If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.

Thomas Jefferson

 

…is what allowed the Twitter-toddler Trump to become president of the most powerful nation on earth. And not speaking about politics doesn’t make our problems disappear much the same way that not talking about your problems in a troubled marriage, only allows the marriage to slowly disintegrate.

 

A healthy nation requires hard work & open communication. And “not talking about politics,” only allows the same destructive habits i.e. the Trumps of America to go on wreaking damage & causing havoc.

 

I have been commanded to shut-up or leave many taverns over the years & it’s always the same old excuse i.e. no talking about politics but I’ve seen it time & time again, what they really mean is; Liberals keep your fucking mouths shut!

 

This tragic state of affairs is more common here in small towns made up of mostly hunters & fishermen where there are often only two radio stations, one for the Bible-thumpers & the other that broadcasts Rush Limbaugh & FOX “News.”

 

To begin with, FOX “News,” shouldn’t have ever been allowed to call itself a news organization. It’s America’s version of Russia’s largest newspaper, Pravda. But I’m sure that the overwhelming majority of FOX viewers & listeners don’t realize that it’s almost entirely propaganda for the Right-wing corporate owners & the 1% who own America. FOX is mostly loud-mouthed, fear & hate spewing opinion & that’s not news my friends!

 

Actual news is supposed to be facts, not editorializing but our journalistic standards have been slowly deteriorating ever since they began turning it into infotainment. But the King of the Liars Club, Trump hides his duplicity by labeling anyone & everyone who dares to point out his hypocrisy, inconsistency, & manipulations as “fake news.” He’s admitted that he does this, so his critics lose credibility & he’s allowed to go on lying & very rarely is held accountable.

Don’t fall for Trump’s doublespeak on “fake news”

Trump, the scum-bucket used to pose as someone else & call in to news programs & other shows to plant lies about him being much richer than he actually was in his early days. So, he truly has some nerve calling reporters “fake news” every other time he opens his mouth.

 

A long time back, I dubbed FOX “News,” the Fear & Hate channel because if you watch or listen to it for even an hour, it’s as obvious as the nose on your face that these are the two emotional buttons they push around the clock. Like Hitler & countless other dictators whom Trump admires, they know that by keeping the public worked-up, you can distract them while you rob the national treasury.

 

Moreover, as long as people are emotionally reacting, they’re not thinking, writing, or talking about the serious issues that affect their lives. It has deeply saddened me to watch this process go on & on & on for most of my adult life. I am not only silenced in public bars but even in friends & relatives’ homes because I disturb the otherwise happy environment.

 

And it would be almost humorous if it weren’t so destructive, but most people don’t even realize that they are being hypocritical when they command me to not talk about politics because whenever the subject of gun ownership comes up, they’re immediately fired-up.

 

“They want to take away your guns!” The corporate cockroaches have been using this chestnut for decades because it works every time & closes peoples’ minds instantly on whatever subject they may be discussing. It’s a tried & true part of the three Gs i.e. God, Guns, & Gays!

 

Keep the bewildered herd distracted by invoking these three “issues,” and nothing else matters. For the past 20 years or better, I try to tactfully point out to those who seem somewhat reasonable, so, you’re not interested in politics?

 

That’s in effect saying that you don’t care if they shutdown your company & move overseas where they can pay their workers as little as $2 a day. Or you don’t care if the Wall St. wolves steal your company’s pension plan. And so, if they overnight cancel your health insurance, no big deal! The fact that the rich are purposely destroying our public education system doesn’t mean shit, right? And the fact that without a top-notch education, your children have a snowball’s chance in Hell of finding a decent paying career. Take a look at Betsy DeVos’s track record if you think I’m full of it.

I could go on with hundreds of examples of how politics does matter to each & every one of us, but I’ve given you enough to chew on already. Try putting yourself in my shoes for a minute if you will, my imaginary reader. I have conservatively invested at least 50,000 hours of my time & energy over the past 40 years or better in reading, researching, writing, listening, & watching documentaries, attending lectures, etc. and I am silenced by either threats of being 86ed out of a bar, physical intimidation, social exclusion, etc.

 

I have only one outlet & that is my writing which hardly anyone will take the time to read. It may take 15 minutes to read one of my essays, but people say they don’t have the time. Yet they will watch T.V., movies, etc. for several hours a day.

 

I contend that if a lot more of us would’ve had lively discussions, fair debates without attacking the other person’s character, etc., we never would’ve ended-up with such a dangerous moron as Trump in the oval office.

What do we try to teach our children as they grow? Responsibility is a major lesson we hope to teach them, right? Well, as our founding fathers tried to teach us, it’s our responsibility to inform ourselves & to hold our government accountable to we, the people. How are we doing in that department my friends?

 

I accuse Trump of being the most dangerous president who ever was because there are two major threats to humanity’s survival; 1) the rapid destruction of our environment which is caused by our climate’s inability to keep up with technological waste due to the insatiable greed of the corporate cockroaches; 2) the threat of nuclear war. The mind-boggling stupidity of Trump in this area in particular is nightmarish. He actually asked those who were trying to inform him about our nuclear arsenal, “I don’t get it, why can’t we use our nuclear weapons i.e. since we have them, why don’t we use them?

 

In conclusion, without a doubt, the most heinous crime of this con artist, woman hater, etc. was his not only blocking but also undermining the Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, etc. in their efforts to prepare us for the COVID 19 pandemic which led directly to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans’ lives!

 

And to continue to refuse to discuss politics i.e. liberals’ points of views, speaks volumes about what we have allowed ourselves to become!

 

—Rob DeLoss, Gold Beach, OR December 21, 2020

 

Addendum

 

I may not have been quite as clear as I want to be regarding talking about politics in bars? The regulars or locals are free to complain about the actions or inactions of their local government, planning commission, etc. & they can get as loud as they like in condemning liberals or progressives on abortion, protests, homosexual rights, etc. and you can bash the federal government to your heart’s content.

Here are a few things those dirty Liberals gave us:

• The GI Bill
• Endangered Species Act
• Environmental Laws
• The Space Program
• The Peace Corps
• Americorps
• The Civil Rights Movement
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Family & Medical Leave Act
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Americans With Disabilities Act
• Freedom of Information Act
• Women’s right to control their reproductive future
• Allowing citizens to view their own credit records
• The Internet
• Balancing the federal budget
• The Brady Bill (5-day wait on handgun purchases for background checks)
• Lobbying Disclosure Act
• “Motor-Voter” Act
• The Voting Rights Act
• Unemployment Insurance
• Medicare/Medicaid
• Food Stamps/WIC
• Social Security
• Peace between Israel and Egypt
• Peace between Israel and Jordan
• The Department of Education
• The Department of Energy
• The Department of Transportation
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Labor Laws
• The Marshall Plan
• Winning World War II
• Food Safety Laws
• Workplace Safety Laws
• The Tennessee Valley Project
• The Civilian Conservation Corps
• The Securites and Exchange Commission
• Women’s Right to Vote
• Universal Public Education
• National Weather Service
• Product Labeling Laws
• Truth in Advertising Laws
• Morrill Land Grant Act
• Rural Electrification
• Public Universities
• Bank Deposit Insurance (FDIC)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Public Broadcasting
• Supporting the establishment of Israel
• The United Nations
• NATO

 

But if you dare to defend some aspects of our federal government or criticize our foreign policy, watch out! In brief, as long as you tow the party line i.e. Limbaugh, FOX “News,” & Alex Jones’ insane conspiracy theories since his buddy, the spoiled, rich brat & bully, Donald of the Duck Dynasty Klan was illegally installed in the White House, you are free to speak your “mind.”

Herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he had no desire for that of which he feels no want.