It's time for ACTION!

Yesterday, 3% of the Republicans in Alabama stood up for decency and integrity and stopped the Trump/Bannon populism cancer in its tracks.

Yes, the seat went to the Democrats.  But that’s OK.   For all real Republicans know that truth, honesty, and ethics are far more important than populism, politics, policies, positions, and party.

We all should have learned in Kindergarten that it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.  The Bannon/Trump gang trumpeted their populism using systematic lies, false allegations, fearmongering, and other and unethical actions.  They produced some short-term wins, but they will eventually destroy the entire party if we continue to let them lead through threats and intimidation.

We cannot let that happen!

During this next year, we need to ensure that our voices are heard loud and clear.  All true Republicans who believe in the fundamental values under which the party was founded can no longer stand for far-right, out of touch, and offensive views being pushed by the current leadership.  If the GOP candidates in the general election refuse to disavow the Trump/Bannon agenda, we MUST NOT VOTE FOR THEM.  

Alabama showed us last night that it will only take a small percentage of GOP voters to do what is right to send the message loud and clear.

Losing one seat to the Democrats is probably not enough to rid the party of its cancer.  It may take a catastrophic loss in 2018 or 2020.  But once the cancer is removed, the party can return to its roots, rebuild itself, and once again reflect the values of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower.

And what are the fundamental values of the Republican Party?   What does the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower really stand for?

 “Basic to governmental integrity are unimpeachable ethical standards and irreproachable personal conduct by all people in government. We shall continue our insistence on honesty as an indispensable requirement of public service.“

That’s verbatim from the 1956 Republican Platform.  That means NO MORE LIES, THREATS, INTIMIDATIONS, ATTACKS ON THE MEDIA, ATTACKS ON OTHER BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT.

We Republicans believe in liberty.  For the first part of our history, our country denied our basic right of liberty to an entire class of people. The Republican Party was founded primarily to correct that injustice, and ensure that all persons were able to enjoy this basic human right.  As Republicans, this must be our guiding principle.  We should never support any type of policy that excludes any class of people.  Period.  This is our “Prime Directive”. Everything else we stand for must build and support this basic idea.  We are the party of Inclusion.  Everybody is welcome!

We Republicans also believe in the right to pursue happiness.  This is probably the least understood of our rights.  Many people think that we have the right to be happy.  That is not true.  We have the right to PURSUE happiness.  This means that it is up to US to be happy.  It is OUR responsibility to ensure our own happiness.   Neither the government nor anyone else owes us anything.

But it is our right to PURSUE happiness that gives us our freedoms.  It’s our freedoms that give us the ability to make the decisions and take the actions that we feel necessary to achieve our goals.

The need to pursue happiness is part of our basic human nature.  It is a need that is as important as the need for food and shelter.  No matter how many things are given to us, we are never really happy until we work for our own rewards. The only things we truly appreciate are the things we worked and sacrificed to achieve.  It’s this desire to achieve on our own that drives mankind.

Any society that attempts to deprive men of the opportunity and responsibility to provide for themselves is doomed to failure.  That is why Socialism as a system will never survive.

We all know the analogy that to give a man a fish will feed him for a day, but to teach a man to fish will feed him for a lifetime.

As Republicans, we do not want to give people fish; we want to teach them to fish.  But’s it a little more than just that.  Before we will teach them to fish, they must want to learn.  We are not going to force-feed our ways on anybody; that would be taking away their freedoms.  We also realize that a few people don’t want to put up the effort needed to achieve happiness; they want everything handed to them. We will not cater to these people.  For just as it is one’s right to pursue happiness, one also has the right to do nothing and be unhappy.

In other words, we believe that when somebody is willing to work for their goals, we have a responsibility to ensure that they have access to the basic tools needed to achieve those goals.  We have this responsibility because we cannot tolerate or allow conditions to exist where classes or segments in our society are oppressed and cannot even pursue happiness no matter how hard they try.

What does all that mean?  

Perhaps Ike said it best: 

“In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people's money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative."

We must stop moving to the right and move back to the center, for it’s the center that allows us to reach and serve the most Americans.  We were founded to be the Party of Inclusion; but we cannot be that party and be far-right at the same time.

Our country was founded on the principles that everyone has the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  These are our core beliefs, and every law from our Constitution on down builds, or should build, on these beliefs.  No valid law should arbitrability take away any of these fundamental rights.

Before we take a position on any issue, we ask ourselves, “Does this position support or infringe on our core beliefs?”   If it infringes on our core beliefs, we must step back and reexamine our position.  If we cannot reconcile and justify our position so that it supports our core beliefs, we must change our position.

We must apply this high standard to EACH AND EVERY ISSUE we face.  Sometimes that means that we must do things we do not like.  But we must have the courage to uphold our convictions and do the right thing.  EVERY TIME.

Stop the HATE. It's up to YOU and ME!

I love America, and it breaks my heart to see the hate that is dividing our country right now.

Some of the hate is obvious on its face, such as the Nazi groups, the KKK, and the White Supremacists. These are the lowest of the low, and we all need to quickly and absolutely disavow them.

But hate comes at us on many levels. It comes in the form of discrimination.  It comes in the form of self-righteousness.  It comes in the form of moral superiority.  Hate comes from both the left and the right, from both the rich and the poor, from all races, from all levels of education.

Hate manifests itself in many subtle ways. When labels such as “Liberal”, “Snowflake”, “Racist”, “Sexist” are applied to people or ideas solely to differentiate and alienate them from the mainstream, that is a form of hatred, AND IT MUST STOP NOW!

The politicians are not the source of our hate; they are a symptom.  Hate starts with the People, and Hate must stop with the People.  THAT MEANS YOU AND ME.  WE HAVE TO STOP THE HATE, AND HERE’S HOW:

• STOP SPREADING HATE.  Stop sharing Facebook Memes that are mean and are designed to spread hate and divide us.  When you share such memes, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

• STOP SPREADING LIES.  Before you repeat something you have heard, or share something on Facebook, do a little research to verify it is accurate.  A simple SNOPES lookup is usually sufficient.  Many of these lies may be based on, or contain, half-truths, but they are still lies!  Remember, a lie of omission is still a lie!

• CALL OUT HATE when you see it.   There ARE evil people in this world.  Those who think they are superior to others.  Those who think other races are inferior.  Nazis.  The KKK.  White Supremacists.  Terrorists.  Those who promote violence of any kind.  It is NOT ENOUGH to stand idly by. We must SPEAK OUT and denounce them wherever they are.  We must SPEAK OUT and denounce those who support them.  As George W. Bush, you are either with them or with us.  You cannot be both!  

HATE IS BORNE OUT OF MISUNDERSTANDING

Of course, your view of the world is unique to you.  It is completely normal for your opinions and views to differ from others’. But we all have to live together, and we cannot do that by attacking every person who does not agree with our point of view.

We are all a little prejudiced in one way or another. That’s human nature. We are initially suspicious of anyone who differs from us.  But we must learn to control our prejudices. And this is not easy.  But it can be done, and it MUST be done.

• Always try to see an issue from the other person’s point of view.  There is a reason that they feel the way they do, and you might feel the same way if you were in their shoes.  Don’t dismiss their opinions and feelings simply because they do not echo your own.  You cannot fully understand any issue if you do not understand both sides.  Many times, once you take a look at the other person’s viewpoint, your own view may change slightly or completely!   I have changed my views many times once I fully thought through all sides of the issue.

• Weigh the importance of their position to them to the importance of your position to yourself.  In other words, do I feel as strongly about my position as they do about theirs?  

• Does your view fall in line with our basic premise of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?  Our country was founded on these principles, and sometimes it is hard to realize that our view may be wrong; that our view is not in line with these core beliefs.

• How much will it cost you emotionally, financially, and morally to change your position?  Will your life change significantly?  Will you simply be uncomfortable?   Or will your life continue the same way regardless?

• Last, and certainly not least, just ask yourself this:  “What would Jesus do?”   

“United we stand; divided we fall.”   We all know that saying, but do we really give it any thought?

The United States has been the shining beacon of Hope and Freedom throughout the world. Our strength comes from our Unity. Indeed, our very name is based on that concept!  But it’s more than that. We are known as the “melting pot”.  We are made up of peoples from many different countries. We all have come to America and brought a little of our culture with us.  The term is apropos: If you drop a piece of butter into a pot of boiling water, the butter melts and becomes part of the boiling water. The butter is no longer distinguishable, but the water has been subtly improved.  So it is with our citizenry. So it is with America.   It is this diversity that gives us strength and acceptance.

So let’s stop letting a few individuals divide us.  We have to remain united and fight for our freedoms every single day.  And that starts with fighting hate.

The Big Picture

The recent protests have illustrated that there is a much bigger underlying problem in our country, and demonstrates how the Democrats are as much to blame for Trump’s getting elected as are the Republicans.

Trump is everything that the protesters claim, but that is not why people voted for him.  Most Republications were as offended by his racist, bigoted comments and actions as were the rest of us. 

No, they voted for him because he represented resistance to what they perceived as an attack on their way of life.  Christianity is being systematically attacked in this country, while Islam is being celebrated.  The Second Amendment is doomed.  Illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from hard-working Americans, and are getting welfare benefits most Americans are not even eligible for. The middle class is increasingly bearing the weight of a lower class unwilling to work and living on welfare, while the rich are paying less in taxes every year.  Violent crime is on the rise, fueled by illegal immigrants who flout our laws and simply return if they are deported. Terrorism attacks are on the rise, yet we are letting more and more refugees from Syria and other dangerous countries in without the slightest vetting.

Now, we all know that none of the above claims are true, but each does have a little bit of basis in fact, and Trump used those nuggets to form the core of his message.  If you ignore the outrageous things he said, you will see that his core message relentlessly repeated and validated their fears, citing specific, but isolated, facts to support his claims.

At the same time, he relentlessly attacked each of his opponents, identifying and amplifying each of their weaknesses.  While most politicians avoid naming their opponents, referring to them as “my esteemed opponent” or some other civilized title, Trump went the other direction and not only named them, but gave them catchy nicknames as well:  “Crooked Hillary”, “Lying Ted”, etc.  He repeated and embellished false allegations to the point that the lie became the truth.

By the end of the campaign, most Trump supporters honestly believed Hillary was the most corrupt individual to walk the planet since Hitler. They honestly believed their entire way of life was being threatened.  They were, and are, good, honest, hard-working Americans who just want a better life for themselves and their kids. Just like us!

At the same time, the Democrats failed to recognize this. Instead, we all focused on Trump’s outrageous antics and ignored his core messages. We labeled and belittled Trump’s supporters in much the same way he belittled Hillary, Ted, Bernie, and the rest. All that did was deepen the divide.  The more that people and institutions attacked Trump on his racist and bigotry issues while ignoring his actual policy flaws, the more isolated Trump supporters became. Isolation creates paranoia, and Trump encouraged that by claiming that everything was rigged against him and his supporters.  It became truly an “Us VS Them” mentality.

By late summer, Trump’s core supporters were not even willing to listen to anything anti-Trump. They believed that he recognized the coming end of their way of life, and they believed he could stop it. They realized that much most of his racist rhetoric was just that, and focused on his core message.  They saw their only choices were between a dedicated, even if rather immoral, outsider who could clean up the corruption (Trump), or the ultimate, corrupted insider (Hillary).

NOW HE IS THE PRESIDENT.

Our only hope to reunite the country is to stop attacking the Trump Supporters and further alienating them. Just because they supported Trump does NOT make them racists and bigots.  They voted for who they thought cared about them. We need to stop focusing on Trump’s actions of the past. We need to stop focusing on every little mistake he makes. We need to stop relentlessly attacking everything about him.

Instead, we need to focus on POLICIES.  We need to start spreading a POSITIVE message. We need to explain how the Democrats’ policies will make THEIR LIVES BETTER. We need to tone down the “political correctness” and feelings of superiority. Some of Trump’s policies are NOT all bad, and we need to support them and offer suggestions to make them better. Which would YOU rather have told to you:  “Your idea sucks, but mine is awesome!” or “I like your idea!  But how about we do this as well, or maybe do this part instead?”     

We could begin by admitting Obamacare is not the greatest law this country has ever passed.  Let’s stop focusing solely on its successes, and admitting to some of its flaws.  Let’s say, “Obamacare has helped 20 million Americans, but it has resulted in higher premiums, hospital expenses, and out of control drug costs.  How can we work together to lower the costs of premiums, drugs, and hospital stays?  How can we help you Republicans FIX the problems?”  

It will be a hell of a lot harder for the Republicans to ignore Democrats who are asking how they can help than it is to ignore those who just attack everything they say or do.  It’s easy to hate the haters.  It’s hard to hate those who are trying to help.

Let’s be part of the SOLUTION and not part of the problem.