What Have WE Become?

Crude, crash, and most likely heretical. I'm referring to those in the MAGA movement. Even after all this time, I STILL cannot understand the support for this man and his teachings. Thankfully/hopefully, he will get the truth and justice he deserves. I truly hope he gets the fairest trial America has ever seen. Of course, if he is convicted, he will claim it's all political and nothing more than a witch hunt, then scream “Hunter's Laptop!” Or “What about her emails?!” OR “Impeach Biden!” Diversionary tactics, hate, and division keep his spirit alive in this country. I have also come under the spell of hatred, and that makes me angry and ashamed. I hate how his brand of politics has fractured this great country. I hate how it has made racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and so many other forms of hatred OK for so many. I hate the war on treating others with respect and dignity—the so-called Anti-Woke agenda. I hate DeSantis' war on diversity. And all these hatreds fester in me and bubble up when I see a red MAGA hat or a "Take America Back" bumper sticker or one of the many TRUMP or DeSantis signs here in Florida. But the flags are the worst. They may also reveal a truth for so many flying these disgusting banners. That truth being that the flag waivers pledge more loyalty to the name on the flag that the country and principals in which they live. 

For so many years, this country has been a beacon of hope to the world. A promise that things can be better. Of course, we still have a legion of problems that need to be corrected. While individuals have the ability to achieve their American success story, whatever that may be, we still have institutional racism. The indigenous peoples in this country are still, for the most part, living in third-world conditions. Our education system is not the gold standard for the world and should be. Our infrastructure is crumbling. The three branches of our government that should provide checks-and-balances is rife with payola and graft. Our justice system is an ideological and political cesspool. The press, our last defense against all of this hate, selfishness, and political corruption, is itself corrupted by ideological hate and corporate interests. The deregulation of the telecommunications industry has allowed an unhealthy consolidation of media outlets, further putting what we want to believe as truth and facts into silos. Deregulation, in theory, creates competition among suppliers, but technological advances, the internet, and market conditions have created a homogeneous cesspool. We have too many spineless reporters who refuse to challenge those who twist the truth claiming their outright lies as fact. We are living in a world mired in gas lighting and doublespeak where so many reporters are either too lazy or too scared of the consequences . That said, we still have reporters who are doing the mostly thankless hours of digging and unearthing the actual terrible truths. We should, and must, give them the protections guaranteed by the Constitution, and the thanks for helping to hold our public servants and corporations in check. 

We are better than this America. I am better than this.