Who's To Blame For America?

Rich white guys have certainly been taking a lot of heat lately. And that got me thinking, which is usually not a good thing.

1) If we had left the area of land now known as the U.S. to the Native Americans, what would they have done with it? Would they have developed it into the Greatest Country On Earth? Would they have built the steel and textile mills and the railroads and the highways, and the automotive and aviation industries? Would they have come up with this wacky "democratic republic" form of government? Would they have gone to the moon?

I think we can safely answer those questions.

2) Who were the people who actually did begin the modern development of this country? Umm, gee, could it have been well-to-do white guys from Europe (mostly England) who risked it all and brought their families over here looking for a better life? Could it have been those "rich white guys" who dreamed of a government for and by the people, where citizens were not only free but also encouraged to pursue their fortunes?

If it were not for "rich white guys," would we even have the America we know and love today? …The country where so many people risk life and limb to get here so they can enjoy the pursuit of "the American dream?" ...The country where you have the freedom to demonstrate and criticize and complain?

Seems to me that instead of denigrating and castigating "rich white guys" and blaming them for all of the wrongs, and all of the faults of the U.S., you should simply say, "Thank you!" Because if not for them, America would be one big Indian reservation right now.

Down And Dirty Politics In The Age of Trump

"No one is above the law!!" Jeez-Louise, how many times have we heard that? A kazillion. And we're still hearing it. "No one is above the law!!" And yet...and yet! When the House of Representatives went about impeaching President Trump, they didn't charge him with any actual...you know...crime.

My left-leaning friends go, "Wellll….he didn't need to actually violate a specific law...his actions were enough of a violation of our Constitution to warrant impeachment."

Oh yeah? Then why all this bullshit about how, "No one is above the law!!" If it's not about violating a law, then what's it about? It's about how democrats hate Donald Trump and will do anything to stop him and remove him from office. We Americans aren't stupid; we see what was going on.

"Obstruction of Congress" and "Abuse of Power" were simply insufficient charges to have Trump removed from office, and the Senate agreed. Republican senators are not stupid, either. To say that they are would mean that the Democrat senators are stupid as well. If Republican senators actually felt - like Mitt Romney did - that President Trump did anything worthy of impeachment, they would have voted that way. But they did not.

Here's the thing. The Democrats are all acting like the world did not exist before Donald Trump was elected in 2016. But let's remember: Nancy Pelosi has been around forever. She was still Nancy Pelosi before Trump (i.e. mean, petty, vindictive, etc.). Chuck Schumer has always been a huge asshole. Trust me, I lived in New York and remember Chuckie when he was a mere State Assemblyman.

Donald Trump did not simply fall out of the sky and magically win over the hearts and minds of the American people. Our political system has invented...scratch that, required him. The Democrats are just as responsible for Trump's success as are Republicans. 

People were sick of politics as usual - we realized that Democrat or Republican, it did not matter which one was in the White House.  I did not like Obama - and I could not bear the thought of a Clinton presidency. On the other hand, there were no Republican candidates who were worth a crap either. 

Nobody in the political establishment (or the media!) ever thought Trump would or could win. The rest is history.  Trump took off the mask...took off the gloves, and showed us just how "down and dirty" politics really is.  I will tell you this: Nothing will ever be the same.

It's All About The Show

State of the Union speeches have historically been boring. The president says something - and then members of his party stand up and applaud while members of the other party sit resolutely silent. Blah-blah-blah.  I cannot ever remember a president mentioning something bad that he or we (as a country) did. Generally, presidents have kept emotion out of their speeches. Next day, you can be sure that you'll see stories titled: "Fact Checking the President's SOTU Speech."

Well President Trump turned that all upside down, of course. Whether you like him or not, you have to admit that he is a great showman. The SOTU was perhaps his Master Class. You knew...come on, you KNEW that he'd turn it into a campaign speech, right? Because that's exactly what he did. Nancy Pelosi probably tore up those papers after the speech, thinking, "Goddammit, he just got himself reelected, and I had to sit through it. Well this will show him!” Very disrespectful, sweetie, but nothing we didn’t expect from the likes of you.

This was the first State of the Union message I've ever watched that did not bore me to tears. Not because of the content, but because of the show. From that perspective, it was awesome! 

Whether he does or not, Trump gives people the impression that he loves America and loves Americans. This is huge, because people want to believe it. America is the best and strongest country on the planet, agreed? Are we perfect? No. Will we ever be? No. But in spite of our imperfections, the U.S. is still the place where everyone wants to come to pursue "The American Dream." Do you not find it ironic that neither Russia nor Iran, Mexico or even Canada has a problem with keeping illegal aliens out? No! That is a uniquely American problem. 

There are a lot of people like me who disagree with the idea that we should throw open our borders and let anyone in. No! We have immigration policies for a reason; let’s keep them and make immigrants abide by them – as my grandparents had to do. 

There are also a lot of people like me who don’t think that illegal aliens should get free health care and the right to vote. No! If I don’t get it, they don’t get it, period.

And there are a lot of people like me who don’t believe that we have a “gun problem” in America, and that the solution to this phony bullshit issue is confiscation of guns. No! Instead, let’s put some money and effort into figuring out why people are so angry these days and why more and more of us are inclined to use violence as an expression of that outrage. 

What’s my point? It is on those particular issues that President Trump is more closely aligned with my own personal beliefs than any other candidate. People claim that he is a hateful, divisive racist. I don’t see it that way. Very simply, the State of the Union message emphasized our strengths as a nation and as a people. 

It’s too bad that the Democrats could not celebrate the verbalizing of those special qualities that make us who we are.  They showed us who they are.  In the end, it really was all about the show, wasn't it?