"I was only following orders...." We've heard that line before. And we're in danger of the same thing that happened to the Germans. People refused to stand up and question authority out of peer pressure, and later out of fear. And as the Nuremberg trials showed, this was inexcusable and was a betrayal of a great nation.
We now have a corrupt leader in Washington, DC who is not being openly challenged by his own political party. They are only interested in being in power, and not the purpose of being in power - to govern. Gradually, we're seeing the state houses pass laws which are meant to restrict the right to peaceably assembly and protest wrongful actions by government.
The most egregious offenses may yet come from the Federal Government. We're seeing provisions meant to protect whistle blowers being repealed by executive order. We're seeing an attack on a health care plan, that in spite of its many flaws, has succeeded in bringing health care to millions who were not able to afford health care before. We're seeing an attack on Women's rights by extremists who want to limit a woman's access to birth control AND prohibit her from having the choice of having an abortion if that birth control method fails. We're seeing attacks on the LGBT community, by attempts to ignore the community's existence AND remove protections established by both the courts and executive orders. We're seeing a rollback of environmental safeguards, as well as ceasing to collect data which helps to prove that global warming is real.
Yet, what offends me most is not what one might expect from a "far right" shift in government. Instead, it is that "far right" government has been enabling a president to betray his country. Our president is tainted by his direct and indirect connections to the Russian oligarchy. The GOP fears betraying the man who would betray us all. They still act as if he is a leader who should be respected - even though he shows no loyalty to those below him.
Several times over the past couple of years, my friends and I have discussed the alarming signs that America is about to have a Fascist government. Most of these friends are on the left, and never would have voted for a Republican candidate. However, today I had a similar discussion with a friend who never likes anything coming from the left - and even she is seeing the signs of Fascism coming from the right. If this doesn't make a person think, I don't know what does....
Hopefully, I am wrong. And I hope that the midterm elections make it possible for the left to check and balance the current unchecked power of the right. Only time will tell....
If anyone thinks that this election is about anything other than money, then I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Both major party candidates are in it for the money, and both represent what is wrong about the system.
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Let's start with Donald Trump. He represents what is most objectionable about the current GOP. He acknowledges that he has bought and sold politicians in the past. Reputable news sources state that his business deals have served to make himself rich at the expense of others - including his business partners. And he suffers no embarrassment from making almost everything he says a lie - appealing to potential voters' more primitive brain functions, instead of their intellect. When he says that he loves ignorant people - he means it!
We have a large number of people who have been lied to for years. The political elite from the GOP has ignored the needs of the common people. They have told us that cutting taxes will result in greater tax revenue as well as more jobs available to the common person - and we know this to be false (anecdotally) from recent experience. (I'm not saying this can not be true, but we had no proof of where we were on the Laffer Curve, and whether our tax rates were high enough to slow down the economy.) The GOP has not changed its tune, and the public has seen work move overseas or get automated out of existence. To the GOP elite, the common people are serfs for whom they have no responsibility, and we have suffered because of this attitude.
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Before one gets to thinking that Hillary Clinton is that great, one has to examine her record. Even though she has advocated some good things (such as healthcare reform), she is equally corrupt. For example, in this election cycle, she has changed her tune on TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership - a trade deal which could negatively affect American employment) from being for it to being against it, only to get the votes that might be cast by Bernie Sanders supporters. Most people believe that once she is elected, she will change her tune on TPP without any significant changes being made to the deal. In short, she will betray her supporters in order to get power.
What would Hillary do when she gets power? Well, she has sucked on the teat of Wall Street for years. It is no coincidence that the Clinton Family wealth has gone from a book value of almost zero (when Bill Clinton left office, as noted by the deal that gave him a mortgage on their Chappaqua, NY house) to over $100 million today (as estimated by the news outlets). Does anyone think that she would support policies that benefit the common person over the lords of Wall Street? I think not.
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So where does this leave us? Do we vote for a revolution led by one of the people who gained the most from exploiting a corrupt system, and has never had to run a system of any size by himself? Or, do we vote to put a competent, but corrupt leader in charge - and defer the revolution to another day. In the end, it's all about "the Benjamins" (slang for $100 bills). Do we want to run the economic risk posed by putting a potentially incompetent leader in charge? Or, do we accept the corruption we know from a competent leader? Either way we're screwed. The only difference is - how bad it may be for us.
