Trump’s Attack on History: The 1776 Project, Racism, Nationalism, and Fraudulent Patriotism to Conform History to his Twisted Ideology

Posted on September 18, 2020 by jilldennison under education, Election 2020, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Today, in yet another extreme abuse of the power of his office, Trump signed an ‘executive order’ to demand that public schools teach revisionist history, that they exclude the darker past of this nation. I tried to write about this, but was too furious to put coherent words on paper. Fortunately, Padre Steve was more successful than I, so I share his work with you. Please do read this … it is another step … a huge one … in the destruction of the United States. Thank you, Padre!

The Inglorius Padre Steve's World

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

Today President Trump launched a major attack on the history of the United States by announcing what he called The 1776 Project, a direct attack on the 1619 Project which aims to tell the story of how the English Colonists introduced what became the institution of slavery and entrenched racism in the United States. I know the subject well, my book which will be published sometime in the next year “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory!” Racism, Religion, Ideology and Politics in the Civil War Era and why they Continue to Matter” deals extensive with this history, and I can say based on his actions and utterances that the President is using this to further divide the country on racial lines and to open American history as his next front of his culture war.

Trump said he would create a national commission to promote a…

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America’s Wake-Up Call — Is Joe Biden Worth Your Vote?

Posted on September 18, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Jeff & Jill's Project, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Today, in Part II of our project America’s Wake-Up Call, Jeff introduces us to the next President of the United States, Joe Biden, and helps us understand just what makes Joe Biden the right man for the job. Thanks Jeff!!!

On The Fence Voters

In recent months, I’ve been amused at the sight of the following campaign sign: Any Functioning Adult 2020. Yes, it’s very tempting to feel that way, isn’t it?

The way things are going in this country, a functional and literate adult would be a luxury that we simply do not have. We’re jumping from one catastrophe to the next under the current president, from a raging pandemic and wildfires to racial inequality and injustice. And his only answer seems to be: “Elect me, or this is what you’re going to get in a Biden presidency.”

Of course, what’s happening now is on his watch, not Joe Biden’s, a fact he deceptively and casually refuses to acknowledge. Unfortunately, his cult band of followers will blindly nod their heads in agreement at whatever utterances ooze from their dear leader’s mouth.

In this election, we cannot worry about those voters. But we…

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Think Trump’s Not Moving Toward Total Autocracy? This International Analyst Knows the Signs Too Well…

Posted on September 17, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Earlier today, I re-blogged a post from Annie of annieasksyou fame, and this evening I am sharing another. Annie has collected a series of observations made by International Analyst Michael McFaul that paint a picture that is … chilling. Please do take a minute to check it out. Thanks again, Annie!

annieasksyou...

[Note from Annie:I’ve extracted from Twitter a series of observations made by Michael McFaul last week after viewing the Republican National Convention that I think form a compelling picture of the dangers we’ll face if we don’t remove President Trump from office in November.(The emphases are mine.)

McFaul served as Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House from 2009 to 2012, and then as the United States Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. The author of several books and an academic at Stanford, he cites his research interests as American foreign policy, great power relations, and the relationship between democracy and development.]

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For those of us who study autocracies, including elections in autocracies, there were a lot of familiar messages, symbols, and methods on display this week…

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The Choice

Posted on September 17, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Blogger friend Annie posted this post earlier this month (where has September gone???) and it is an excellent and timely reminder for those who may still be sitting on the fence about the November election. Please take a few minutes to read. Thank you, Annie & Infidel!

annieasksyou...

[Note from Annie: I feel the post below, written by my fellow blogger Infidel753, is so thoughtful and persuasive that I’m featuring it here.Infidel’s highly informative, provocative, and often entertaining blog may be accessed at infidel753.blogspot.com.]

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This November, one of two things will happen. Either Biden will be elected president, or Trump will be re-elected. Many people fervently believe there should be some third option. There isn’t. It’s going to be one of those two.

This post is addressed to those who, for whatever reason, don’t like Biden. Maybe you consider him too centrist or too old or too old-fashioned or “Republican-lite” or whatever. Maybe you think the Tara Reade accusation has credibility (though there are good reasons to believe otherwise). Maybe you think the process by which millions of rank-and-file Democrats chose the nominee (from among a remarkably large and varied group of candidates) was tainted…

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How The World Sees Us Now

Posted on September 17, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

We know about the divisiveness, the chaos, the hate that is dominating the headlines here in the U.S. We are fed a steady diet of daily abominations, accusations, and ignorant spew. But how do people in other countries see us? Until four years ago, we were largely viewed with respect … sure, we had our flaws, but we tried to do the right thing … most of the time. We helped our allies and others around the globe. We were doing our part to promote solutions to climate change, nuclear disarmament, and to contribute to a global defense structure. And then, came Donald Trump, riding the waves of the populist movement all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, occupying a chair that he would never fit. So … how are we viewed abroad today?

From an article in The Guardian back in June …

The coronavirus crisis has caused a dramatic deterioration in the European public perception of the US, extensive new polling reveals.

More than 60% of respondents in Germany, France, Spain, Denmark and Portugal said they had lost trust in the United States as a global leader.

A report based on the survey’s findings argues that the shock of the pandemic has “traumatised” European citizens, leaving them feeling “alone and vulnerable”.

In almost every country surveyed, a majority of people said their perception of the US had deteriorated since the outbreak. Negative attitudes of the US were most marked in Denmark (71%) Portugal (70%), France (68%), Germany (65%) and Spain (64%). In France, 46% and in Germany 42% said their view of the US had worsened “a lot” during the pandemic.

On Tuesday, PEW Research released a new poll of 13 foreign countries that reveals that perceptions of America have dropped drastically in recent years. I strongly encourage you to take a look at their data.

Let’s hear directly from some of those people, shall we?

Have you tried turning your country off and then on again?
I think Mexico is probably now in favour of that wall
Sad. Disappointed. We used to think pretty highly of you, but now we just feel sorry for you. You are so divided we’re not sure how you can ever come together as a country again. Your guns are out of control. Your racism is dividing you. Your politics are a disaster. Your healthcare system is a joke. Your pandemic is out of control and you will soon be in the depths of a depression, with more than 30m people without jobs. How do you feel so far?
Being an Italian and knowing roman history, I can say that in my opinion America is showing the classic symptoms of an empire in decline
The US always appeared like an older, stronger brother – now it feels like this brother started using meth.
Being in the U.K. right now kind of feels like being a little boat that has broken down and everyone’s too busy being mad at the captain to fix anything. But then you look to the left and there’s a big cruise ship burning as it sinks with people fighting on every deck, and the captain’s throwing gasoline on everything, and you feel a little bit better about the s***** boat you’re in.
I used to really admire America. The last few years have changed that perception drastically. The blatantly corrupt politics seem to have the whole country in such a tight grip that from the outside it looks like a 3rd world country. Your president is lying constantly and obviously yet he has outspoken followers in the millions who just disregard his lies. There seems to be no safety net for the average person at all and you seem to rely on luck to get through your life.
I live in Germany. When I was younger, I always wanted to live in America. I thought it was great. Now, not even for a million dollars, I would never move there
I knew there were lots of idiots, but the sheer quantity is mind blowing. And how so many Americans just can’t handle a view that’s different to their own or at least allow others to have a different view, is crazy.
You’re a country blessed with diverse land, money and democracy. But you have become your own worst enemy—healthy patriotism has turned into extreme nationalism and xenophobia, freedom has turned into anarchy. Also guns, like howww are they still a thing? Sad.
The Second Amendment is there to protect your precious democracy from tyrants. Ironic who the gun owners support the most.
What saddens me the most is how the basics, such as universal healthcare and social support are so reviled by so many. Worst is that those who are the most vocal are probably not far from those who would benefit the most.
I keep wondering why the “richest” country in the world still doesn’t have national free health services.
I can’t believe how Americans can politicise EVERYTHING?! Wearing masks, postal service and before these newer topics universal healthcare, free (or at least vastly cheaper) uni, higher taxation etc. are a reality in most developed countries, but in America it seems like you can just scream socialism and people are against everything. From my German point of view the two party system and electoral votes is seriously f**ked up and even the moderate democrats are pretty right-wing.
With the economic divide larger than ever, I don’t believe the majority of Americans, who struggle to live decently, pay for healthcare and their kids education, still buy the freaking “american dream” BS.
Trump is an Emperor, with his princess and princes. Everyone with any insight or brains can see it, but there are a lot of supremely uninformed Americans in the Rust belt, the south and parts of the north who have been fed the line from Fox and Facebook that he is their saviour.
I’m a Canadian, living in Mexico since 2014. I seriously can’t wrap my head around it from either vantage point. It’s like watching a slow-motion car wreck – it’s horrifying and you know nothing good is going to come of it but it’s fascinating at the same time.
As a Millennial from Toronto, I grew up thinking America was awesome. I thought it would be cool to live in New York when I was older. The past 5 years have been such a s*** show, I am so thankful to be from Canada. I dont think its Trump that is the main problem (although hes a huge one.) Its his legion of supporters that feel the same way he does. They will not go away once he leaves office. The problem is more permanent than some realize. Its been sad to see the US deteriorate.
I feel sorry for the sane people over there.
Sadness
I genuinely feel sorry for you people.

Remember when we were mostly respected by people in other countries? Remember when Trump said he would “make America great again”? Remember when we thought of this as a country of equal opportunity for all? Remember when we had a president, not a tyrant in the Oval Office? Think long and hard about it between now and November 3^rd, for your vote could help save this country, or it could help sink it.

Good People Doing Good Things — Inspiring Youths

Posted on September 16, 2020 by jilldennison under Environmental Issues, Good people doing good things, Social commentary

I must apologize, but tonight I simply cannot write a new ‘good people’ post and instead will do what I have only done once before — repeat one from January 2018. You will read about three really big-hearted young people and they will make you smile, even if you read it two+ years ago. My humble apologies, but I hope you will enjoy this repeat.

Yesterday I wrote a piece about integrity, and bemoaned the fact that we seem to have lost ours along the way. Today, I would like to shine a spotlight on some young people who still have their values, who still have integrity, who still believe in helping others and making a difference.

Campbell Remess

Meet Campbell Remess, age 13. Campbell, nicknamed Bumble by his little sister, lives with his family in Hobart, Tasmania. (Tasmania, for those who might have thought it was only the fictional home of the Tasmanian Devil, is an island state off the southern coast of Australia.) So what, you ask, does Campbell do? He makes teddy bears! Yes, you heard me right … he sews teddy bears in, according to his mum, almost all of his spare time.

It all started when Campbell was nine years old and asked his parents if he could buy Christmas gifts for sick children, for he wanted to do something to brighten their spirits. His parents had to turn down his request, for Campbell is one of nine children and … well, money, y’know? Still, Campbell was a determined young lad, and so he found a pattern for a teddy bear online and with a bit of help from his mom, managed to craft what would become the first of more than a thousand such bears.

So, what does Campbell do with the bears? Well, every week he hand delivers some to sick children at the Royal Hobart Hospital near his home. He also sends his bears to sick children all over the world, and has a special bear he makes, the Winning Bear, for cancer patients to hold onto during treatments and at those down times. He has even sent bears to victims of terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris. But it doesn’t end there …

More recently, Campbell started auctioning some of his bears on eBay, and donates all proceeds to charity.

“I put them online for auction for people to buy and all money goes to charity. My top bear sold for $5,000. On eBay they sell for about $1,000 to $2,000.”

Campbell says he lost count of how many bears he has made, but estimates it is somewhere between 1,200 – 1.400. His goal is to make a bear a day, or 365 per year. What I liked most about this young man is his attitude, his heart, when he said …

“Everyone can do something like this, it isn’t too hard to do it. I think the world would be a lot happier if everyone was kind and helpful and not mean, and if everyone had a teddy bear.”

Ryan Hickman

We are often amazed when young people start their own business, perhaps fresh out of college, or shortly thereafter. But I believe Ryan Hickman may qualify as the youngest person ever to start his own business. Ryan Hickman started his business at the ripe young age of 3½, and now, at age 7, is the CEO, manager, and sole employee of Ryan’s Recycling Company in Orange County, California.

When he was 3½ years old, Ryan Hickman visited the rePlanet recycling center in California, and found his life’s mission. The next day, standing in the family’s driveway with his dad, he pointed down the street and made an announcement: “My new business! I’m going to pick up all the cans and bottles from everyone in the neighborhood.” And that is just what he did!

To date, according to Ryan’s website, he has collected over 290,000 cans and bottles for recycling, and from his profits has donated nearly $6,000 to Pacific Marine Mammal Center. He has also managed to save some $11,000 from his profits, which his dad, Damion Hickman, says will go toward college. Ryan, however, has other ideas: he wants to buy a full-size trash truck and eventually become a garbage man. Any bets who wins that argument?

Last year, Ryan was invited to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres show, and Ellen then surprised him with a mini golf cart to help him with his recycling business, and also gave him a check for $10,000! When Ellen asked him why he likes recycling so much, he replied, “It’s because bottles get to the ocean and then animals get sick and die.”

He’s only seven years old, so it’s hard to predict what path this young man’s life will take, but one thing is for sure … he is doing good things and his heart is in the right place.

Haile Thomas

How many kids eat mostly healthy food? Probably not a lot, but 16-year-old Haile Thomas of Tucson, Arizona, is on a mission to change that. Haile’s mother began teaching Haile how to cook when she was only five years old. At age ten, after completing a Girls Making Media workshop, Haile was greatly inspired to share her cooking adventures with other kids and thus was launched her online cooking show, Kids Can Cook.

Haile Thomas does not just cook, but she COOKS! She puts me to shame, and I am fairly adept in the kitchen. In 2013 she appeared on the Today show and cooked black bean and corn quinoa salad with garlic shrimp and avocado, a dish she had previously cooked up for first lady Michelle Obama as part of the first Kids’ State Dinner.

“I started asking questions about where my food comes from and what I was eating.”

She signed up for the youth advisory board of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which aims to combat childhood obesity, and from there started working with local chefs doing cooking demonstrations.

“The alliance and the chefs really inspired me and got me to where I am now.”

Her show, Kids Can Cook, teaches kids how to prepare nourishing meals for themselves, with recipes that call for simple ingredients.

And if that’s not enough, Haile travels around the nation talking about her mission and has been awarded several grants for her service programs, HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Lifestyle) and the Healthy Girl Club. She is the founder and director of the Tucson-based HAPPY Organization, Inc., which serves to improve the health and wellness of Arizona youth and families.

“I hope to make a difference by inspiring other kids to embrace a healthy lifestyle, and become educated about how good and bad food affects their bodies, overall health and quality of life.”

And she’s only 16. She has most of the adults I know beat for understanding, practicing and teaching good nutritional values. Imagine what a difference this young woman will make. Move over Emeril!

I have two others, but I have already surpassed my self-imposed word limit, so I shall save them for another day. Friends … we see so much pure evil every day in the news, and I spend the bulk of my time writing about that evil. Every now and then, it does us all good to pull ourselves up out of the dark places and look around us, for when we do, we see that there are many, many people out there countering the evil, doing good things for others. These three young people serve as an inspiration, give us hope that perhaps all is not lost, and that there is still conscience and integrity in the world. My hat is off to these three and all the others out there doing good things. Until next Wednesday … SMILE!

Going Once, Going Twice …

Posted on September 15, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

Arguably the single most important issue facing the world today is climate change. In the throes of the current pandemic, and amidst the undeniably craziest election the U.S. has ever seen, we in this country seem to have largely forgotten about the damage that we humans have done to this planet over the past 100 years or so. The wildfires on the West Coast and the onslaught of hurricanes in recent years should have been a wake-up call, but … we are still focusing on other things, while the world burns. We are nearing the point of no return in our wanton disregard for the environment, yet few seem to care. Robert Reich speaks wise words …

Trump doesn’t care if wildfires destroy the west – it didn’t vote for him

Robert Reich

The climate crisis is upon us all but the president pursues more rollbacks. This election offers an existential choice

The air outside my window is yellow today. It was orange yesterday. The Air Quality Index is over 200. The Environmental Protection Agency defines this as a “health alert” in which “everyone may experience more serious health effects if they are exposed for 24 hours.” Unfortunately, the index has been over 200 for several days.

The west is burning. Wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington are incinerating homes, killing scores of people, sickening many others, causing hundreds of thousands to evacuate, burning entire towns to the ground, consuming millions of acres, and blanketing the western third of the United States with thick, acrid, and dangerous smoke.

Yet the president has said and done almost nothing. A month ago, Trump wanted to protect lives in Oregon and California from “rioters and looters.” He sent federal forces into the streets of Portland and threatened to send them to Oakland and Los Angeles.

Today, Portland is in danger of being burned, and Oakland and Los Angeles are under health alerts. Trump will visit California on Monday, but he has said little.

One reason: these states voted against him in 2016 and he still bears a grudge.

He came close to rejecting California’s request for emergency funding.

“He told us to stop giving money to people whose houses had burned down because he was so rageful that people in the state of California didn’t support him,” said former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor.

Another explanation for Trump’s silence is that the wildfires are tied to human-caused climate change, which Trump has done everything humanly possible to worsen.

Extreme weather disasters are rampaging across America. On Wednesday, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration released its latest State of the Climate report, finding that just in August, the US was hit by four billion-dollar calamities. In addition to wildfires, there were two enormous hurricanes and an extraordinary Midwest derecho.

These are inconvenient facts for a president who has spent much of his presidency dismantling every major climate and environmental policy he can lay his hands on.

Starting with his unilateral decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, Trump has been the most anti-environmental president in history.

He has called climate change a “hoax.” He has claimed, with no evidence, that windmills cause cancer. He has weakened Obama-era limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide from power plants and from cars and trucks. He has rolled back rules governing clean air, water and toxic chemicals. He has opened more public land to oil and gas drilling.

He has targeted California in particular, revoking the state’s authority to set tougher car emission standards than those required by the federal government.

In all, the Trump administration has reversed, repealed, or otherwise rolled back nearly 70 environmental rules and regulations. More than 30 rollbacks are still in progress.

Now, seven weeks before election day, with much of the nation either aflame or suffering other consequences of climate change, Trump unabashedly defends his record and attacks Joe Biden.

“The core of [Biden’s] economic agenda is a hard-left crusade against American energy,” Trump harrumphed in a Rose Garden speech last month.

Not quite. While Biden has made tackling climate change a centerpiece of his campaign, proposing to invest $2 trillion in a massive green jobs program to build renewable energy infrastructure, his ideas are not exactly radical. The money would be used for improving energy efficiency, constructing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, and increasing renewable energy from wind, solar, and other technologies.

Biden wants to end the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity by 2035, and to bring America to net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by no later than 2050. If what is now occurring in the west is any indication, his goals may be too modest. 2050 will be too late.

Nonetheless, Americans have a clear choice. In a few weeks, when they decide whether Trump deserves another four years, climate change will be on the ballot.

The choice shouldn’t be hard to make. Like the coronavirus, the dire consequences of climate change – coupled with Trump’s utter malfeasance – offer unambiguous proof that he couldn’t care less about the public good.

Snarky Snippets Is Baaaaack!

Posted on September 15, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

I have an overdose of snark tonight … it is turning my skin green, stopping up my right ear, and making steam come out of my nose! I think I am not well equipped for life in the 21^st century, and in fact I think I may be ill-equipped for life among the human species! Nonetheless, perhaps because I am too filled with snark tonight, I have only three brief ones …

Judge Brainless Twit rules against common sense …

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is one of the better governors in the nation, in my view. He cares about the people in his state, and it shows. Back at the beginning of the pandemic six months ago, he did as many governors of both parties did, ordering restrictions that required people to stay at home, placed size limits on gatherings and ordered “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down. The reason, of course, was to attempt to slow the spread of the lethal coronavirus in his state. This summer, he has lifted many of the restrictions, allowing businesses to reopen and canceling a statewide stay-at-home order.

In May, a lawsuit was filed by four Western Pennsylvania counties, as well as business owners and lawmakers, and their specific grievances included a March stay-at-home order that required all but “life-sustaining” businesses to close.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had already ruled in Governor Wolf’s favour in a previous, similar case, but this time the case landed in U.S. District Court and was heard by a Trump-appointed judge, Judge William Stickman IV. Yesterday, the Judge ruled in favour of the plaintiff’s and concluded that Governor Wolf’s lockdown orders had been unconstitutional.

“The court believes that defendants undertook their actions in a well-intentioned effort to protect Pennsylvanians from the virus. But even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered.”

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 🤬

Even the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld similar stay-at-home orders and forced business closures! Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states, and after this judge’s grossly incompetent ruling, I would not be surprised if there are even more. Y’know … republicans are screaming about their “constitutional rights” to keep businesses open, to congregate in bars, churches, and spas, but has it ever occurred to them that the only reason the state even needs to mandate these closures is because the people themselves are too damn stupid to use common sense to keep themselves and their families safe? Just another instance of fools putting profit over people.

He’s not concerned – he’s far away!

This past weekend, Trump held a couple of his infamous and insidious rallies in Nevada. The rallies that had been scheduled were cancelled due to state limitations on large gatherings, but Trump finally found a friend with a facility large enough to hold a few thousand people, so the Trump Freak Show was on. I know little about the rally, care even less about it, but when asked by a reporter asked about the safety factor, Trump claimed …

“I’m on a stage and it’s very far away. And so I’m not at all concerned.”

Nothing about the whether he was concerned for the safety of his supporters, thousands of whom showed up at the rally, or their families or others they might encounter and pass the virus on to, if it spread at his event. He’s not concerned because he is safe, and to hell with the thousands of his idiotic supporters who apparently also don’t care for their own or their family’s well-being! Ask me again why I think Trump supporters are lacking in both intellect and common sense!

Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak said that the president acted selfishly and irresponsibly, defying emergency directives and endangering efforts to get the state’s economy back on track after the pandemic. I would have loved to see the Nevada State Police show up and arrest Trump on charges of public endangerment and breaking the law forbidding large gatherings! And if he resisted, perhaps they could have followed the advice he has given to police officers … “Shoot him!” Wouldn’t have broken my heart.

Lay down Sally …

Hurricane Sally is rapidly intensifying and slowly edging toward the coastline of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, where it is forecast to push a dangerous surge ashore and unload tremendous rainfall through Wednesday.Since it is predicted to hit Alabama, at least Trump won’t have to get out his Sharpie this time.

While I do have several more topics on which I could deliver a bucket of snark, I am tired and growly, so I’ve enlisted the help of late night comedian Seth Meyers to give us his take on Bob Woodward’s new book, Rage, the previews, and Trump’s juvenile response. Heeeeeere’s Seth!

When Good People Don’t Act …

Posted on September 14, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Over the last couple of years, I have wondered how so many of my friends could seemingly ignore what was happening in this nation. It is as if they are oblivious to anything that is outside their own little world, as if they were wearing blinders and could not see the atrocities happening in our nation, but instead focus exclusively on what’s for supper, what concert they will go to next weekend, the cute little things their kids or grandkids said yesterday. As if … nothing has changed, life goes on, it isn’t their problem that kids are kept in cages, that more than a thousand people die every day from the coronavirus, fires are raging on the West Coast, climate change is taking a steep toll and we are doing less than nothing to stop it, and there is a madman at the helm who will soon drive this ship into an iceberg. None of that seems to bother far too many of the people I know. Where is the outrage? Do they simply not care?

The following by Charles Blow in yesterday’s New York Times mirrors my own thoughts, only much more eloquently than I can state them.

When Good People Don’t Act, Evil Reigns

Stop thinking that the horrors of the world will simply work themselves out.

Charles M. Blow

By Charles M. Blow

Opinion Columnist

I have often wondered how major world tragedies and horrors were allowed to unfold. Where were all the good people, those who objected or should have? How did life simply go on with a horror in their midst?

How did the trans-Atlantic slave trade play out over hundreds of years? How did slavery thrive in this country? How was the Holocaust allowed to happen? How did the genocides in Rwanda or Darfur come to be?

There is, of course, nearly always an explanation. Often it is official policy; often it is driven by propaganda. But I’m more concerned with how people in the society considered these events at the time, and how any semblance of normalcy could be maintained while events unfolded.

It turns out that our current era is providing the unsettling answer: It was easy.

As I write this, nearly two hundred thousand Americans have died — many of them needlessly — from Covid-19, in large part because the Trump administration has refused to sufficiently address the crisis, be honest with the American people and urge caution. Instead, Trump has lied about the virus, downplayed it, resisted scientists’ warnings and continues to hold rallies with no social distancing and no mask requirements.

Things are poised to get worse: Models now predict that the number of Americans killed by the virus could double between now and Jan. 1. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington:

“We expect the daily death rate in the U.S., because of seasonality and declining public vigilance, to reach nearly 3,000 a day in December. Cumulative deaths expected by Jan. 1 are 415,090; this is 222,522 deaths from now until the end of the year.”

And yet, Americans still flock to Trump rallies, Republicans continue to defend his pandemic response and it is not clear that he will be defeated in November. We are, in many states, back to restaurants and bars, schools and churches, gyms and spas. It’s not as if we don’t know that there is a deadly virus being transmitted through the air, but it seems as though many Americans, weary of restrictions, have simply made their peace with it.

We have a climate crisis that continues to worsen. Storms are getting stronger. Droughts are severe. Rivers are flooding. The sea level is rising. And yet, we don’t do nearly enough to stop it and may not do enough before it’s too late to do anything.

Right now much of the West Coast is ablaze with hellish scenes of orange skies, and yet too many of us entertain climate change deniers, or, perhaps worse, know well the gravity and precariousness of the situation and still haven’t changed our habits or voted for the candidates with the boldest visions to save the planet.

Right now, China has detained as many as one million mostly Muslim citizens, in indoctrination camps, hoping to remold many into what The New York Times called “loyal blue-collar workers to supply Chinese factories with cheap labor.”

And yet, the world does little. Many look away. Life goes on.

This is how these catastrophes happen — in full sight — and people with full knowledge don’t revolt. People sometimes think that the issue is far away, or if it’s not, that it’s too big and they are too powerless.

They think provincially, or even parochially, concerned with their own house, their own street, their own community.

“It’s too bad that those children are in cages, but I can’t worry about that now, the clothes in the dryer need folding.”

“It’s too bad that an unarmed Black man just got shot by the police, but I can’t worry about that now, the yard needs mowing.”

I guess in some ways this impulse is self-protecting, preventing the mind and spirit from becoming overwhelmed with angst and rage. But, the result is that evil — as a person or system — rampages, unchecked, taking your personal laissez-faire as public license.

If you don’t complain, you condone.

But this mustn’t be. Stop thinking of yourself as weak or helpless. Stop thinking that things will simply work themselves out. Stop thinking that evil will stop at the gate and not trample your own garden.

Gather the energy. Gather your neighbor. Fight, vote, email, post. Do all you can to stand up for the vulnerable, for the oppressed, for the planet itself. Don’t let history record this moment as it has recorded too many others: a time when good people did too little to confront wickedness and disaster.

As Edmund Burke wrote in his 1770 “Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents”: “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”

But you may be more familiar with another quote often attributed to Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

The Week’s Best Cartoons 9/12

Posted on September 13, 2020 by jilldennison under 9/11, Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Every week, our friend TokyoSand searches high and low for the best political cartoons of the week. This week was no exception. TS has had some WordPress issues this week (we can all relate to that, I think!) and so I cannot re-blog her post in the usual way, but can only include a link. I do hope you’ll pop over and check them out! Thank you, TS, for all your amazing work!

A roundup of cartoons from the nation’s best editorial cartoonists reacting to this week’s top news stories.

Source: The Week’s Best Cartoons 9/12