Greetings,
People often question why I risk our company’s standing by bringing current news into a business environment, and the short answer is I won’t sell out my role as ‘citizen’ in order to succeed as a ‘businessman’. (The much longer answer is in our ‘Business or Politics’ article, linked at right). I often worry, though, that people dismiss ‘talking politics’ as just wallowing in the Dem/Rep dogfight. To me, the Red/Blue wars are a distraction from the real fight and I try very hard to go deeper.
Why would anyone risk their business to talk about politics? Because some things in our world are more important than profit.
I’ve been disgusted with both Republicans/conservatives and Democrats/liberals for decades, but more recently it’s been almost impossible to concentrate on the failings of ‘both sides”. When conservative PJ O’Rourke endorsed Hillary in 2016 he said, “I am endorsing Hillary, and all her lies and all her empty promises. She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”
The Dem and Rep players ultimately serve the same masters but until recently they were at least both wrong ‘within normal parameters’. The rise of Trump and Trumpism changed that, advocating lies, paranoia, flamboyantly open corruption, cynical prostitution of religion, character assassination, thuggery, and actual rebellion against the government Left and Right have defended for almost 250 years. Granted, only SOME Republicans have (or are) actively aided this treason, but the rest spinelessly fell into line to enable them. 
When both sides serve the same masters, it’s hard to call it a democracy or even politics anymore. Voters are treated like small children, presented with a false choice of “A” or “B” in a world full of complex issues and choices. Critical trans-partisan issues like climate change, healthcare, defense spending, infrastructure, education, policing, legal system vs the prisons for profit pipeline aren’t debated on their merits. Instead, they’re hidden behind emotional hot button distractions like sexuality and religion used to get conservatives to the polls.
The real battle goes back to when humanity first began to accumulate wealth and power, back when we started forming governments of any kind. The real battle is about how power is distributed in society, who wields it, to what purpose, who suffers, and what are the limits of power (if any). Politics isn’t a spectator sport where we can mindlessly cheer on ‘our side’. It’s a grimly real battle of life and death, and partisan cheerleaders belittle its importance for all of us.
I take the position that citizens have an obligation to not just be against tyranny and injustice, but to speak out against it. My position is that America is worth keeping, freedom AND responsibility matter, reality is king, and people are capable of effective self-government. I look around and see most of America with me… and I see Republicans, who’ve picked a side instead. I just want to sleep through this entire horrific experience and return to faulting both Dems and Reps for their failures to make a positive difference in our world, nation, and neighborhoods. Today isn’t that day. As we go to the polls in just a few days, remember the fight isn’t between Republicans and Democrats, it’s simply between America and Anti-America. Please vote appropriately.
Make a great day,
