There are a lot of legends and myths being promoted at the moment in America. For a variety of different reasons. All of them selfish and none of them helpful to the greater good. We have to be careful about what we hear and how we allow it to affect us. Often times the most popular “celebrities” aren’t the most talented, the most celebrated songs shows and movies aren’t the best or highest quality. We live in age now where the most famous are not of any historic import. And the most important historical figures aren’t even famous
The popular memes and narratives propagated by the media are often temporary lobs they throw up to see if they stick, their primary goal being to get attention for themSELVES, in order to make more money for themselves. We make a fatal error when mistakenly assuming their goal is to inform or educate, or improve society in any way.
⁃ Politics and politicians work the same way. Their end-game is to win. For themselves. Not to win for us or society at large. It’s imperative we remember that. No politician likes you or cares about you and your family more than they do winning for themselves and their own family. Politics is a disease. Like fleas or ticks, politicians are an unfortunate and unnecessary bedfellow to governance. They are a vile creature. George Washington warned us of this in his farewell address. He begrudgingly accepted governance as a necessary means to creating a civil society, but he despised politics. This is one of many of his most important and endearing qualities.
⁃ At the moment we are being drowned in a sea of false narratives and allegedly opposing viewpoints, none of them true or valid, their sole purpose to confuse irritate anger and divide us. But we aren’t going to let that happen.
⁃ We do not live in a radical left versus a patriotic right country. No matter how many times we hear it repeated. That’s a myth.
⁃ The idea is perpetrated by an archaic corporate duopoly that controls the entire country and benefits from promoting division among us.
⁃ At this point the split in the country has dwindled down to a very small group of people commonly referred to as the trump base versus everyone else… a large majority of intelligent and thoughtful Americans from both political parties and all sides of the fence who are just very tired of all the nonsense of the last 3 years.
⁃ It’s a misnomer to classify all republicans as supportive of Trump. Just as much as it is to classify everyone on the left as radical or unpatriotic. Both narratives are false.
⁃ The key to this whole cancel culture myth is that it’s simply not true; surely we’ve needed course correction for a long time. We need updating. Most people have been longing for it for decades. Centuries even.
⁃ We don’t hang onto the same cell phones or laptops forever. We upgrade them. As we learn and discover and innovate more, so too does our technology and our tools and our ideas.
⁃ As should our understanding and our ideologies and our laws and symbols.
⁃ Who among us feels comfortable teaching the Declaration of Independence or the constitution to our kids when these documents though noble in their intention are clearly and overtly racist and sexist? It’s an extremely uncomfortable subject. Just to utter the words “all MEN are created equal” to our daughters and then try to explain that “men can include women too… it didn’t back then of course… but just pretend that it did.”
And while you’re at it, let’s also pretend that the native Americans aren’t called beastly savages or that black people aren’t referred to as only deserving of 3/5 representation because that’s all they’re worth”. These are just a few of innumerable problems in our foundational documents, all of which need addressing and updating.
⁃ The same can be said about the so called founding fathers or thanksgiving or Columbus Day. We can’t have it both ways. On the one hand declaring America to be a vibrant tolerant and just democracy and at the Same Time celebrate a shameful and inhumane past trying to pretend that it wasn’t.
⁃ This is the actual message being put forth by normal everyday Americans now. No one is trying to cancel America. But we are trying to correct it and upgrade it. Because we’ve reached THAT moment in our history. It’s time now.
⁃ It’s a shame that Donald Trump doesn’t understand this considering the position he was afforded by some of our fellow citizens. But it’s not our problem. HE is not our problem.
⁃ It is way past time for us to stop feeling shamed for wanting to be honest about American history, about what America has been and still is in certain arenas. We are made to feel guilty for calling out the multitude of inconsistencies in our history… or for pointing out atrocities and inhumanities in our past as if by doing so we are being UNpatriotic. And yet in reality we’re just being intelligent and perceptive and honest and brave.
⁃ In the end we all want the same thing— to create an even better country, that is more just more fair more honest more inclusive and more Democratic, and by extension of these attributes more honorable.
⁃ Don’t let the angry and ignorant ramblings of one crazed egomaniac with a selfish agenda persuade you into thinking you OR your fellow citizens are somehow crazy or unAmerican or wrong for wanting to make things better. None of us are wrong. And were not unpatriotic or unAmerican.
⁃ If Donald trump sincerely represented the United States of America in any way he would be working hard and striving to unite us as much as he could. He wouldn’t be deliberately patronizing one small group of Americans in an effort to divide them from the rest of the nation. In his actions he’s being dishonest and disrespectful to everyone. Not just the majority of Americans who have moved on from the meaningless sentimental musings that cater to patriotism, but also to those same people he claims ARE his base. He underestimates their intelligence and their knowledge of history. He is implying that they are as simple and black and white as he pretends to be, that they can be swayed with simple divisive and harsh rhetoric that waters down our complex history. But we all know these people. They’re not that. He just wishes they were.
⁃ If Trump wanted to be presidential and unify us he would be giving his campaign rallies in front of the Lincoln memorial or in front of Frederick Douglas statues or the MLK Memorial at this time in our history. Not on sacred Native American land stolen by the US government. It’s no secret what’s happening now in America. He’s not missing it or not getting it. He’s attempting to trick a small group Of people into not getting it in order to frighten and intimidate them. But Americans are smarter and braver than he gives them credit for.
⁃ It’s too bad that during this historic moment in American history that we have no presidential representation. It’s sad. But it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. We are witnessing history in the making as powerful as anything else that has shaped our country. And we are proving that we do not need a president to make it happen when the majority of the people are united behind a just and noble cause.
⁃ We cannot keep trying to ignore and whitewash all the sins of our past through defiant rallies that denigrate other peoples. We are better than that now.
⁃ The president of the United States should be honoring the incredibly historic moment this is in our nation, not trying to deride it or minimize it with lies about violence and pretend culture wars. This is basic. And at the very least the person who occupies the office of president should understand BASIC.
⁃ Think of all the different ways we can begin to change our narrative about our past to create a more honest present for future generations. Think of the changes we can make today to make Americans of tomorrow even more proud to be Americans. Think of the problems we can solve for them today, right now, to ease their burden, as opposed to increase it. That’s what is happening now. Call it the Great Unburdening. Or the Great Awakening. All of us becoming aware of letting loose of the shackles of lies and atrocities buried in our shared history.
⁃ For example, We can still keep Columbus Day a National holiday if people desire it; but it should be a National day of mourning for and learning about American history; not the brief pretend history of the Europeans who came here 500 years ago, but a day to learn about and mourn for the American people who lived here for 10,000 years before we arrived. It certainly should not be a day of celebration or cookouts.
⁃ Remember the real story of George washington… how he lived in regret and shame about owning slaves at the end of his life… how his wife cowered in fear in the main house after his death until her own death, knowing they were going to free them but being afraid for her life if she did because she knew how inhumane they had been.
⁃ THIS is our real history. It is regrettable. But that’s life. That’s being human. We don’t need to deify the founders of our country to still meet the promise of some of their grandest visions. We can acknowledge the errors of their judgment. They were smart guys. But they weren’t perfect.
⁃ Maybe more statues need to come down. Maybe we shouldn’t have built so many statues in the first place.
⁃ And certainly some faces need to be removed from our currency. Having Andrew jackson on the 20 dollar bill is a slap in the face not just to every Native American and black American but to anyone with half a brain and a knowledge of American history. It’s an insult to intelligence. Another one of the many anomalies that are irreconcilable in the modern age. It’s well past time to remove all of these obstacles to basic humane intelligence. We owe it to ourselves and our children and grandchildren. To create a society that continues to self correct and align with where we are as a species and with our basic understanding of what it means to be human.
⁃ The real crux of our time right now is do we still want to lead in the world? Are we ahead of the curve in our thinking? As we’ve been on occasion throughout our brief history? Or has our light already gone out after only 250 years? Are we championing noble goals and causes that lead to more freedom and democracy in the world? Or are we propping up the dead and echoing old slogans for the sake of a few frightened stragglers who haven’t quite caught up yet?
⁃ Remember all the mistakes we made in the 1800s, trying to respectfully cater to the lowest common denominator among us, electing numerous presidents during that time who were utter monsters. It’s one of the ugliest periods in American history. Eventually we still ended up impeaching the last remnant of these kind of men, because as a people we were tried of the myth that we were “evenly split as a nation”. We recognized that the majority of us were already on the same page and collectively booted Andrew Johnson out of office. Symbolic or not it was a powerful act that illustrated the reunification of the American heart.
⁃ And here we are once again. Only politicians and the media tell us that we are evenly split, because they benefit from doing so. But most of us know better. We know we are more aligned on most issues than we are given credit for.
⁃ We’re on the verge of a great awakening here in America right now. Old slogans and symbols and statues are going to come down. Proudly and gratefully as we finally reconcile our past and claim our present. Old outdated and erroneous stories of history are going to finally be put away for good so we are no longer forced to try to explain them away to our kids and future Americans who will inherit this country from us. Old documents even no matter how revered will be solemnly and respectfully laid to rest and replaced with new documents that do a better job at representing who we really are as a nation now.
⁃ If we do this, when we do this… if we have the courage to do this, imagine the positive influence we can once again have in the world. We can stand up proud again as Americans, knowing that we facing and addressing our history honestly, and taking responsibility for it, instead of arrogantly denying it or trying to pretend it never happened.
⁃ If WE don’t do this now, the next generation is still going to do it. We can all see and feel that coming. But if WE don’t have the courage to do this now ourselves at what cost will it be to us now and to them later?
⁃ We’ve already lost so much and fallen so far behind for this blind patriotism and pride of ours… How much more are we willing to lose
