Common sense is a paradox. Having common sense is not common at all. What seems common sense to you, may not be obvious to other people, and many people just don’t have any common sense at all. Some people just act irrationally. Even if they claim it’s by design, that doesn’t make it sensible.
So much about life today is paradox. Almost no one is who they seem, as much as who they want you to see them as. Even our leaders have abandoned Truth and Logic for lies and deceptions.
I’ve always thought that most people ‘get it’. I figured, a small minority may be clueless, while most people understand things. More or less. That’s what I thought. Used to think.
…our Leaders have abandoned Truth and Logic…
It’s easy enough to look back and ask if what you did made sense, but it’s also hard to look at our mistakes objectively. It’s much easier to ACT as if we’re smart and just ignore our own ignorance.
Lately, it’s become clear that those of us who truly think about what we’re doing, and whether it makes sense, we are a drastic minority.
Talk about a paradox. ~jg
Jamie Gray – Musician, Writer, Thinker
Authors Note: All opinions expressed here are just that: opinions. If you don’t like mine, I probably won’t like yours either. Let’s just nod, and walk away. Maybe come back with solutions instead of opinions. Because of the two, only solutions actually matter.
Rationality. If you look at American politics right now, you don’t see much of it. No, you mostly see two heavily armed camps, ready to flirt with disaster, risking all of our futures to achieve some set of higher principles that, if left to the other party, mean nothing short of destruction of everything we hold dear.
If you lean left, you’re being told that the evil Republicans are trying to stop the valiant Democrats from purging corporate control of our government and giving money, and the country, back to the people.
US Capitol – Washington DC
If you lean right, you’re worried the stupid Dems will spend us into doom, while taxing the rich until they can’t afford their summer homes and ski retreats.
If you’re on the far right, they’re trying to convince you that Socialism is the root of all evil, and that Satanic forces are killing babies in the womb, as they hand our God fearing Nation over to Hillary and Obama’s army of godless heathen Democrat pedophile pizza-politicians.
Now, I’m not saying I believe politicians from either party (especially the MAGA Republicans). Politicians are liars. It’s what they do. But some things they say make a grain of sense on their own, while others require a leap of faith to believe. I’m too old for leaps of faith. Especially when they require lapses of logic.
None of the MAGA Republicans claims hold up to rational thought. They are based in conspiracy theories, rumors, and full-on mistruths, lacking in facts or proof of any kind. There simply isn’t much in the way of a rational argument. For anything.
Share your fire. Feed the blaze. #happiness #N0H8
When it’s all said and done, proof is best measured in actions and results. Rich people always do well. They do better when Republicans are in power. Since the 80s they’ve claimed the wealth will “trickle down”, while it gushed up to the millionaires…who became billionaires as millions died in the Pandemic. Meanwhile, America is deep in debt, and sitting on the edge of climate disaster and insurrection. Suffice to say, the trickle they’ve been promising for 40 years ain’t enough.
Poor people rarely win in America. Their voices, while numerous, are routinely ignored and rejected by all in power. At least when Democrats act, the average goes up. Poor gets less poor. Inequity decreases. Usually not by much, of course.
Jan 6 Insurrection| Capitol police defend The Capitol from Trump supporters in Washington DC – Jan 6 2021
We’re reaching a tipping point where debt threatens to collapse our economy as injustice and inequity are rising to unsustainable levels. The seeds of revolution are deeply sown, and change WILL come, one way or another.
Our choice is to usher it in gracefully, or let it take us by force, and at great cost. If the way we’ve handled climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic so far are any indication, we are in for a REALLY hard ride, folks. ~jg
Musician and Writer, Jamie Gray
Authors Note: All opinions expressed here are just that: opinions. If you don’t like mine, I probably won’t like yours either. Let’s just nod, and walk away. Maybe come back with solutions instead of opinions. Because of the two, only solutions actually matter.
I’d like to say I know who I am. I’m pretty sure I’m still finding out. I’d like to say I know how things really are…that I know a lot about lots of important stuff. Maybe I used to. The truth is, these days I feel like I know a lot of useless stuff that I’m absolutely sure will someday be important to someone, someplace.
Fall leaves in the yard | Original Photo by Jamie Gray
But, I do know a lot of things that could be much better, but for some ‘important’ people who are unwilling to change and uninterested in doing anything for anyone but themselves. I also know that we all can make a difference if we decide not to be indifferent. I try to do my part. The sun rises and sets, and all that I know seems everyday madness. But it’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than us. Another day in the gilded age of Internet and impressions.
Every age of glory fades away or goes down in flames. And…It’s just…well, everything about America right now looks a lot like Autumn kindling. ~jg
Authors Note: All opinions expressed here are just that: opinions. If you don’t like mine, I probably won’t like yours either. Let’s just nod, and walk away. Maybe come back with solutions instead of opinions. Because of the two, only solutions actually matter.
Jamie Gray – Upstate NY Musician, Writer, and Photographer
To all my so-called Christian friends who voted for Trump: The rise of Evangelical sheisters and the Trump presidency were both predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24:23-25
What would Jesus do?
23 At that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!’ or, `There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
True Christians act like Christ. Name ONE thing Trump and his team did that was Christ-like. Can’t name one? Because Trump did the OPPOSITE of what Christ would do.
Open your eyes. Don’t be deceived. ~jg
Authors Note: All opinions expressed here are just that: opinions. If you don’t like mine, I probably won’t like yours either. Let’s just nod, and walk away. Maybe come back with solutions instead of opinions. Because of the two, only solutions actually matter.
If I drive down your street at 70mph, the residential street your kids play on, you’d probably be in favor of the State forcing me to slow down, wouldn’t you? For your kids safety? Because the Government has the right, and DUTY to protect the people. From reckless speeders and other dangerous people, such as anti-mask propagandists like you.
I don’t have the right to drive without regard for others safety. Likewise, I have the duty to protect others around me, including my children and yours. I listen to the science that says, driving slowly in densely populated areas with children playing is safer than speeding.
But you don’t listen to science. You disregard safety precautions that nearly all medical professionals agree are important, and claim the right to do so is ‘freedom’. Most horrifically, you’re willing to risk your children’s lives to prove your point, one that science says you’re completely wrong about.
If you think your children have the right to attend school without vaccine or mask during a global pandemic, you’re dead wrong. Children shouldn’t have to pay the ultimate price for your stupidity and your partisan, QAnon, MAGA, political propaganda. America’s children certainly don’t deserve to become victims of this deadly disease, because of the lies you promote and defend. Their Deaths Are Your fault. On your head. 99.9% Preventable.
Please Drink (and Drive) Responsibly
You may as well drink a fifth of vodka and drive 100mph through a school zone at 3:05pm, because that’s probably LESS dangerous than preventing schools from masking up during this pandemic. The Delta Variant is NOT your mama’s COVID…it’s much, MUCH worse. ~jg
The Shark – Jamie’s 2010 Challenger
Authors Note: All opinions expressed here are just that: opinions. If you don’t like mine, I probably won’t like yours either. Let’s just nod, and walk away. Maybe come back with solutions instead of opinions. Because of the two, only solutions actually matter.
…”They have some pretty slick AI that screens for connections and the tell-tale hearts of anti-american hostility and malcontent. It sniffs it out chunks of terrorist cholesterol from the Internet’s arteries, as gigabytes of data streams past their hidden packet snatchers.”…
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They know you already. You don’t have to believe it for it to be true, and knowing the truth doesn’t make you crazy. Unless they need you to be, and generally speaking, they don’t.
So…Once the NSA knows-that-you-know that they ‘listen’ to everything you do online, it’s basically #GameOn. Are you a subversive? Who are your followers? Who do you follow? Are any of them ‘terrorists‘? Because since 2001, that’s the best way for the .gov folks to shut down the voices that are violent. Preach revolt. Or maybe just make too much sense.
We’re Watching. ~The NSA
I know they’re watching me. Because they watch everything. Everyone. They have some pretty slick AI that screens for connections and the tell-tale hearts of anti-american hostility and malcontent. It sniffs it out chunks of terrorist cholesterol from the Internet’s arteries, as gigabytes of data streams past their hidden packet snatchers. Filters the digital goo. Combs thru it all, looking for nuggets of evil against Uncle Sam.
Uncle Sam Towers Above The Danbury CT Railroad Museum
Good ol’ patriotic malcontent used to be ok, back in the day. You can still say the government sucks, if you’re careful, but thanks to the MAGA Revolution, we now know that even patriots can be terrorists…and so does the NSA. Even a gentle grumble can raise the AI hackles these days, which flags you for human eyes to review your dossier. Everyone’s got a dossier if they have any sort of online presence at all. I bet you think you don’t, but if you’re reading this, you know me, so they definitely have you in their crosshairs too.
The good news is, as long as you don’t go too far, they would rather just keep watching. Of course, if you suddenly ‘radicalize’ by plotting violence, or maybe worse, disappear from the Web, don’t be surprised if that generic panel van parked on your street is full of feds with heat tracing cameras and parabolic mics. These are scary times…it makes sense. Sort of. In hugely Orwellian fashion.
Jamie Gray|Musician and Writer
I suppose I should worry. I talk a lot about revolution and rebellion. I DO think the government sucks. But I’d never condone violence, except in self-defense. And I’d never advocate for a coup. I think we SHOULD overturn our government…from inside. Through VOTES and legislation and policy. Kick the moneychangers out of the temple of democracy, so to speak. Voting and peaceful protest. Through free speech, empathy and kindness, educating people to see the corruption that is right in front of them, and show them how to be a part of the solution rather than a victim of a system that pretends to care.
I’m not a threat to anybody’s safety. I’m an advocate for a better America. One that takes care of the little guy…and the victim. An America like they told us about in Civics class. Do they even teach Civics anymore?
Most importantly, I’m not a threat to the status quo. Nobody actually listens to me. I’m just a crazy old guy on a couch, with a guitar, a remote control, and a lot of ideas. If I ask my followers to do anything, most of them might get around to doing something. If it’s not too hard or uncomfortable. Someday. Soon, for sure. One of my favorite songs puts it best: “I’d start a revolution… …If I could get up in the morning”. ~ Aimee Allen
Thanks for reading to the end. Please #Vote. ~jg
“I’d Start a Revolution (If I Could Get Up in the Morning)” Aimee Allen
