java_fiend (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
java_fiend) wrote2012-06-18 04:56 pm
java_fiend) wrote2012-06-18 04:56 pm
Entry tags:
Topic 30(D): Cesspool
And #4 of 6...
Clearly, telling the truth and telling it like it is, in blunt and unvarnished terms doesn’t go over well in some quarters. Clearly, I should be sugar-coating things and giving a little spoonful of honey to help the medicine go down a little easier.
But you know what? And I mean this in the nicest way possible… screw that.
The truth is the truth regardless of how you frame it. Personally, I’m sick and tired of having to tiptoe around the issues, disgusted by the need to treat everybody with kid gloves to avoid saying something or espousing a viewpoint that some might think is icky or meanieheadish.
The stakes are far too high and the consequences are far too real to worry about stepping on a few toes and ruffling a few feathers. In a perfect world, we could all sit down and rationally discuss the issues our country faces as well as the direction forward. But this is far, far, far from a perfect world. The truth isn’t always pretty and sometimes, you need to grab people by the collar and shake them up to get them to open their eyes, to get them to think.
Let me lay this out in straight, unsweetened terms… today’s Republican party has become a cesspool of corruption. Of hatred. Of bigotry. Of fearmongering. Of greed. Of oppression. Of demagoguery. They believe that you can legislate the laws surrounding a vagina but that you shouldn’t actually be allowed to say “vagina.” They believe that two people, clearly in love, shouldn’t be allowed the same rights and privileges that every other citizen in this country enjoys because they happen to be a same-sex couple. They believe that it’s perfectly okay to use the word “nigger.” That there isn’t anything wrong with the word “faggot” or describing a woman as a “slut” or a “whore” simply because she wants access to birth control. They believe that not only is there nothing wrong with a photoshopped picture of the Obamas rolling watermelons around the White House lawn during the annual Easter Egg Roll but that it’s simply hysterical too. They believe that corporations are people and should enjoy more rights than the average voter. They believe that corporations should be free and unfettered regardless of how much damage they do to our environment or how many people they kill. They believe that really, only the wealthy should have a say in our democracy and things would be so much better if the poor (poor meaning people who don’t make 6 figures a year) weren’t allowed to vote. They believe that we should all be forced to live beneath the yoke of their religious dogma. They believe that attaining control and power is more important than doing the right thing for the people in this country. They believe that the wealthy in our nation should not be burdened with a fair tax rate while the working class and poor barely scrape by. And above all, they think we, who shout from the rooftops about the inequalities in this country should just shut the hell up about it and then question our love of country and patriotism.
Like it or not, that is your Republican party today.
I can hear the screams of outrage and protest echoing around the country now. Funnily enough, those screams I’ve heard and the incoming outrage I’ve taken doesn’t revolve around the fact that what I say isn’t true. What people seem to take the most offense to is that they aren’t “all like that” and don’t “all believe that.”
And that’s fine. For a start though, I never said “all” Republicans believe this. There are quite a few Republican rank and file voters, as well as sitting lawmakers who I have a tremendous amount of respect for. I’ve even been known to vote for a Republican now and again. So to those who say I’m just a bitter, angry, divisive Democrat who hates all things Republican, I’d say check your facts because you don’t know the first thing about me. Though a registered Dem, I don’t think my party has all the right answers or always does the right things. There are some sitting Democratic politicians I’d love to see run out on a rail. And I have no problem calling them out for their own douchebaggery every bit as loud as I call out the Republicans. I’ve written countless letters and made countless phone calls to my representatives to tell them how much I disagree with what they’ve done. I want leaders who will do what’s best for this country and for the people and I don’t care what party they happen to be affiliated with.
As for the folks who took such umbrage to the fact that I said what I said (and will continue to say) about the Republican party because they’re not “all like that”, I say “SHOW ME DIFFERENT.” As far as I am concerned, silence equals consent. If you disagree with what your party is doing, what they’re saying and how they’re acting, then by gods, do something about it.
Look, I know that not every person who votes Republican is a bad person. I know that not everybody agrees with their agenda and how they’re going about enacting that agenda. I know that it’s a very loud minority that is causing the brouhaha within your party. But you’re allowing it to happen. Your silence and continuing to pull that lever for the GOP candidate because “that’s your party for good or ill” is propagating their agenda of fear and hate and is ultimately dragging us all down into that cesspool with you. To the detriment of the entire nation and everybody in it.
To put this in the simplest of terms, it’s because of the silent acceptance of so many that this extreme right-wing, totalitarian, pro-corporate, anti-anything good for the country faction is allowed rule the Republican party, drive out the sane, spread discord and even violence throughout the country.
So while I understand some of you may not hold with the same beliefs, unless you’re doing something about it, you’re as much a part of the problem as they are. You may not be actively encouraging it but your passivity is entirely enabling it to happen.
I don’t expect everybody to agree on the issues. My point is not to make you think like I do. My point is to make you think, period. We’re a diverse nation with a lot of different background and beliefs that we bring to the table. And that’s good. There are some discussions that we should be having. When charting the best way forward, our diversity is a benefit to us. But using our diversity of backgrounds and beliefs to drive a wedge between us all is just plain wrong. We need to be focused on how to fix our economy, ensure the rights of all citizens and how to help our country flourish. Those are discussions that are needed. Instead, we’ve been treated to discussions, legislation and litigation over whether a woman has a right to control her own vagina or whether two men or two women should be allowed to express their love the same as everybody else in this country. The GOP agenda is ludicrous, it is insane, it is un-American and that is what is wrong in this country. And yet this is what many within the rank and file continue to enable because they won’t speak up.
So it was interesting to me to see that nobody disputed the facts of my last rant but rather, took issue with how I presented them. To that I say, rather than waste your time and breath castigating me for being divisive and inflammatory, rather than pointing out the fact that my throwing out facts in an unvarnished way is just mean and icky, why not use that time, breath and energy to change the things you don’t agree with? Why not do something to take back your party and make it reflect your own values once again? I’m just a blowhard out here on the internets. Why waste your time getting upset with me? Unless of course, it’s because I’m simply holding up a mirror and you don’t like what you see. In which case, that’s all the more reason to do something about it.
There is a stinking, wretched cesspool infecting this whole country. And by remaining silent and faithful to this incarnation of the GOP and their horrific agenda, it is being allowed to spread. I wrote before that November’s election is about the soul of this country. And that couldn’t be more true. But it’s also about your own soul. Will you just go with the flow and hope that things will turn out right? Will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror afterward and say you did what was right and best for yourselves and for this country?
If you don’t agree with your party, with what they’re doing and how they’re going about it, it is incumbent upon you to do something about it.
Stand up. Speak out. Educate and inform yourselves. The choice and the power to change things is entirely yours. Try using it.
This has been my entry for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
therealljidol Season 8, Topic 30(D): "Cesspool". As always, thank you so much for your support over these very long weeks of competition. We're starting to wind things down so the heat is really ratcheting up and your support means more than ever. Thank you guys so much for reading (and continuing to read) all of this stuff I'm pouring out. It is very much appreciated, folks. Seriously. Who knows if there is going to be a poll but if there is, don't forget to swing on by, read some of the other fantastic pieces and spread a little voting-love around!
Clearly, telling the truth and telling it like it is, in blunt and unvarnished terms doesn’t go over well in some quarters. Clearly, I should be sugar-coating things and giving a little spoonful of honey to help the medicine go down a little easier.
But you know what? And I mean this in the nicest way possible… screw that.
The truth is the truth regardless of how you frame it. Personally, I’m sick and tired of having to tiptoe around the issues, disgusted by the need to treat everybody with kid gloves to avoid saying something or espousing a viewpoint that some might think is icky or meanieheadish.
The stakes are far too high and the consequences are far too real to worry about stepping on a few toes and ruffling a few feathers. In a perfect world, we could all sit down and rationally discuss the issues our country faces as well as the direction forward. But this is far, far, far from a perfect world. The truth isn’t always pretty and sometimes, you need to grab people by the collar and shake them up to get them to open their eyes, to get them to think.
Let me lay this out in straight, unsweetened terms… today’s Republican party has become a cesspool of corruption. Of hatred. Of bigotry. Of fearmongering. Of greed. Of oppression. Of demagoguery. They believe that you can legislate the laws surrounding a vagina but that you shouldn’t actually be allowed to say “vagina.” They believe that two people, clearly in love, shouldn’t be allowed the same rights and privileges that every other citizen in this country enjoys because they happen to be a same-sex couple. They believe that it’s perfectly okay to use the word “nigger.” That there isn’t anything wrong with the word “faggot” or describing a woman as a “slut” or a “whore” simply because she wants access to birth control. They believe that not only is there nothing wrong with a photoshopped picture of the Obamas rolling watermelons around the White House lawn during the annual Easter Egg Roll but that it’s simply hysterical too. They believe that corporations are people and should enjoy more rights than the average voter. They believe that corporations should be free and unfettered regardless of how much damage they do to our environment or how many people they kill. They believe that really, only the wealthy should have a say in our democracy and things would be so much better if the poor (poor meaning people who don’t make 6 figures a year) weren’t allowed to vote. They believe that we should all be forced to live beneath the yoke of their religious dogma. They believe that attaining control and power is more important than doing the right thing for the people in this country. They believe that the wealthy in our nation should not be burdened with a fair tax rate while the working class and poor barely scrape by. And above all, they think we, who shout from the rooftops about the inequalities in this country should just shut the hell up about it and then question our love of country and patriotism.
Like it or not, that is your Republican party today.
I can hear the screams of outrage and protest echoing around the country now. Funnily enough, those screams I’ve heard and the incoming outrage I’ve taken doesn’t revolve around the fact that what I say isn’t true. What people seem to take the most offense to is that they aren’t “all like that” and don’t “all believe that.”
And that’s fine. For a start though, I never said “all” Republicans believe this. There are quite a few Republican rank and file voters, as well as sitting lawmakers who I have a tremendous amount of respect for. I’ve even been known to vote for a Republican now and again. So to those who say I’m just a bitter, angry, divisive Democrat who hates all things Republican, I’d say check your facts because you don’t know the first thing about me. Though a registered Dem, I don’t think my party has all the right answers or always does the right things. There are some sitting Democratic politicians I’d love to see run out on a rail. And I have no problem calling them out for their own douchebaggery every bit as loud as I call out the Republicans. I’ve written countless letters and made countless phone calls to my representatives to tell them how much I disagree with what they’ve done. I want leaders who will do what’s best for this country and for the people and I don’t care what party they happen to be affiliated with.
As for the folks who took such umbrage to the fact that I said what I said (and will continue to say) about the Republican party because they’re not “all like that”, I say “SHOW ME DIFFERENT.” As far as I am concerned, silence equals consent. If you disagree with what your party is doing, what they’re saying and how they’re acting, then by gods, do something about it.
Look, I know that not every person who votes Republican is a bad person. I know that not everybody agrees with their agenda and how they’re going about enacting that agenda. I know that it’s a very loud minority that is causing the brouhaha within your party. But you’re allowing it to happen. Your silence and continuing to pull that lever for the GOP candidate because “that’s your party for good or ill” is propagating their agenda of fear and hate and is ultimately dragging us all down into that cesspool with you. To the detriment of the entire nation and everybody in it.
To put this in the simplest of terms, it’s because of the silent acceptance of so many that this extreme right-wing, totalitarian, pro-corporate, anti-anything good for the country faction is allowed rule the Republican party, drive out the sane, spread discord and even violence throughout the country.
So while I understand some of you may not hold with the same beliefs, unless you’re doing something about it, you’re as much a part of the problem as they are. You may not be actively encouraging it but your passivity is entirely enabling it to happen.
I don’t expect everybody to agree on the issues. My point is not to make you think like I do. My point is to make you think, period. We’re a diverse nation with a lot of different background and beliefs that we bring to the table. And that’s good. There are some discussions that we should be having. When charting the best way forward, our diversity is a benefit to us. But using our diversity of backgrounds and beliefs to drive a wedge between us all is just plain wrong. We need to be focused on how to fix our economy, ensure the rights of all citizens and how to help our country flourish. Those are discussions that are needed. Instead, we’ve been treated to discussions, legislation and litigation over whether a woman has a right to control her own vagina or whether two men or two women should be allowed to express their love the same as everybody else in this country. The GOP agenda is ludicrous, it is insane, it is un-American and that is what is wrong in this country. And yet this is what many within the rank and file continue to enable because they won’t speak up.
So it was interesting to me to see that nobody disputed the facts of my last rant but rather, took issue with how I presented them. To that I say, rather than waste your time and breath castigating me for being divisive and inflammatory, rather than pointing out the fact that my throwing out facts in an unvarnished way is just mean and icky, why not use that time, breath and energy to change the things you don’t agree with? Why not do something to take back your party and make it reflect your own values once again? I’m just a blowhard out here on the internets. Why waste your time getting upset with me? Unless of course, it’s because I’m simply holding up a mirror and you don’t like what you see. In which case, that’s all the more reason to do something about it.
There is a stinking, wretched cesspool infecting this whole country. And by remaining silent and faithful to this incarnation of the GOP and their horrific agenda, it is being allowed to spread. I wrote before that November’s election is about the soul of this country. And that couldn’t be more true. But it’s also about your own soul. Will you just go with the flow and hope that things will turn out right? Will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror afterward and say you did what was right and best for yourselves and for this country?
If you don’t agree with your party, with what they’re doing and how they’re going about it, it is incumbent upon you to do something about it.
Stand up. Speak out. Educate and inform yourselves. The choice and the power to change things is entirely yours. Try using it.
This has been my entry for
therealljidol Season 8, Topic 30(D): "Cesspool". As always, thank you so much for your support over these very long weeks of competition. We're starting to wind things down so the heat is really ratcheting up and your support means more than ever. Thank you guys so much for reading (and continuing to read) all of this stuff I'm pouring out. It is very much appreciated, folks. Seriously. Who knows if there is going to be a poll but if there is, don't forget to swing on by, read some of the other fantastic pieces and spread a little voting-love around!