You Are Giants

Today a member of the British parliament was assassinated, Jo Cox.  The American equivalent would be a member of the House of Representatives.  Before and after shooting, the assailant proclaimed “Britain First!” and then stabbed Ms. Cox.  She died shortly after.

This assassination is just as deplorable and dangerous as the Orlando night club attack.  The difference is that no one is calling the assassination an assassination.  She was tragically killed.  The most important vote of UK’s parliament in decades, maybe ever, is coming on June 23rd, a decision affecting the ENTIRE world.  The slaying of a voting member deciding this fate is simply ‘murdered’ by a man screaming the popular slogan of her opposition?  This was political, this is an assassination and it scares the hell out of me.  Before I continue lets briefly look at the vote and what’s at stake:

The European Union is a disaster.  It enables countries that don’t produce a free ride on the backs of countries that do produce.   Anyone who thinks they are entitled to retire before 50, not because they have the bank account to support them for an additional fifty years, but simply because they have existed and put in time producing carbon dioxide, for less than 40 hours a week mind you, is a total buffoon.  These lazy countries are bankrupting the entire system.  Why wouldn’t countries who support these deadbeats not want to leave the slackers behind?

“Britain First!” is more than just a slogan for MP Cox’s opposition, it represents a purely nationalistic fervor, a nationalistic fervor that the entire world is beginning to experience for the first time in nearly 100 years.  Nationalists gave rise to towering villains: Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao, Tojo and Franco.  Do you see any similarities in global leaders today to these individuals?  Think about that while you consider your vote for President.

There isn’t a country on earth that isn’t drawing close within itself.  Everyone is becoming more isolationist, stronger borders, tighter trade, constructing weapons and defending territories. Russian battalions are digging into their Eastern European border and investing heavily in their submarine fleet.  They declared recently that the US is not welcome to patrol the Black Sea, as if it is exclusively Russian waters now.  Similarly, the Chinese government warned the US that large swaths of the South Asian Sea were now off limits.  They too are rushing to arms creating man-made island fortresses throughout the South Asian Sea.  They have been equipping these bases since the beginning of 2016.

These regions are in total peace.  Isn’t this an odd overreaction to…what exactly?

Tensions are growing and peoples are isolating themselves from the global culture.  When this happens voices of reason retract from the argument of sanity.  Historically, when times get scary the populace grasps for any promise of safety, and the strongman- confident and brash -calms the skittish and comes to the rescue.

If you open your eyes and look around at the state of global affairs we are entering dark times.  However, it is not a period we shall fear.  I know, our “leaders” are a joke.  They are not the best among us, they are not the best of who we want to be.  They are not the best of what we wish our children to become and they are not representative to the positions of honor they reside.  Fear not.  The greatest leaders are already here.  They walk among us as average extraordinary people and are swelling in number behind feeble nets of fear and time.  They will rescue humanity again.

You will be made to see, you are giants.

A Recommendation to Mr. Donald Trump

 

Today I listened to pundits ponder your comments about the Indiana Hoosier Mexican judge hearing your Trump University case.  I grumbled aloud, ‘I am so sick of this crap’ and changed the channel-to anything else – then I had a profound thought.  In thirty seconds I heard several people, whom I don’t know personally, vouch that you Donald Trump are not a racist. Haven’t I heard this not long ago from similar people saying that they know Donald Trump personally and he is not a bigot despite him failing to take action denouncing the KKK?  Then didn’t I also hear about the time you were bashing Megan Kelly (for questioning your public history of aggressiveness toward women, a random act of real journalism) when yet more people who said they know Donald Trump personally and he isn’t a misogynist?  Yes, I believe all of that was true.

Although I really love Nat Geo TV re-runs of Cocaine Wars I figured I need to sit down and figure something out about my issue with you Donald Trump.

Somehow, miraculously, I broke out of the typical malaise we normal Americans fall into when listening to people “smarter” than us debate issues we have little time to study since balancing the budget, working, and tending to our petty lives take most of the attention.  I wondered why am I trusting the word of total strangers vouching for another total stranger?  What is that, stranger twice removed?  No, but thank you Omarosa, I don’t know you personally to trust your judgement on your personal understanding of Donald Trump.  No offense Mr. Trump, but maybe the real Donald Trump you exclusively save for your friends when no one is watching, the one they say is so honorable and fair, makes me question an awful lot about you.  Why would you keep your deep seated habit of dignifying others from actively displaying it publicly?  Do you think so lowly of the people in this country that they would find this practice disgusting?  If you spoke respectfully of women and didn’t deride people based on stereotypes do you think you wouldn’t be popular and desirable by the people?  If it is true, and The People did not respect this kind of mutual respect from me I would seriously question whether or not I would allow them the honor of my representing them.

This is the America I see: we will not listen to a stranger twice removed and trust them blindly. We will judge you on the content of your character.  The character you don’t hide in shame from the public rather the one you proudly display every day.  We will observe ourselves how you treat others and we will decide based on this if you are a racist, a bigot, a misogynist or anything else you are being misrepresented by.  Your actions in front of us, not in the shadows.