Recently, we celebrated the 244th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the birth of the United States, our home. That evening, as it was growing dark, I reflected on past July 4th twilight. Those hushed moments of anticipation just before the fireworks began exploding around the city. Looking from my second-floor windows, I would see faint ring fairy lights glittering on the horizon. There would be a constant mumbling of distant thunder. Not this year. The world has changed, and the air is still. The old expectation was there but the evening was empty. Local revelers who once entertained until midnight were few. It seemed that their efforts were half-hearted, plaintive.
During the day, we Americans celebrated the birth of the United States, the Great American Experiment. When the Founders created our Union, they consciously posed fundamental questions about human nature and the contest between Freedom and Responsibility. Questions that require every generation is required to answer.
Can we, a free people, govern ourselves fairly and wisely?
Can we be just and compassionate?
Can we live independent lives and still work for the good of all?
Can we remain a United States?
Or will we succumb to the ancient evils?
Will self-interest prevail over the common good?
Will the allure of corrupting power pervert our society and government?
Will we sacrifice our individual freedoms for the false promises of security and stability?
Will we turn on each other?
Today, those answers have never been in greater doubt.
Like our ancestors, we are in a fight to the death for our nation. Our Founders fought Britain with its belligerent Monarchy and nearsighted Parliament while struggling with monarchists at home.
We struggle against a tsunami of adversaries. We battle global pandemic that has killed at least 138,000 Americans since January. We fight a coup d’état by a rebel President, Republican Party, wealthy Elite, and fellow citizens who have been deceived. We wage an unrelenting campaign against the existential threat of Climate Change and a poisoned Environment. We combat international foes who sabotage our politics, attack our people, and harass allies abroad. We brutalize ourselves with racism and bigotry.
We are in the last days of our Democracy. We are losing our rights and freedoms, bit-by-bit, each day. We only have the time between now and Election Day to stop the final conquest of the United States by the traitorous rebels.
COVID-19: An Analog of America
O say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad strips and bright stars,
Through the perilous night.
O’er the patients we watched,
Who were so badly bleeding?
And the flashing red lights glare,
The lungs thirsting for air,
Gave proof through the night,
That help still was not here.
O say does that blood-spattered banner,
Still wave?
Or the home of the deceived,
And the land of the graves?
The COVID-19 disaster is an analogy for the state of our nation and people today. The virus, invisible and deadly, is burning its way through our nation, attacking us physically and spiritually. The response to the disease is fragmented. Some areas bring down the illness using science and reason. Others challenge the experts, do little or nothing while claiming that everything is alright, even though infections, hospitalizations and deaths are soaring. Credible information is hard to get because our government is systematically silencing the CDC and public health experts as quickly as possible. The President and his administration cover their lethal mishandling of the crisis by scapegoating the people who were doing the most to protect us. It is a pattern we see time and again across our nation. A pattern dealing with racial injustice, free speech, healthcare, climate change and our environment.
The world we lived in before New Year’s Day, 2020 is gone forever. To survive the new one and save our nation and people, we need to accept this new reality and adapt to it. This will require that we must pull together and make sacrifices. We need to vote in a government that is concerned about our welfare and can provide wise, farsighted leadership. We need to look after each other.
Our new reality is hard to accept. Some people are having difficulty, or are unwilling, to adapt to the new world we live in. They are confused by the contrary messages flooding our news and media. They believe the disease afflicting our nation is not as serious as stated. It attacks others but not them. Some are convinced that the pandemic is a political hoax. A few even imagine that it attacks those who are less deserving or inferior. Some must be sacrificed so that we can revive our economy. Personal sacrifice is too much to ask and it is more important to return to the past, ignoring the hard lessons and the deadly consequences. The pain of others is not important.
Sadly, a portion of the public has chosen to ignore our reality and act on their mistaken beliefs. They have decided to impose their destructive will on the rest of us.
Consequences
Currently in the U.S., there are over 3,400,000 cases of CVOID-19 with over 138,000 Americans dead. We see our healthcare systems pushed to their breaking points. Sadly, this time the curve is not flattening. It continues to build. Our nation leads the world in cases reported and deaths. In a list of nations and their response to the contagion, the US ranks at the bottom along with Russia and Brazil.
Since January we have been on a rollercoaster ride with soaring rates of disease, hospital admissions, and deaths. Followed by responses from some cities and states requiring common sense actions, self-quarantine, social distancing, wearing masks, and when necessary, closing all gatherings including work. In these places the spread of the coronavirus slowed along with fewer infections, admissions, and deaths. Elsewhere, cities and states decided to employ halfhearted measures or continue business as usual. A vocal minority pushed to reopen the nation which happened in most states. As predicted, the virus came back with a vengeance, which is where we are now. And yet, Trump and his administration continue to push for a return to normal, a fantasy, and many states follow along.
We, as citizens of the US, are no longer welcome internationally. Countries that have exercised self-discipline, followed expert advice, brought down the contagion, and successfully reopened their societies, do not want us around. Japan has told the US military that replacement service personnel are not welcome. Our handling of the virus has made us too dangerous to be allowed in civilized society.
Understandably, we want to return to work and stability. The economic impact of the virus has devastated America’s Main Street, both Labor and the Middle Class. Millions of us are facing eviction from apartments and family homes. Our savings are evaporating, and poverty is like a wildfire sweeping through a forest. Our economy needs rescue.
Similarly, our society is suffering. We are social beings and crave contact with family, friends, and the world at large. We attend our houses of worship and join public service groups to share common values and to work together. We gather in bars, restaurants, theaters, parks, and stadiums because we need to share common experiences.
However, to reopen safely and without a resurgence of illness and death, it is necessary that all of us participate in the effort to stop the spread of the disease. It is a sign of respect towards ourselves and our communities to wear masks, practice social distancing and self-quarantine, and when necessary, comply with stay-at-home orders. There is much that we can do individually, in our local communities and states. But, complete success requires that our government provide effective, humane guidance and ensure that resources are available in sufficient quantities to defeat the disease.
As of today, we remain fragmented, our government is sabotaging our efforts, and we can clearly see the consequences.
We do not need to continue down our fatal path. We are a free people, living in a Democracy that represents the will of we the people. If our government refuses to consider our welfare, then we are empowered to replace it with one that will.
Freedom Is Not Free
Personal freedom is often used as a reason for ignoring the public health practices required to combat COVID-19. In the name of Freedom people claim the right to act irresponsibly. This an irresponsible freedom which is anarchy.
As a nation we have forgotten the that with freedom comes responsibility and with greater freedom we have in the US, greater responsibility. To succeed, we need to find the balance between our personal freedom and its impact on the freedom of others.
American Democracy is the freest form of a society yet devised. And, over time we have come to realize that our freedom grows when all members our society are able to participate. It is not easy. Our Democracy is the most difficult form of government possible because it demands from all its citizens to make the effort to be continually informed and engaged in governing ourselves. We must come together, and thinking of the greater good, hammer out a compromise that we can agree on. Strongman governments are appealing because it is simpler to let someone else do the tedious work of being informed, considering alternative points of view, discussing them face to face, finding a solution, and deciding.
One of the fundamental truths of a democracy is: A free society is only as free as its most vulnerable members. These are the people with little political power or the ability to use it, people of color, poor and homeless, old, infirm, ignorant, and those on the edges of our society.
Just like other societies, we maintain social order with traditions and rules that reflect our beliefs and values. When our traditions and rules limit the freedom of other people, we undermine the stability of our society and create a threat to our own security. If one group of Americans can oppress another, in time, the situation will change and what goes around comes around. Someone else will make the rules. To think otherwise is hubris.
Paradoxically, when we restrict someone else’s freedom, we place the same limitation on ourselves. For instance, freedom of speech. If criticism of the government is denied the Left, it is also restricted for those on the Right who have differences of opinion with the government, even though they support it. The issue is not freedom of speech, it is expressing criticism. A government that is unwilling to hear the criticism of its opposition is just as unwilling to hear criticism from its own members.
Criticism is a creative force that a wise government uses to improve its understanding of its people’s needs and aspirations. Stifling comment by our government deprives it the wealth of ideas that could lead to solutions to our problems.
Excluding us from full participation in our government and society denies us the opportunity to develop to our full potential and the ability to contribute fully to America. Our government by refusing to accept the talents, ideas, and engagement of a segment of our people is hobbled by its ignorance. It is inherently inefficient and wasteful. It will inevitably fail.
The Death of Freedom
American Democracy requires that we participate in our self-governance. It begins by ensuring that all our children receive a rigorous education about America and the United States. Our public schools must teach truthful classes in history and civics, principles of citizenship and democratic governance. Our freedoms are strongest when we all understand that our individual freedoms are dependent on those same freedoms for others.
Our current crisis is because we have neglected our duties as free Americans. We have chosen to let someone else do all the work, relying on our elected officials to do the thinking while we go about our lives. We no longer stay informed or actively participate in our self-governance. We have permitted the news media to be commercialized. Comprehensive, nuanced news reporting has been reduced to sports reporting with winning and losing, game highlights and sound bites. Commercial news is spineless. Most often mediocre and disingenuous, our news is crafted not to inform but rather, not offend the marketplace. Our news accepts without fact checking or editorial challenge, unsupported opinions, and blatant lies, which allows them to masquerade as legitimate points of view. We have seen the rise of alternative facts and truths.
We have unknowingly consented to being led by a traitorous President and equally traitorous Republican party, whose coup d’état is almost complete. Working for a wealthy elite, they have strangled our democracy and begun stripping us of our freedoms, beginning with the most vulnerable who cannot defend themselves.
We Americans are turning into an oppressed people. We just have not allowed ourselves to see it or act.
Our Oppressors are well known to us. Their goals are clear too. They want to control every aspect of our lives to maximize their power and wealth. COVID-19, the Opioid crisis, climate change, a poisoned environment, and restricting healthcare are examples of the opinion our Oppressors have of us. They do not care if we live or die, so long as we produce, consume, and line their pockets. They are Vampires sucking the life out of us.
Vampires
The people wanting total control over us have an addiction. It is never being satisfied and always wanting more. J. Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, was asked if with his vast wealth when was enough, enough? He replied that he needed, “Just a little more.” It is the mantra of gamblers, investors, and the wealthy. Just a little more. It has turned the upper stratum of our society into economic Vampires.
There is a rule of diminishing returns that applies to growing wealthy. Return is how productive a dollar is as it winds its way through the economy. The highest return comes from the dollars spent by the poor. Every dollar they receive they spend, returning it immediately to the living economy where someone else will use it productively. Average people who have savings, retirement accounts or own a home return a significant percentage of their dollars to the economy through daily spending. What they temporarily withhold from the dynamic economy is returned during retirement or after death.
As we become wealthier, we return less to our living economy. At some point, we make more than we need to live comfortably. We move our excess income into investments that generate more wealth which we reinvest rather than spend, thus withdrawing ever more money from our productive economy. This creates a closed loop where wealth is continuously extracted from the living economy at an increasing rate. Eventually, our hard work and increasing productivity cannot keep up with the draining of our economy and we arrive at the place we are today, a plummeting quality of life with an escalating rise in illness and death.
Just A Little More
Research has shown that chasing wealth and power is an addiction accompanied by paranoia. We become trapped in the pursuit of more wealth and power. Just a little more. We become obsessively worried about losing what we have. We grow suspicious of the intentions of others and think that they are trying to take advantage of us, particularly those that we judge undeserving.
In our society there is a belief that wealth and power are the measures of a person’s success and that this indicates superiority that is worthy of privilege. It is a remnant from the ages of Kings and Tyrants. Dangerously, this belief implies that those with less – us – are inferior and undeserving. We are lazy, stupid, immoral and the rest of the negative stereotypes used to demean others.
These beliefs have grave consequences. Excessive wealth is what defines the Elite and their privileges. They have access to social resources that the rest of us do not. They are healthier, safer, better educated and have access to information that we do not. They are members of an elite community that looks out for their shared interests, promotes their further accumulation of wealth, and ensures their control over the rest of us.
Over the decades wealthy elite have expanded control of our government and economy. They have taken an ever-greater share of the wealth that we produce. This has been done by reducing their taxes and increasing their profits, while sharing less with us, the people who work, keep our nation intact, and our economy whirring along. The result is that the costs of our society are shifted more and more onto the rest of us. In the end, we do not have the resources necessary to implement the programs that will make life more prosperous and secure for all Americans. Resources that we created by our efforts.
The Deadly Trap of Control
Our wealthy elite have a pathological need to control us. Unknowingly, in their effort to limit our freedoms, they limit their own. Actions that would make our county more prosperous and stable cannot be used because they would require relaxing controls on our freedoms and acknowledging the value of outcast groups. Oppressive control guarantees that our nation will fail. It already is.
Controlling us is a desperate struggle to lockdown our nation. We see a growing resentment within our American family. Peaceful resistance is spreading across the nation. In response there have been violent reprisals. It is a common thread in our history. Peaceful protests are met with hysteria, lies, and vicious attacks both verbal and physical. The trap for Trump, Republicans, and the Elite is that they have limited responses to choose from and all of them are destructive. Currently, they think that they have the upper hand but, in reality they are already trapped in a corner.
A Government Is as Strong as Its Foundation
Oppressive control means that all of us live in fear and uncertainty. None of us can reach our full potential or find happiness, thus smothering the vitality of our nation. We have forgotten the fundamental rule of architecture and society. A structure is only as strong as its foundation. The more the foundation of our freedom is corrupted the weaker, less stable it becomes. Eventually the weight of injustice above our foundation becomes unbearable and our nation crumbles. Bringing everything down including our elite. The pinnacle of the pyramid ends up in a jumble in the dust along with all the wreckage of our lives.
Our government survives only so long as our freedoms are maintained and not burdened by deceit and greed.
We are the people who make up the bedrock on which all else is built. We make the economy work through our creativity, effort, and sacrifice. We are the markets that consume and complete the circle of our economy. We are the impoverished, working poor, day laborers, trade people, wage earners and salaried. We are the teachers, nurses, social workers, police, and other professionals who are required to take greater responsibility for our expanding functions even though resources are dwindling.
Restoring Democracy and the United States
Despite all of this, we can restore our freedoms and the promise of the United States. We have the tools and strength to restore our democracy and ensure that our freedoms and opportunities are shared by all.
It begins by remembering that we are the nation. We are fighting for our lives and the lives of our families, and all our fellow Americans. We are strong because we are the ones that make the economy work. Our foes may think that their wealth is indispensable but if we go down their money, stocks and bonds, real estate and gated communities are worthless. Our unity makes us invincible.
We must be alert and informed, know and understand the issues. What is the impact on ourselves and fellow citizens in other racial, social, and economic communities? We need to demand that our local governments take substantive actions to protect all of us from the threats of political corruption, disease, racism and bigotry, the destruction of our climate and environment, and the other ills facing us. We need to keep the pressure up on many levels. We also need to support our local and national organizations that serve the vulnerable in our communities, such as food shelves, churches, local charities, and advocating for public agencies like social services and public housing.
It is critical that we become actively engaged in our self-governing by communicating our concerns and ideas to our public officials, at all levels. Even the most recalcitrant politician pays attention to what their constituents have to say. Not all but some will respond to the outpouring of the people’s will and change will occur.
Most importantly VOTE. Demand that voter suppression must stop and that every American will be able to participate in a secure vote, safely and efficiently, as with Vote By Mail.
Summary
COVID-19 is a good analogy for all the problems facing us.
Our freedom is at risk because some of us have forgotten that our freedoms are not free. We must share our freedoms equally among all of us while remembering that we are responsible for our actions, they have an impact they have on others, and we must act accordingly.
At the present we are controlled by people who care little about our lives or its quality. Our government is controlled by rebels and financed by wealthy elite. They are betraying our nation and our ideals. Americans are dying by the hundreds daily because of them. These conspirators hide their rapacious greed with their murderous manipulation of the Pandemic. They lie relentlessly trying to divide and weaken us. They work steadily to destroy our climate and environment to maximize their wealth. The collude with our foreign enemies and encourage them to interfere in our politics and relationships with our allies. They are traitors.
Even so, we, the American people, hold the ultimate power. Through unified effort we can restore our nation and the values that make the American Dream special. Freedom, responsibly exercised and shared equally with all, will finally make it possible for every American to reach their full potential and follow their unique path in search of happiness.
Insist
Resist
Persist
Prevail