This article feels to be an incredibly honest statement. I would really like it to be the answer. Please, sweet Jesus, make these logical and positive suggestions the way we climb out of this pit we have fallen in. But, I know sweet Jesus is identical to the Flying Spaghetti Monster and will be no help at all. In fact this needs to be clarified once and for all very quickly because that is a major problem for about 30% of this country’s population. It stands right in the way of even understanding a post racist, secular, poverty free nationless world. Very nearly all of the hatred, bigotry, misogyny, and willful ignorance than enabled our clustered, dysfunctional society to vote in a narcissistic dictator is completely entangled in our pathological religious history. No, not every person who expresses a belief in the teachings attributed to Jesus in the 1st century BCE is a pathological monster. But they are Typhoid Mary. And they won’t listen to you because evil and suffering are good, especially for those “other people” because that is what they are taught for reasons relevant to the political and ethnic mix of Palestine under Roman rule in the 200s CE. But they don’t know that. So how does honest, open conversation fix that?
Sorry for being negative and I’m not refusing to talk to these people with a different view of the world. I appreciate your analysis of the white supremacists. They all have their story of being the truly discriminated against. It does not matter to them that they are being attacked because of their beliefs that justify denial of rights of other people while the objects of their hatred have done nothing but request equality and respect. We have lost the basic idea that we don’t need to like or feel disgusted by the same things but we do need to respect that there are differences. And that respect is the basis of a secular and open society. And our likes, dislikes, and religions have no role in public life.
My own conclusion as this mess has unfolded is that we are totally fucked. So many of our social/political systems are broken creating this situation that we are going to have to break it more to even begin to fix it. I really, really want to be wrong but I honestly believe that the power of positive thinking and being open isn’t going to make it. We are about out of time. Once Trump and his minions are installed he has the power to stop any action and he has no self control or sense of honor. In fact he has almost nothing but desire for power and adulation. The people he is appointing have no experience or honor or clearly are only interested in manipulating the useful fool for their ends. And I’m looking at a news notice that Russia hacked the RNC also but didn’t leak anything and this is stated with high confidence by all US Intelligence while being totally denied by Trump without a shred of evidence.
Ok, what can we do? I’ve said this before and will continue to say it until someone shows me a better way. President Obama is the only with current authority and high public respect based on approval ratings (sorry folks, that’s all we have right now). He needs to call a special meeting of all current officials of the three branches to consider a temporary hold due to foreign involvement issues with the election. Declare a six month cooling off period with a task group appointed to decide how to proceed. That’s all. I think most people would trust him to appoint publicly recognized senior and very experienced officials. And no fucking wing nuts. Then we start seriously talking, being open, and communicating with the national senior emergency task group.
That’s my suggestion.