Priorities

Posted on by under Economic issues, education, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, guns, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

While Ron DeSantis is worried about children reading about two male penguins taking on the care & feeding of a baby penguin, and Jim Jordan is worried about accusing the FBI of discriminating against Republicans, and other Republicans are worried that white people are losing their status as the majority in this nation … there are more important issues at hand that our congressional ‘leaders’ seem not to see.  Children are dying in schools by gunfire.  Polar ice is melting, temperatures are warming, our air/water/food supplies are in danger.  People are reaching adulthood without being able to function in the workplace or in life because our education system is failing.  People – mostly Blacks, Jews, and LGBTQ people – are being abused and killed by a bigoted society who thinks there is only one sort of viable human: white, straight, and Christian.  There are people sitting on billions of dollars, laughing at each increase in their investment portfolio, while others are sleeping in cardboard boxes under highway overpasses hoping that someone will give them a dollar for something to eat in the morning.

Priorities, people!!!  A line from Harvey Milk in the movie “Milk” …

“Worry about gun control, not marijuana control.  School supplies, seniors, not the books we read.”

I don’t know if Harvey Milk actually said that, though it does sound like something he would have said, but the principle is sound, whether fact or fiction.  Here is a list of my top five priorities …

  1. The environment
  2. Human rights
    1. Civil rights
    2. Women’s rights
    3. LGBTQ rights
  3. Education
  4. Guns
  5. Wealth inequality/poverty

That is not to say that nothing else matters, for certainly many other things matter, but … we need to put things into perspective somewhere along the line!  I honestly don’t give a damn what is on Hunter Biden’s laptop, but I DO give a damn that our children are being murdered in schools around the nation.  I don’t give a damn about Kari Lake’s inane claims of election fraud while more than half a million people in this country are homeless.

The ’United’ States of America needs to get its collective priorities straight. What will still matter 20, 50, or even 100 years from now?  Will Hunter Biden’s laptop still matter?  I think not … in fact, I don’t think that in that time frame anybody will even know … or care … who Hunter Biden was.  Will gun deaths still matter?  Will poverty and income disparity still matter?  Will ignorance still be a factor in who rules nations?  Will we have potable water to drink and plentiful food to sustain life?  Will women be forced into second-class citizen status around the globe?  Some things matter … really matter.  Other things are just minutiae designed to distract us from the things that really do matter.  We need to learn to separate the wheat from the chaff.

What is on your top five list of priorities?

50 thoughts on “Priorities”

  1. I completely agree with you that there are more pressing issues that our congressional leaders should be addressing instead of worrying about the representation of LGBTQ characters in children’s books or accusing the FBI of discrimination. It’s disheartening to see that some of our leaders are turning a blind eye to the real problems that are affecting our country. The fact that children are dying in schools due to gun violence, and our planet is in danger due to climate change, should be at the forefront of their agenda. It’s time for our leaders to prioritize the well-being of our citizens and take action to address these critical issues. My question is, what do you think needs to happen for our leaders to start focusing on the real problems that affect our society?

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    • Good question! First, we need to take the big money out of political campaigns. The Citizens United v FEC ruling by the Supreme Court has made it too easy for industries like the gun industry, the fossil fuel industry and others to buy the votes of members of Congress in exchange for large campaign donations. Second, we need to do a better job of educating the voting public on just what they will get if they vote for each candidate. Outlets like Fox “News” are protected under the 1st Amendment, but they do immeasurable harm with their lies, so the public needs to be informed by a non-partisan, fact-based organization. And as for the gun violence, which is one of our biggest problems in this country, we need lawmakers more attuned to the lives of the people they are supposed to represent than their own pocketbook, which leads back to take the money out of politics! Those are just a starting point, but until we accomplish that much, we aren’t likely going to see progress.

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  2. I am sadly pessimistic about the future for America (and most of the other countries in the world) that I will not live to see. They will never give up their guns, never give up all the electronics that need so much power, and never accept that the people of the races they despise are just the same as them.
    It has all gone too far, for too long. I can no longer see a way back from the abyss.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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    • I, too, am sadly pessimistic about the near future of the nation. I think things will get worse before they get better, and it will take a disaster of monumental destruction to bring this nation together again. The ‘culture wars’ are destroying us, and we are enabling it. I am almost 72 years old and in poor health, so I’m one of the lucky ones who won’t have to watch the nation destroy itself, but … my children and grandchildren will be left to repair the damage. Sigh.

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  3. In typical US fashion your gaze just went exclusively inwards, kinda like Asperger’s style. And yet your country dares to play policeman of the world, mingle in other countries’ policies, stir the shit and go lootin’ all around the planet.

    This doesn’t compute, Jill.

    First in order of importancy should be being a good neighbour, a good citizen of the planet, a trusted partner in trade, a good supplier/customer. And America should know how to keep the peace. Instead you’re the global problem child. 😮

    All the internal shit should play second fiddle. Because it’s supposed to be in place since many many years!

    By now I guess America is the second-oldest working democracy and we all expected you to have figured out not just the basic stuff but all the intricacies 100 years ago. Still you’re dealing with outdated ideologies and yesterday’s problems. :/

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        • What discussion? You are simply pointing out all my flaws and the flaws of my own country, while telling me how great your homeland is, and how wonderful Putin is. Sigh. I’m tired of it, my friend. Tired of being put down for trying to be a decent sort who cares about others.

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          • “You are simply pointing out all my flaws and the flaws of my own country,”
            Your only flaw is that you’re too lamblike and still believe your govt is doing good things.

            “while telling me how great your homeland is,”
            whaaaa? I’d never! didn’t leave my homeland for no reason.

            “and how wonderful Putin is.”
            I don’t trust Putin further than I can throw him. And that’s not very far. But when studying newer history and following recent events and the paper trail you can only come to one conclusion: Ukraine was a sloppily laid out trap, based on completely wrong intel. And by some very inhumane aholes, too. And still did stupid Putin trip into it. Fortunately they learned fast and are now the most powerful military force in the world. Allied with the strongest economical power ever.

            Jill, your country has a long history of starting shit in corners of the world where they shouldn’t be active at all. and often their adventures end badly for America. Last 2 examples: Syria and Afghanistan. And now after the historically peace agreement of Saudi Arabia and Iran, brokered by China of all places, you not only lost Africa but the Middle East as well:

            https://orcaflotta.blog/2023/03/10/this-is-big/

            Sorry if I find those developments rather positive.

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  4. I would agree with most of your priorities. All actually. Guns in America are a frightening thing. I would put Education first, though. If you guys (or us) fix that, it will help all other objectives…
    👍🏻

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  5. Further to my comment to Scott on your earlier post, I think consciousness is also a major issue, though it may not seem like is a major piece of the puzzle. (Consciousness ~ Wokeness.) It is harder to define, but people with an advanceced level of consciousness are more likely to care about the big picture — the wholeness of life — than people of less advanced levels of consciousness. People like DeSantis realize its 8mportance, and are fighting to keep people from having an advanced level of consciousness (being woke). If they can keep people thi king about their tiny little worlds they will ignore what is happening in the bigger scheme of life.
    WOKENESS is good for everybody. Sleepiness is only good good the wealthy few.
    Otherwise, your Top 5 are chart-toppers.

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    • I fully agree with your view on consciousness, which has been dubbed ‘wokeness’ and given a negative connotation by the bigoted right-wing in this country. My post this afternoon deals with that, in fact … empathy, or rather the lack of in our Congress and how we might conquer that problem. And I agree that wokeness is a positive value, one that EVERYONE in the world should have, but sadly too few do.

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  7. Jill, good list of priorities. As you did with Human Rights, I would put three subheadings under Environment:
    – water shortage
    – climate change
    – environmental protection

    The first two are the most significant long term concerns by the World Economic Forum. Keith

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  8. I could quibble about pieces of it. Interesting that Republican voters’ main issues are different issues altogether. The amount of work to be done to “save the world” is enormous. Every bit helps.

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    • Bumba, as long as we haven’t even figured out what causes the climate change, trying to reverse it can only result in half-assed virtue signalling. You know the planet went through a mini-ice age in the 1400s, including many catastrophes, famines and whole people going nearly extinct. The planet as such just shrugged it off.
      I guess, we, as a species, can only try to adapt as good as possible, save water, change our eating habits and dress better.

      EVs are not problem solvers but part of the problem, saving the Amazonas rain forest is useless, reducing the CO² (or whatev miserable shit) emissions is for geeks.

      We should do what humans are doing best: ADAPT!

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      • Orca, we know exactly what has caused the deterioration of the Earth’s atmosphere, aka climate change. All the crap we have put into the air, mainly from chemicals and fossil fuels. No, we cannot adapt to having no water to drink, our cities being underwater, having no food to eat, and not being able to breathe the air. Nor will most other species, though some will survive and inhabit the earth once humans have left due to their own ignorance. How, exactly, do YOU plan to adapt? Will you find a way to live without water? Or will you pump oxygen directly out of a tree and into your lungs? Or, do you plan to cut out one lung so that you only need half the oxygen? C’mon, Orca … humans are their own worst enemy and as long as we refuse to give up even the smallest of conveniences, we are extincting thousands of species, including our own.

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        • “Orca, we know exactly what has caused the deterioration of the Earth’s atmosphere, aka climate change.”
          According to some politclowns we do, according to science we don’t.

          “No, we cannot adapt to having no water to drink, our cities being underwater, having no food to eat, and not being able to breathe the air.”
          No, we can’t But we can do our best to avoid these situations. And politics don’t supply an answer. What they gonna do, forcing us to buy EVs? Live in 15 minutes cities? I’d laugh if it wasn’t so sad and misguided.

          “How, exactly, do YOU plan to adapt?”
          Same as I always did: Don’t waste energy, don’t pollute, don’t waste food/water. BTW, the amount of water on earth will stay the same, always. Be it up in the clouds, in lakes, puddles or oceans. There will never be a global drought. In SA we even see it inside one country: While all around us dams are bursting, villages are drowning, houses, cars and people are being swept away by the floods … our own garden is dying due to a lack of rain. Do I turn on the tap and sprinkle our own lawn? Nope.

          Our usage of plastic tends towards zero these days, the plastic rubbish we produce is collected weekly and goes into recycling.

          I still proudly own a gaz guzzler but I don’t drive much. And since that van is n the road since 1968 I guess it can#t do much damage anymore. it was built and being kept alive, even though it’s a thirsty mofo. But every shiny new EV will damage the environment much more alone in its building process.

          Hubby and me have no kidz, so we can’t even be blamed for the gross overpopulation. And that is humanity’s biggest problem. Many people = much hungry = many cows = lotsa shit = much greenhouse gases = we all gonna die! 😦

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        • We did that during the last ice age, and we will do it again. Humanity will be a lot different after that and we’ll be a much smaller species. But that can only be good, since we’re far too many hoomans on this marble as it is.

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        • We will become different creatures altogether, and as you say, many (most) species would not survive. Seems to me it’s simpler to repair the damage we have done to the best of our ability. In a fantasy world, it’s fun to think of morphing into some other form, but … this is real life, the real world, and 90% of human life as we know it today would be gone … POOF! 90% of wolves, bears, dolphins, squirrels … gone. All so that today’s generation doesn’t have to change a bit, maybe be inconvenienced a bit? 🙄

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          • Pollute less, consume less. Those are the only realistic choices. We have to live with the mess we’ve already made and, yes, we do have to adapt to a degree, but that largely in the sense of making better choices.

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            • Agreed. Our adaptation, as you say, comes in the form of personal choices to put on a sweater instead of turning the thermostat up, walk to the mailbox instead of driving, use re-usables instead of single-use plastics, buy EVs or other vehicles that are not gas-guzzlers, eat less meat, throw away less food, and a host of other things. Problem is, people argue against even the most basic of these adaptations. Rather like mask-wearing — if they are told it’s good for them or others or the planet, they will fight tooth and nail not to do it! But in reality, the saving of the planet also requires us to choose the companies whose products we purchase more carefully, avoiding those who continue to pollute the environment with plastic waste and fossil fuel usage.

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              • “Nobody in their right mind needs 5, 6, 7 or more children!”
                Oh, some people do! In countries with no pension system, the more babies you make now, the more will take care of you once you’re old and can’t take care of yourself any longer.

                “buy EVs or other vehicles that are not gas-guzzlers”
                No agree on that point. EVs are very new cars, can’t buy used ones, batteries are hard to make and very very bad for the environment. I’d say if you got a gaz guzzler – fukkin keep it till it is totally unrepairable. Can’t possibly do as much harm as the production of a EV causes.

                Proof: Ever seen a single EV featured in Mad Max movies? Hah! THat’s our future. =^.^=

                “throw away less food,”
                Never ever did that in my whole life. Is maybe learned from my parents who grew up very poor in the Weimar Republic and then again the poor times of WW2. And overall being a more respectful person and a good economist is maybe in my blood. Food that I can’t finish today will taste as well – sometimes even better – tomorrow.

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          • Too late for that. If it was us after all. The jury’s still out on that, and afaik don’t agree with the theory of a manmade climate change. That said, we are just too many aholes on this marble to be sustainable. Sorry for the 3rd world and for all the stupid girls who wanna be mothers and grannies, but you’re better for society when you stay childless.

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            • Scientists have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that climate change is largely due to the use of fossil fuels and the CO2 they put into the air. You say you’re smarter than hundreds, perhaps thousands of scientists and their research? Wow.

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    • Indeed, it seems as if we living in two different universes some days. Every bit helps, for sure, but I’m not sure it’s enough. We keep fighting over who should be at the helm, while the ship hits an iceberg and slowly sinks.

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      • “We keep fighting over who should be at the helm, while the ship hits an iceberg and slowly sinks.”
        Really? Do ya? I’d never, I just follow my instincts instead of looking for/following a leader.
        Just pollute less, be water-wise, and don’t shit so many babies out into the world, and we’ll be fine.

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            • Hmmmmm … I didn’t realize they were? I thought the German people were still struggling to overcome what Hitler did. Question … since you support Putin, do you also think Hitler was a ‘good guy’?

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              • “I didn’t realize they were?”
                no, right, we’re not. Too efficient, too logical, too industrious, all work no play. We’re kinda the Japanese of the West. And we don’t have a singly silly bone in us, and no sense of humour.

                “I thought the German people were still struggling to overcome what Hitler did.”
                What? May be Germany’s still paying some reparations, like 80 years later but there’s no struggle. Until recently we used to be one of the mightiest and richest industrial nations. Then our govt decided to sell Germany down the river by going against Russia … and we know from experience how that usually ends. 😦

                Germany doesn’t struggle as much with our past but dealing with it. Its kinda ingrained in all of us from later generations, to take care such shit won’t ever happen again.

                “Question … since you support Putin,”
                1000th time now I don’t!

                “do you also think Hitler was a ‘good guy’?”
                Gurl, I lost a great grandma in Theresienstadt concentration camp, and my grandma only wasn’t put up for termination coz my gramps was some sorta WW1 hero, kinda untouchable … and he refused to divorce from his wife. My dad, as a semi-jewish bastard was a forced worker and had to build bunkers during the whole 3rd Reich time. LOL, his status saved him from the draft and a sure death in Stalingrad. From what he told me his whole class did never return from Russia and he was the sole survivor.
                Ever since I developed a political mindset (at 12 or so) I’m a democratic socialist and anti-fascist.
                Do I think Hitler was a good guy?
                Hmmmm, noooo, I guess rather not.

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