OBSTRUCTIONIST LEGISLATORS

OBSTRUCTIONIST LEGISLATORS

    American democracy was founded by the process of compromise. The Great Compromise laid the foundation for the bi-cameral legislative branch of government. It was a compromise between the large states and the small states that led to the adoption of the US Constitution. 

  The American form of democracy has been successful for over two hundred years, but within the past few years the Republican Party has tried to hold the government in jeopardy with a no-compromise approach.  This approach is based strictly on the fact that a man of color was elected President of the United States.

   There is evident proof that on the first day of President Obama’s administration the leadership of the Republican Party sent out a mandate, spearheaded by Fox News, that they would find something wrong with every word that came from the President’s mouth. Also, all members of the party were encouraged to obstruct any presidential proposals.

    Republicans presently have the majority in the House and in the Senate, and their only purpose is to make sure the administration of America’s first black president is a failure. Nevertheless, they have failed! They have offered no plan, no suggestions, and no positive legislation that benefits Americans. They are highly paid elected officials who have done nothing but obstruct the President’s policies. Never in American history has there been a political party whose only objective was obstruction.

   Every minute of the day for over seven years Fox News and the Republican Party have tried to find something wrong with every thing the President has proposed. Instead of offering something positive that would benefit Americans, all they have provided is criticism.

   There is a hidden danger in all of this. They have been able to brainwash many average Americans to support the Rich Man’s Party. A perfect example: many working class Americans support the party that has publicly stated they are against any increase in the minimum wage. The party’s leaders advocate cutting funding for Social Security recipients. They plan to decrease all federally funded disability programs. They have already cut funding—and plan to cut more—from programs that feed hungry children. Yet they propose the biggest tax cut in American history for 1% of the country’s population—the mega rich at the top.  Also, with the help of Fox News, they have been able to use brainwashing techniques to get many Americans to support these anti-social policies.

    Everyone in the world knows that the wealthiest nation on earth should be able to provide health insurance for all citizens. The fact that Obama’s healthcare program prohibits insurance companies from dropping customers due to preexisting conditions is itself enough to save the program.  But instead of helping the program because it is the right thing to do, all Fox News and the Republicans can do is try to find something wrong.

   President Obama has accomplished something that has helped over 20 million Americans, but, according to Fox News and the Republicans, that is bad. And the reason it is bad is because it is an accomplishment by a man of color. This is pure and simple pre-Civil War prejudice.  Prejudice has always been something tucked away in the hearts of many Americans, but no one knew just how deep it was until a man of color was elected to the office of President of the United States.                 

    The way some Republicans and Fox News have treated President Obama, his wife, and his children, is a disgrace that will never be erased from American history. But through all of the criticisms and the name calling, the President now has an approval rating of over 52%. 

   On November 8, 2016, if the public opinions polls are correct, there is a great possibility that the American people will show the Republican Party that they are not going to allow a political party to jeopardize the progress of American government.  The American voters will probably elect Democrats to regain the majority in the Senate, and perhaps even in the House. Just as soon as the majority of average Americans realize that they have been brainwashed to keep the Rich Man’s Party in power—all done by the Republicans and Fox News—great change will come to America.

THE DANGER OF MIND CONTROL

THE GOSPEL OF MIND CONTROL

    Some religious leaders have turned Christianity into a multi-million dollar business. The pulpit is being used as an instrument for financial gain and many preachers have become very successful in the process.  Nevertheless, preachers are not satisfied with 32 room mansions, luxury jets, chauffeured limousines, and house servants; they still want more. Therefore, gospel ministers have learned to use the power of the pulpit to control the minds of their followers. For years they have used brainwashing as a tool to justify the killing of gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals. They spent months, as well as thousands of churchgoers’ dollars, to influence lawmakers to pass laws to limit the right to marry. They have continued to teach parishioners to disobey the Supreme Court ruling of marriage equality. They have banned same-sex couples from the church and made heroes and heroines of those who denied basic civil rights to individuals of different sexual orientations.

   In recent days preachers have looked women directly in the eyes and told them that men have the god-given right to make nasty, vulgar, and disrespectable remarks about them.  The greatest horror of this is that some women believe it. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, preachers are using the wrath of God to dictate how people should vote. They have stood before congregations and told thousands of people they will go to hell if they do not vote for a certain candidate.

    There is a bright light at the end of this tunnel. Those who call themselves the masters of the pulpit find it difficult to control the minds of America’s youth. Recent public opinion polls prove that the majority of young Americans do not think that preachers have the right to tell them how to vote.

    America is a nation born in hate, lives in hate, and enjoys the turmoil that hate brings. America’s youth are trying to shape a different America. They have seen the beauty in the diversity of skin color. They have learned there is no threat in the friendship with individuals of different sexual orientations and that knowledge can be acquired from people of different ethnic origins. In spite of what is being taught in many churches, young Americans bring hope to a closed social environment where change is slow, and a stagnated mind opposes all forms of progress.        

THE POLITICAL GAME OF KICK THE CAN

(This was originally written and posted in November of 2015.) 

THE POLITICAL GAME OF KICK THE CAN

   The toughest game played on American soil is the game of politics. In the political arena there are no penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct, and there is no referee to prevent punches below the belt.  The only rule that applies is ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR.

   The one word that draws Americans to the voting booth is the word CHANGE. However, for several decades Americans have been voting for change but getting much of the same. An individual who enters the political arena with the intentions of making major changes must realize that politics in the U.S. is a dangerous game. Once elected to a political office the official is quickly tossed into the arena and must swiftly learn the rules of the game. A beginning player has little or no chance of getting constructive legislation passed for major change against experienced players who have played the game for many years,

   Thus, American politics has become a game of kick the CAN a little farther down the road.  However, the time has come that America is faced with major political problems and must recognize that up ahead the road is forked. The direction in which the CAN will be kicked is left up to the voters. To kick the CAN to the right means the rich will continue getting richer, and America will continue to be an oligarchy rather than a democracy. To kick the CAN to the left means to rebuild the working MIDDLE CLASS and to reestablish the democratic principles that made America great.

   The creators of American democracy were some of the most intelligent statesmen the world has ever known. They created a government in which the power to govern was placed in the hands of the people. In other words, American government can be controlled at the voting booth. However today, American voters are faced with some of the most powerful brainwashing techniques ever used on American soil. A politically motivated and biased media has developed a cult-like following that presents a dangerous threat to American democracy. Never in American history have working class voters been so misinformed that they have gone to the polls and voted against themselves.

   For one who loves America and is greatly concerned about America’s future, I can only hope that very soon Americans will realize that the future of our country is in our hands.  Major issues—veteran’s benefits, social security, minimum wage, college tuition, and universal health care—are the issues that will ultimately determine America’s future.

   It is the POWER OF THE PEOPLE that must be reestablished in a highly polarized society in order for that society to remain a permanent global leader. Americans need to be reminded of the words spoken in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858: “A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND.” And that election to public office is not a game, but a serious commitment to citizens who deserve to be governed in a fair and honest manner.