Sanctioned Prejudice

I'm sure I am going to see some flack for what I'm about to write, but I can't help but say what I believe. During the last presidential elections, I asked my writing students to respond to the question:Which is the greatest prejudice, that against women or people of color?
Most students of my students are under 25 years of age. I'm not sure how that figures into it, since this is not a scientific survey, by any means, but I want to be as thorough as possible. Most of my students do not think that women are subject to ANY limitations in this country. Of course, I do not limit my question to the United States and women from other countries (especially those who grew up or spent time in a middle eastern or African country) see things differently.
I usually ask this question around the time of the birthdays of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abe Lincoln, since I can also ask students to compare and contrast two famous speeches and men, who fought similar battles. Though most know who Abe Lincoln was, and have some vague understanding of what Martin Luther King Jr. fought and died for, none of these same individuals can remember a single woman's name from the Suffrage Movement or knows what the Equal Rights Amendment is.
As the political right and left become more and more polarized in this country, it appears obvious to me that white bigotry is alive and well in our country. In fact, I believe that the questions raised during the Civil War and during any movement that deals with "equal rights," have never been resolved in the U.S.
I know that some think that the Union won the Civil War, and that the question of states' rights being subject to federal control was resolved. However, if you look at our current polarization, we see that this is not the case. Rich white men, primarily from the South, never accepted that they lost the war. This, I believe is at the core of our political problems today. The only difference between the prejudices is that the prejudice against women is largely sanctioned in the U.S. by the greater ignorance of bigotry against people of color.
We continue to hear the call for states' rights and even the voicing of the possibility of "armed conflict" if the spoiled losers don't get their way. Healthcare reform? The vote is in, and does the Right accept it? No, they want to "retake control and repeal Obamacare lock, stock and barrel." The primary moving force behind non-acceptance of Barack Obama's presidency (no matter what he does) is because he is black. It is that simple. White conservative males (by a wide majority) don't like Obama. There is a pervasive, uneasy feeling about Obama being "too uppidy." He is often referred to by the GOP as "arrogant." This is not surprising, but guess who is the person they hate even more than the president. That's right, it's a woman. It is Nancy Pelosi! If you want to get the ire up of a Republican, mention her name.
White bigots, primarily from the Confederate States can't get over the fact that no matter how they try, they can't keep Blacks and Women from running the country. When we hear the call for the "Good Old Days" what are we really looking for? A return to a time when women and blacks were not in charge. That's what I think. Show me where I'm wrong. The GOP needs to stop fighting the Civil War. The Suffrage Movement has already earned women the right to vote and be Speaker of the House, and Secretary of State and Supreme Court Judges. We will never progress as a country, until we see that bigotry is alive and well in the U.S. and is poisonous regardless which group it is aimed at.
Below is a recent interview with Nancy Pelosi. She is allowed to speak for herself. See if you can watch the video without any preconceptions or pre-judgements.

Two important propositions

There are many reasons that you should vote this coming election, but there seems to be two measures on the California ballot that need to be highlighted. They are props 23 and 26.

Words as Weapons

I have been working on a post entitled, Words as Weapons but before I was able to finish it the Democratic Party in California, uncharacteristically came up with a very clever ad proving how manipulation of words and phrases has become the mainstay of the Republican strategy. Meg Whitman is featured, shooting off her mouth with the same tired political epithets and wounding herself in the process. Certainly, I'm sure all of these phrases are taken out of context, but they were probably uttered out of context in the first place. I present the ad here, as the Democrats deserve to have their efforts to amuse us rewarded.

Stop Trying to Level the Playing Field

Those who know me well, are aware of my reluctance to offer advice. Generally, the advice that one really wants to give and the advice that others are looking for are two entirely different strategies. However, it's now a hard and fast rule. It's more of a tendency on my part. That is why I am going to offer the Democrats and other incumbents (there are Republicans, Independents and even Green Party members in office these days) a strategy to not only keep their jobs, but actually do the best job possible. I return to my recent call for TRUE DEMOCRACY.
I have been receiving a number of requests for money of late to support this or that bill,initiative, party or candidate. The Democrats are particularly worried that the Republicans are out spending them and therefore are going to buy the election. I think this is a danger, not because one party might suffer, but because MONEY IS AT THE ROOT OF MOST OF OUR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS in this country. That was the core of my TRUE DEMOCRACY message from my last post.
When I receive these requests for money, and some of them are headlined, "Help us Level the Playing Field" I think it shows that some politicians are falling into the same old belief pattern that money makes right. I am committed to ending this way of thinking. Instead of trying to level the playing field, we need to "change the game." The field that we currently play on is the problem. Money is NOT always the answer. In fact, I believe and I hope this election bears witness that it is NEVER the answer.
Case in point: Jerry Brown is not only holding his own against Meg Whitman in California, spending only a tiny fraction of what she does on negative advertising, but he is leading. When he wins California, it will be a testament to the fact that money cannot always win. Meg has spent $150 or so millions of dollars of her own money running on the platform that she wants to reduce regulations on oil companies, extend tax credits to the rich and basically oppose any social gains that have been made in the U.S. regarding banking. When we defeat every candidate who blatantly acknowledges that they are only interested in the rich, the oil companies, big business or the promotion of banking interests over the welfare of the common person, then we will be sending a message with our most powerful asset...our vote.
Don't just vote against the incumbent. Make sure that the alternative is not worse than what you've got. Reward those candidates who tried to regulate banking, save the planet for future generations, reduce or dependence on oil, give you an opportunity to modify your mortgages, give you an opportunity for healthcare by limiting the abuses of insurance companies and improve the lives of future generations.
Send a message to ALL candidates for public office and to all those who try to confuse the referendum process with deceitful ads and ecologically and economically BAD BILLS. When in doubt, VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE OR LEGISLATION that has not been bought by narrow interests. If you are not sure, then vote for the incumbent or the candidate who has SPENT THE LEAST.
Finally, here is a special note to candidates: NOW IS THE TIME TO harness the dissatisfaction and frustration of the average person and RETURN TO THE PRINCIPLES OF TRUE DEMOCRACY. Don't continue to play the game of the ELITE RICH. Don't continue to try and level the playing field by obsessing over money. Base your candidacy on integrity and honesty. CHANGE THE GAME!

I am a Patriot--by Gordon Richiusa

More and more the fundamental problems with our government are that MONEY and party politics have corrupted it beyond compromise. We need to change the way we allow our Senators to operate—but we must remember that we elected these same officials to do the job that they are doing. We need to govern outside the political parties. “Government by referendum! Throw the bums out!” These are cries that we hear more and more these days which remind me of a shouts from the back of a lynch mob.
I am proposing the creation of a political MOVEMENT (not another party) of PATRIOTS who will work against any lobbyist or party. If you want to be AGAINST something, then be against the things that are counter productive to your countries interests. When I speak of “country” I’m talking about THE PEOPLE and the Government that they have established to do what is best for the whole.
From this moment onward I am not going to judge someone by their political party or allow others to judge me. I am a TRUE PATRIOT and since I’m making up the term, I am going to define what it means. The dictionary defines a patriot as, “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against against enemies or detractors.”
This is the key reason that the Civil War was fought in this country and why it continues to re-fought today, by loudmouthed politicians and pseudo-politicians (members of parties of “no” or “hell no”) whose agenda is really nothing more than thinly veiled bigotry in the guise of anti-federal-government movements. In the war between the states, between those who believed that the states should be allowed to operate outside the control of the federal government and those that supported a STRONG UNION, the self-serving Southerners LOST! When I hear elected officials or those vying for these jobs suggest that armed conflict with the federal government is the next step in the process if the GOP doesn’t get their way in the next election, I CALL THAT TREASON. Anytime a state senator or elected official (especially a governor) suggests succession from the UNION as the answer to their individual problem or prejudice against doing what’s best for the whole, then I believe THEY are guilty of the same thing. We must be ready to defend our government—the one that a majority of us voted for in the last election! Anyone who says otherwise is not being patriotic.
So, what do TRUE PATRIOTS believe in? We believe that any action, activity or movement that is merely anti-government is suspect. We believe that the ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION had checks and balances in place for good reason. The original government had no provisions for the current form of voting. There were no political parties, no primary elections, no electoral college. WE DON’T HAVE A DEMOCRACY in this country right now. We should have. We continually boast throughout the world that we are spreading democracy everywhere we go, but we don’t have it at home!
So TRUE PATRIOTS BELIEVE that we need to establish TRUE DEMOCRACY in this country, THE WAY THE FOUNDING FATHERS INTENDED IT. The MOJORITY should rule! If you don’t like it, then spending all the money in the world to mask your self-serving intentions should also be illegal.
TRUE PATRIOTS ARE DEDICATED TO ESTABLISHING AND FORTIFYING TRUE DEMOCRACY—doing what is truly best for the greatest number of people. To this end, our only other “platform” is to rid government of the influence of vast wealth (something the majority of us don’t have). It’s o.k. for you as an individual to try and amass vast wealth, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE GOVERNMENT or of TRUE PATRIOTS. If our elected officials vote outside the interests of the majority or work against the common good (such as campaigning to reverse Health Care or any other kind of reform, which is obviously good for the majority—or campaigning to eliminate regulations on the wealthy or bankers) then we need to get rid of THEM, not those who have supported these efforts.
Let’s keep it simple. Let’s stick to these two objectives in our thinking. TRUE PATRIOTS are for TRUE DEMOCRACY and TRUE DEMOCRACY IS NOT GOVERNMENT BY BANKING.