Tag: #JustThinking

Did George Washington Predict Today’s Partisan Divide?

jamie

Looks like we’ve completely forgotten our first president’s warning against the corruptive power of political parties…

“They [political parties] are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government”

~President George Washington

It took the power of the Internet to push our government to the brink and back, but here we are. Partisan polarization is entrenched, supported by legalized bribery (aka lobbying) and corporate meddling. Our politicians have become an elite ruling class that routinely ignores the will of the People.

The solution is pretty simple:

  • Publicly funded elections. No campaign donations allowed. NONE. Free and equal airtime given to ALL verified candidates, regardless of party affiliation…not just Democrats and Republicans. Issues, not party affiliation should matter again. The number of votes should decide elections, not the number of dollars spent to manipulate our opinions.
  • Term Limits. No one should serve in Congress forever. If our elected officials service is temporary, they can properly focus on making progress, rather than getting reelected.
  • Get rid of the filibuster. Give us true democracy, rather than oligarchy. Americans deserve a popular vote for President and majority rule in the Senate. Independent and Other Party candidates should not be discriminated against by a system that seeks to perpetuate the ‘Two Party tradition’.
  • Truth, Transparency, and Ethics. Politicians must be ethically above reproach, and should not be profiting on their votes. Bills should be simple, readable and single purposed, not 1000s of pages of unrelated legislation. CSPAN should broadcast EVERYTHING and the People should get to vote on the bills too. Then the popular votes can be compared to how our politicians voted. If they vote against us too often, make recall and replacement easy.

Of course it’s complicated. Nothing is just a simple answer. But…These are things that would make a BIG difference, but our politicians will NEVER consider because it upsets the status quo…and things are pretty fucking good for THEM just the way things are. Trouble is, they aren’t so great for all of US. It’s time for drastic changes, folks. Before it’s too late.

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.

Classified Documents

jamie

Here’s what I don’t get: Why isn’t there a check-out, check-in system for these documents? Would it be so hard? Give each one a bar code. Scan it out with your ID. Scan it back in when you return it.

I mean, if you check out a copy of Mark Twain at the local library, and you don’t return it? They KNOW you have it. You’ll get reminders. Then penalties if you don’t return it. The system works.

So why not our Nation’s most secret documents? The ones that, in the wrong hands could doom the Republic…I dunno. Seems like a no brainier to me, but our government FAILS hard for not already having this system in place #IMO

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…(revisited 2023)

jamie

IF…You can keep your head when you’re surrounded by fucking idiots who blindly believe
If you can fall and get up, when motherfuckers who should know better repeatedly knock you down
If you dream of a future where no one goes hungry, or without the basic, important things that everyone needs
If your head spins from lies, corruption and greed, from sources empowered, trusted as news.
If you care about kindness and feel pain when others are hurt due to the ignorance and selfishness of those who are unkind.
If you respect life and are sickened when people and animals suffer cruelty at the hands of inhumane humans.
If you believe in equality and justice for everyone, and live in horror or fear at the hateful deeds of those who profit on racism and exploitation of the poor.
If everything going on seems an insane new normal, each new insanity making the last one seem comfortable.
If this world is not one you prefer, and the fuckheads in power seem doomed to make things worse
If making things better still seems important, even after all we’ve all been through

Then remember one thing,
my friend you must be
For so many have eyes
but refuse to be able to see
through the lies to the truth on the table
in Freedom’s last light
We squint into nothingness
Pretending it’s too fucking bright

Original poetry by Jamie Gray (with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

Close To The Edge

jamie

America is on the edge. Many of the freedoms and the progress we’ve made toward civil rights are on the verge of being eliminated.

I’m not trying to scare anybody, but the time for business as usual is over. Thanks to greed, lies and partisan politics, the Rights of Americans have been abused and degraded. Police shoot at unarmed citizens because they are afraid. That should tell you something about the climate on the streets of America…if you’ve been living in a box and haven’t seen it for yourself already. Violence is everywhere. The System is Failing. Shit is breaking down, and things may get ugly.

It’s actually good news, if you can look past the painful present into a better, more equitable future for All. But the truth is, things usually have to break really badly, before they get fixed in America. Slightly broken just won’t do in the USA.

The bad news is that first, people will get hurt. Innocent people, who did nothing except try to live their lives. The assholes of the world will get a little richer and more powerful, and some people will die. Acceptable losses they’ll say. I don’t agree.

At some point though, people will get sick of the same old rich people fucking over everyone else. People will reach their breaking point, and demand better, and I think we’re very close to that precipice. But in America, things have to get REALLY BAD before that happens. Unless it affects people directly, let’s face it: We Americans just don’t give a fuck.

I know. Some of us do. If you’ve read this far, you probably do. I know I do. But so many intelligent, kind, and generous Americans avoid politics completely. Because by and large, American politics is a disgusting abuse of the public trust, legalized bribery at the highest levels, leaving the average voter relegated to just a number to be manipulated, based on race, religion and zip code. I get it, and I don’t blame them for not wanting to dirty their hands.

But we’ve ALL consented to being treated this way, either tacitly by not voting, or actively by voting, but not demanding better choices. They get away with it because we let them. They will keep taking, abusing our trust, until our vote means less than nothing, if we let them.

Here’s why: Government shouldn’t be done by career politicians, a privileged class of elite liars, skilled in wordcraft (most of them). It should be volunteers, who serve their country briefly, and then return to private life. Doctors. Teachers. Sanitation engineers. Artists. Secretaries. Bartenders. People who know about living in America and who want to make the best choices for Americans.

But more importantly, government should serve the people. All the people. Not just the ones who can afford to influence the politicians with their ‘donations’.

That can only happen if the millions of smart, caring, non-voting citizens, decide to get involved in ‘politics’, and use their voices…and their votes…to demand better.

Demand term limits
Demand money out of politics
Demand demilitarized police
Demand equal rights
Demand an end to the corporate oligarchy
Demand better choices
Demand transparency
Demand Truth
Demand Democracy

Get informed. Get involved.
Vote. November 8th.
Do it. Just fucking do it.
We can be part of a bigger solution, not the same shit different day DC dog and pony show they think is fooling us. We’re not idiots.

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.

Democracy Matters.

jamie

They say your vote matters. This year it really may. Across the country, election deniers are running for offices that can affect the outcome of future elections. If they are elected, they could change the results of elections, despite the will of the voters. It’s clear they are willing to lie and to cheat in order to win, because they know that their policies are so unpopular they couldn’t win any other way. It’s a disgrace to America.

Look. You and I both know it. The American political system is fully corrupt. Lobbying is legalized bribery. The GOP may be the first party to have abused it to the point of absolute lawlessness, based on lies about the election. But for years, both parties have conspired together to exploit and manipulate The People.

Our economy is essentially a ‘caste system’ that allows the elite to profit no matter what, while the average American gets a smaller and smaller piece of the pie. They tell you anyone can make it, but only a few actually do. Corporation shareholder meetings and the Federal Reserve Bank decide our futures, not our votes.

Yet so many of us just accept the shitty system, as our future grows bleaker. So many folks don’t even bother to vote. Nothing changes until The People Demand Change. Peacefully. Sans insurrection.

We need to do a LOT to fix our political system. But, without fair elections, we won’t be able to do anything, and all of us but the wealthiest will be completely voiceless about our futures.

Register. Vote. November 8th, 2022. If you’re not sure who to choose, vote Democrat. Democrats at least will let you choose your shitty future from your shitty choices.

Two Kinds of People…

jamie

There are only two kinds of people in this world:

  1. People who want to live their lives by their own rules
  2. People who want to tell others how to live

If you’re in the second group, kindly go fuck yourselves with a fire hose. ~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.

New York Native Jamie Gray is a Conjurer of Bytes, Notes & Words; Seeker of Truth, Peace, & Harmony.

Racism: Labels of Assumption

jamie

Racism isn’t the real problem, labels are. Don’t get me wrong, racism is a very real problem. I think we all need to practice anti-racism daily. But, that means finding the causes of racism, and effecting changes.

Because racism is more than just learned hatred. It’s about how we think. How we form our subjective opinions about the things we experience around us. That’s what needs to change. Because, one of our biggest problems is that, for some reason, we have the need to lump everything into a group of similar things, and then put a label on it.

When we label something, all objectivity goes out the window. Find an unlabeled jar of green, leafy material in your kitchen cupboard…you might draw the subjective opinion that it’s Oregano. Someone else might start looking for a bong to stuff it in. If there’s a label on it, your opinion doesn’t matter any more. Which is fine, until you open that mislabeled jar, and you smoke yourself into a huge headache instead of making spaghetti.

Objective thinking means overcoming the impulse to label everything, and instead letting everything label itself via discovery. Asking extra questions, rather than assuming the answers, based on labels that may or may not be fact. Observation, rather than intervention. Considering infinite possibilities of our futures, rather than just using past experiences to guide our present actions.

Objective thinking means that everyone gets the benefit of the doubt. Each person we meet becomes an opportunity to grow, rather than someone you can trust, or someone you should fear. Using our subjective opinions about events from our past should inform us in the present, but not control how we see unfamiliar experiences and new people in our lives.

Because a lot of times, we’ve got a mislabeled jar in the cupboard, and before making purple kush pizza for the family, maybe we should open the jar and give it a sniff. ~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 | Conjurer of Bytes, Notes & Words. Seeker of Truth, Peace, & Harmony.