Lessons From The Atrocities of The Past

I'd like to start by saying that I am a firm believer in justice being served, a staunch supporter of the BLM movement, and think that civil rights are inalienable for ALL people regardless of beliefs, ethnicity, religion, or partner preference. Come to think of it, much of that is common sense and portions of it are nobody's business except for the person that holds the belief. Seriously, when you meet someone in a personal or business setting do you require their ID and a breakdown of how they live their life? I'd wager that to be a "no".

Regardless, currently America is suffering under the thumb of a delusional, wannabe totalitarian that incites hate with every word from his mouth (or keyboard stroke!). Would the riots and police-driven hate crimes have come to the forefront if the COVID-19 pandemic had not happened or if someone actually capable was in office? Maybe not now, but they would have eventually. America is governed under a rigged system that touts "The American Dream" but despite equality laws, leans toward those who already have the privilege.

I recently began watching Game of Thrones. (Yes, I know I'm a couple years late to the party - don't judge!) I'm only in season 2 and it constantly astounds me how much our political system reminds me of this show. Immature, blood-thirsty despot takes theoretical leadership of the country - check. Riots and widespread attempts to oust the idiot from power occur - check. Other regions that think he's a worthless idiot call for his head - check.

Don't get me wrong - Game of Thrones is far more blood-thirsty than current-day politics, but the premises appear to still be the same. Act like a marauding moron only concerned with your own greedy, narcissistic ideals and you will (eventually) lose your position of power.

Did I mention I'm also a total history nerd?

In the realm of history, I believe George Santayana said it best "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." We can absolutely see an example of that when Hitler attempted to invade Russia during the winter - the same fatal mistake that was made by Napoleon 100 years before. Not to say we didn't want them to fail - Both were egotistical dictators and both would have been the downfall of humanity as we know it. (Both would have also probably also been issued presidential pardons for their atrocities by Trump, but that's a different discussion) That being said, attempting to erase American history is not the answer.

There have been many calls recently to rename and remove everything from military bases to statues of the American founding fathers. I absolutely support removal of confederacy-based names and statues from everywhere in this country. We fought a civil war against slavery. They lost. Losers do not get statues. Furthermore, (for those of you that labor under this delusion) the south will not be "rising again" - unless we're discussing summer temperatures.

The confederate flag is to American citizens of color as the nazi swastica is to those of Jewish descent. It is not a symbol of power or nationality - it is a symbol of hate. Get rid of it.

Robert E. Lee may have eventually come to his senses, but point and case he was a leader of the confederate army in the American civil war - you know, the one his side lost. There should not be schools or military bases named for him. There should not be statues in his honor. Things like these are an affront to over half the citizens in this country and there is no amount of "oops, we goofed" that will make that right. Remove and rename!

With regards to the founding fathers and many other American Presidents post-Civil War, we need to remember that while it may not be right or fair, in their time they thought they were doing the best possible job for the nation as a whole. George Washington founded this country under the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and freed his slaves - and while they were his slaves (because that's just how those times were - same as the serfs in the Middle Ages) treated them as trusted family members.

Harry Truman ascended the presidency into the enormous shoes that were the FDR legacy and he did positive things like expanding Social Security and implementing the 'Fair Deal' which included a full-employment program and a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act that was the groundwork for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which included the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Simply attempting to remove these people and others like them from our history is not how to fix our future. LEARNING from all of their mistakes will bring us much farther into the complete equality that should be our future than attempting to erase them from our past.

If it's confederate, make it leave. If it's a symbol of hate, there is no place for it in our country. If it was corrupt, remove it. But, if it's a part of our American history that holds value and paved the road for stronger, more positive change - leave it alone. Our country's history is a tumultuous one and we should strive to learn from the mistakes and atrocities of our past - not unintentionally bring them forward to repeat in the present.

Just my two cents.

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Reckonings and Rules

I initially started writing this blog prior to the death of George Floyd. In a similar (yet completely different) fashion to the ravages on humanity of the coronavirus pandemic, the world as we know it has morphed in the span of a week or two.

Growing up and living my life as a caucasian female in the American south, there are a vast number of things that I will never have the ability to truly understand nor comprehend about the issues that our friends and neighbors of skin color other than my own face on a daily basis. This, I absolutely admit, however, that does not mean I do not possess empathy. I also truly believe that sweeping changes to combat this nation's inequality and injustice issues are long overdue.

The fact of the matter is, these problems are issues that have existed for literally over a century in this country. Studies have been conducted and come to the same conclusions. Recommendations have been made and not been followed through with. Attempts at equality laws have been passed and the efforts have gone unenforced across the board.

The fact that we, as a nation are dealing with the exact same human equality problems as our great grandparents is an absolutely abysmal statement on our collective ability to view all humans as humankind.

Honestly, in my opinion, the current federal government as a whole is absolute crap, and not just the dictatorial wannabe Donald Trump. From his daughter Ivanka stating that inquiries into her personal email use for state business "doesn't apply to me" on national television (despite her father's calls for Hillary Clinton to go to prison for the exact same actions), to the outcries from multiple high-ranking military officers against Trump's attempted use of military force against protesting citizens, to the inability of American elected officials to stand up to the self-styled mob boss idiot in the White House and fight for what's right on behalf those who elected them into office - the entire situation is an absolute travesty of what our country has purportedly stood for since inception.

The founding fathers are probably turning over in their graves.

I've taken a bit of creative license and created a "rules" list that is somewhat a style combination between Jeff Foxworthy's 'You Might Be A Redneck If' and Bill Mahr's infamous 'New Rules'. Between you and me, I'm using the term 'Darwinian' because let's face it, these crises and our actions (or lack thereof) in response to them will absolutely bring about an evolutionary survival of the fittest situation on every level from political to economic - not just health or equality.

I'm also keeping a few "rules" that I wrote previously, simply because there is not just a single problem. The current administration and partisan political mindset has more problems in how it is conducting itself than a bag of river rocks from Home Depot has pebbles.

So here goes ...

New Darwinian Rule: If you're so idiotic that you think a label saying "Poisonous. Do Not Ingest By Mouth" means "Inject That Sh#t Instead", you shouldn't run a country.

President Trump's statement regarding the injection or consumption of disinfectant by people attempting to recover from the coronavirus was irresponsible at best, and indicative of base-level malicious intent towards the national population at worst. Let's not forget that the deathly injection and/or forced consumption of disinfectant turned out to be a widespread medical experiment by the Nazi regime during WWII when using the Jewish population as their own personal lab rats.

Trump's tendency to lash out at anyone or anything that walks, talks, acts, or thinks differently from himself is a personality trait that is (as I said in a previous blog) the mark of a true despot. To watch him now actively give instructions that many of his politically brainwashed groupies would blindly follow and kill themselves off in the process will turn out to either be the evilest turncoat double cross tactic against his own party constituents ever known or the stupidest most verbally negligent moment in the history of the American Presidency.


New Darwinian Rule: Any public figure that chooses to openly speak and act like a politically bigoted brat with regards to saving lives during a global health crisis should be required to wear a giant neon 'A' for "ASSHAT" on their person at all times and immediately be removed from office.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell aka 'Moscow Mitch' aka 'Massacre Mitch' stated in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that states dealing with dire budget shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic should simply declare bankruptcy instead of look for a federal bailout. (It should be noted that the self-named 'Grim Reaper' didn't bat an eye when drafting a slush fund rescue package that would provide millions to big corporations who have experienced minor revenue issues from the pandemic.)

To add insult upon injury, McConnell then followed up his statement with another one clarifying that it was mainly the 'Blue States' he sees no need to economically bailout.

This is a prime example of a political figure that finds the destruction of people's lives and livelihoods is far preferable to placing humanity before corporate purse strings. Having these statements as an encore to his previous embracing of Russian interference in U.S. elections and his documented attempts to further efforts of a cover-up of collusion charges in the presidential impeachment trial only brings home the fact that this nihilistic, narrow-minded, money-grubbing political mercenary really IS the 'Grim Reaper' of both American citizens and our nation's democracy itself.

New Darwinian Rule: If the only recourse or explanation for a global pandemic you're capable of is to 'throw shade' - do the world a favor: Resign and go work for an umbrella company.

One of the ongoing recent out of the plethora of recent examples is the tactic by the Trump administration to simply criticize China's handling of the outbreak as a reason for why the U.S. is continuing to experience the highest death toll worldwide.

Did the Chinese government initially handle the outbreak properly? No. Should they have silenced the brave doctors who early on raised a global alarm? Absolutely not. Are they in the wrong for potentially falsifying numbers from the pandemic? Yes, and we'll probably never know the extent of their falsification until many years from now.

Could the U.S. have been better prepared? Unequivocally, Yes. Does that mean that the sometimes seemingly unchecked spread of the virus throughout the U.S. is solely China's fault? NO.

New Darwinian Rule: When the majority of state governors demonstrate a far higher level of empathy, situational understanding, and proactive action in the face of a pandemic than the whole of the federal government, either recheck the nation's ability to elect federal officers or remove the entire federal government and have state governments run the country.

Let's be clear, attempting to combat the effects of the COVID-19  pandemic on society is absolutely a battle of epic proportions, and tough decisions that not everyone likes or agrees with have had to be made on all fronts. But when the federal government continually contradicts itself, wavers on protocols that directly affect the health and safety of its citizens, and attempts to smear campaign others simply to throw media focus off the facts of their own abysmal failings to understand and act appropriately; it's no better than having a group of ill-behaved middle school thugs attempting to con the teacher into punishing the victims of their bullying scams in charge of the nation.

State governors from New York to California have stepped up in the face of the COVID crisis by issuing and enforcing stay and shelter orders and conducting daily briefings with timely updates long before the current federal administration could get its head out of its own ass long enough to do anything other than play partisan politics and argue amongst themselves.

It should also be noted that the state governors, for the most part, completely put political party affiliations aside in their efforts to not only protect their own citizens but also extend assistance to the populations of other states - even in the face of crass bullying tactics from the President himself. It's truly an eye-opening view of who actually cares about the health and wellbeing of the people they represent.

(Sadly, that last 'Rule' has been overshadowed by many state governors' knees jerk responses to protests of citizens simply exercising their right to do so. It would have been nice to have a group of public officials that we could actually look up to .. HOWEVER ...)

New Darwinian Rule: If your idea of a successful police force includes racial profiling, unprovoked use of force, and excessive actions towards innocent human beings, get the hell out of public office and check yourself into psychotherapy and anger management. 

There are literally no words for the ridiculousness of what we've been seeing on the news. It's like a reality show gone deeply awry on so many levels. Use of force and tear gas or pepper spray against crowds of citizens who are doing nothing more than exercising their right under the Constitution to object to archaic policies, and blatant murders of Americans who did nothing worse than attempt to live normal, productive lives and simply had a skin color other than caucasian.

Officers of the law are Not above the law, and while some might say that pushing for reform is reacting to 'a few bad apples', the reality is there are actually just a few 'good apples' and the vast majority are on a power trip that's no better than the KKK lynchings of the previous century.

The entire situation is abominable.

Finally, and most importantly ..

New Darwinian Rule: If you chose to sit quietly by and watch abuse against anyone in humanity happen, you are Part Of The Problem.

Let's make this crystal clear, it is not enough to hold a sign and walk down a street or donate to a charitable organization if you also sit in your comfy home on a tree-lined street and laugh off your family's or neighbor's semi-racist comments or jokes. One of the major societal issues here is that people do exactly that, which inevitably perpetrates an overall mindset that others can be judged 'good' or 'bad', or even 'criminal' or 'trustworthy' simply by the color of their skin.

For those of you that need it spelled out, This Level Of Inaction Is Bullshit.

If you're a brainwashed Trump follower I'll put it into words easier to grasp, This Level Of Inaction Is FAKE.

Humans are humans. People are people. It does not matter what their skin color is, or what their religion is, or what clothes they wear, or what food they eat, or what job they aspire to. We all bleed the same red oxygen-filled blood.

Wasn't it Jesus who said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto me"? It's a sad state when that divine comment gets pared down into "Do unto others as you would have them do unto me, but only if they look and act and think exactly like you do".

The rays of hope for humanity throughout the pandemic and our country's social unrest are heartening but are really only slim shafts of sunshine amid a landscape of centuries of inequality.

Citizens have stepped up and volunteered at desperately needed charities like food banks, countless COVID homebound individuals have made and donated masks and protective shields to people and essential businesses who need them - yet humans are being slaughtered while venturing outdoors to simply exercise.

Medical staff are being hailed on the way into work with crowds cheering from their quarantine windows and are taking a knee to show respect for the Black Lives Matter movement yet those same frontline heroes are being forced to pick up the pieces of their own lives from the looting and burning of their homes and businesses that they've worked so hard to create.

Small businesses that stayed open to provide essential help and service throughout the pandemic and to be there for their communities are now being ravaged by the same citizens they served, who are now so frustrated with the state of this nation that they feel they must resort to violence against it to make their voices heard.

How is any of that fair or equal for anyone? How is any of that - especially that which has driven our own citizens to violent acts simply to make their voices heard by our government - what this country stands for on any level?

For many, it's going to take a while for the world to trust the safety of going out into it in a disease-free manner again, or to trust that those who are supposedly sworn to protect their interests actually have the best interests of others at heart.

With regards to the COVID crisis, if the innovative human spirit has anything to do with it, the 'new normal' won't be a bad thing - as long as we embrace and respect what has the potential to happen if we don't focus on the lessons of COVID-19 and what the world will look like in years to come if we ignore those lessons.

With regards to the socioeconomic inequalities that Should have been directly addressed and eradicated decades ago, if we do not learn from the lessons of the past, we are doomed to repeat them. It has nothing to do with political party affiliation, or what religion you follow, or what job you hold - it is simply and completely having the courage to Do What's Right regardless of circumstance.

So ask yourself the next time your great uncle uses a racial slur, the next time you pass someone who is living on the streets in search of their family's next meal, or the next time you watch as this nation's current Commander in Chief builds a wall around our country's most historic landmark while slandering from a cowardly hidey-hole those who are building it - is this the America that makes you proud?

Think about it.

#BlackLivesMatter #BrownLivesMatter #ALLlivesMatter
#StaySafe #StayHealthy #StayStrong

~ The Girl in the Little Black Dress