, either by individuals or in groups, is the rightful tool of citizens when acting to "throw off government".  It has also been called "civil disobedience".  Indeed, in one of the early and most fundamental decisions made by the Supreme Court (Marbury v. Madison, 1803) it was held that "a law repugnant to the Constitution is void" and may therefore be refused, disobeyed or ignored.  This would apply in the same way to all rules and regulations that are derived from such laws.  Of course, "breaking the law" will at least temporarily result in action by the authorities and to prevail it may be necessary to go to the expense and effort of proving through court action the rightness of our refusal to obey.  We may or may not have chosen correctly ... but our Right to refuse to comply with laws that are unconstitutional cannot be denied.

Certainly we have a duty to uphold and promote an orderly and just society, with "equality and justice for all" ... but too often, either in its zeal to "help" or in the service of special interests, government becomes intrusive and abusive - and "it is our Right, it is our Duty" to reject, refuse, deny and THROW OFF such government instead of continuing to "suffer abuse" by inaction.

While examining this topic, and commentary about it, I am prompted to suggest that we are allowing the use of specific WORDS and concepts to interfere with understanding and that we might be better served to remove and eliminate dependence on and use of the word "race" in this discussion.  My thoughts:

A discussion of "Critical Race Theory" by Encyclopedia Brittanica states six primary hallmarks of this social concept and I find that I can agree with all of them EXCEPT the first one - that "race" is a social construct and not biologically determined.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory

I disagree with that idea in that it is CLEARLY OBVIOUS that there ARE large groups of people who resemble each other biologically in significant ways and differ biologically from other large groups in significant ways - something that we have labeled "race".  But these biological differences, we have learned over time, are much more superficial and insignificant than what we all, as humans, have IN COMMON.  What, in fact, we might better identify instead of "race" (visible or biologically differing characteristics) is the way we have socially treated one another.  In this regard, I suggest a term - Social Group Bias - as more fitting to describe what we have been accustomed to calling racial discrimination.

Yes, it is definitely true that the more glaring examples of Social Group Bias are very strongly associated with biological differences and are certainly (to a degree) related to those differences superficially.  But our persistent Social Group Bias is also evident between groups that are NOT distinguished biologically - such as between ethnic groups (as in the historical initial bias in America against the Irish or the Italians).  It is also to be seen between affluence levels, even within "race" groups - reciprocal bias between the rich and the poor.  And within ethnic groups as well (intolerance and bias between Asians or Hispanics of different national origin, for example).

My point is that what we are calling a "race" problem is really a MUCH BROADER problem of culturally perpetuated Social Group Bias that is, in part, a NATURAL response to the problems of dealing with OTHERS - those who do not look like us or come from our social and historical origins.  Historically, every dominant majority has dealt with groups of people who are NOT the majority by using methods of control, exclusion, intimidation, violence and unfairness in order to remain in majority control.  The Founders of our country were not free of this themselves BUT they DID create a Constitution that for the first time clearly attempted to deal with and eliminate the legal and social differences between us.

As others have pointed out - by continuing to harp on RACE, we make it HARDER to accept and adapt to our VISIBLE differences - which have little or nothing to do with who we really are.  By refocusing our attention onto the REAL problem - bias and discrimination against other Social Groups just because they differ from us or threaten our "dominance" - we can, I believe, make more progress in understanding that bias and learning to eliminate it.  The United States of America has the opportunity, based on the concepts in our Constitution, to realize the first nation in history that truly offers EQUAL treatment and opportunity to ALL.  But we have to WORK for it.  And standing in our way is the problem of systemic Social Group Bias that is rooted in our fear of "others" and our natural survival reactions to protect ourselves and those "like us" against "them".  When we learn, finally, that there ARE NO "OTHERS" and that we are, truly, ALL ONE - with varietal differences - we can release that fear and live in peace with one another.