reilly m gray

One of my Facebook friends posts numerous memes of Trump depicting him as being chosen for the Presidency by God, being guided by Jesus, as being a pro-life family man of great Christian virtue and as a highly successful businessman who is only disliked because he is working so hard to make America great again.  My Facebook friend is not alone as 35% of Americans still support Trump.

My friend’s view of reality is diametrically opposed to mine and I have other friends, family members and acquaintances who agree with my Facebook friend.  This makes me question my view of reality.  If I see these people as being misled, am I being misled?  Are they not looking closer or seeking other sources of information?  Am I engaging in confirmation bias?

In Trump, I see a twice divorced man who engaged in multiple extra-marital affairs, who inherited a lot of money, declared bankruptcy six times and often stiffed contractors and workers, who mocked a person with a disability on national television, has told over 6000 documented lies since becoming President and who believes that the National Enquirer has the same journalistic standing as The Washington Post or The New York Times.  I don’t believe Trump was chosen by God and that he thinks “WWJD” when he makes decisions.  Before becoming a pro-life Republican for the 2016 election, he was lifelong a pro-choice Democrat.  He is more concerned with money and his brand than with the circumstances of the American people.

I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt as I search for the truth.  My hope is that everyone would fact check and research the reliability and motivations of their news sources.  I hope that we can find common ground.

 

This is the first time in my life that I have had strong opinions about a United States President and government policies.  I struggle to not dismiss the beliefs and assumptions of others that disagree with mine.  I read, listen and write about our current political climate.  I fact check and try to be aware of my own confirmation bias.  This is not an easy process.

Some, superficially, find the President’s brashness as a good quality while others, also superficially, find it distasteful and dangerous.  These divergent views are supported and fueled by opposing news sources that may be more concerned with ratings than truth.  Our superficial beliefs and assumptions reenforced by our favorite media makes it easy for us to jump to conclusions and wrongly believe that we know the truth.

One way for us to find common ground is to find one neutral news source and compare its reporting with our favorite news source and to note any discrepancies.  Google the media bias chart and choose one of the sources from the top center.  This is the place where we can begin to find common ground and to unmask our superficial beliefs and assumptions.

According to Dictionary.com, shrewd is defined as astute or sharp in practical matters, keen, piercing, and artful, while corrupt is defined as guilty of dishonest practices, lacking integrity, crooked, debased in character, wicked, evil, to destroy integrity of, and to lower morally.  The shame is that corrupt practices can be seen as shrewd when in fact they are not.  Are some supporting corruption because they think they’re supporting shrewd?

The United States of America has been known around the world for its virtue and its commitment to democracy making it difficult for autocrats to take over the world.  We had a reputation for honest dealings, morality, respect for the common good, duty to God and country, helping others, high values and scrupulous ethics.  This statement may be seen as a naive sense of morality that no longer exists or that may have never existed, but it was an ideal to live up to.

It seems that corrupt acts have become more acceptable to mainstream Americans in both business and politics.  In an article called, Despite the recent scandals, ‘business ethics’ isn’t a contradiction in terms by Janna Thompson (The Drum, 10/5/2015), the author states that “…virtue generally rewards companies, at least in societies where corruption is not rife.”  That is good news for us, unless we are becoming rife with corruption.  Are we in danger?

We must be vigilant by creating a system that supports ethical behavior.  The author continues, ethics, however, may fail “…when there is a direct conflict between the needs of a business and doing the right thing.  If the survival of a company depends on cutting ethical corners, then the temptations to do so will be very strong.  Unethical behavior is more prevalent in small businesses or franchises where profit margins are small and survival is always in doubt.  Big corporations are generally in a better position to act ethically.  But their ethical probity can be undermined by a culture that encourages, aggressive, risk-taking behavior.   It is ironic that the competitive risk-taking, unregulated economy that many politicians want to encourage is an environment conductive to unethical behavior.”

We must hold our business and political leaders accountable by rewarding ethical behavior and punishing corrupt practices.  Corrupt practices are unacceptable in our democracy!  Is our current leader shrewd or corrupt?

 

 

 

President Trump and some other Republicans try to define what it means to be a Democrat and to state what Democrats supposedly believe.  As a lifelong Democrat, I find it puzzling that others seem to think they know what I am thinking and am disheartened by its erroneousness and its derogatory tone.  I was prompted to explore this line of thinking by the following statement posted by one of my Facebook friends.

It states that, “You can call Trump a bully, racist, zenophobe [sic], liar, islamaphobe [sic], fascist and even a Cheeto.  THE TRUTH IS, you hate him because he is a white conservative Christian, an outsider who’s exposing ALL of the Democratic corruption in Washington, and he’s KICKING ASS for the American people (right_winning)”

First all I don’t hate white people or any people just for the color of their skin.  Secondly, I don’t hate conservatives, even though Trump is not really a conservative (just ask some true conservatives).  Thirdly, I certainly do not hate Christians, because I am a practicing Christian.  Finally, there is all kinds of corruption going on in Washington, sadly its entrenched on both sides.

THE TRUTH IS that the American government has been taken over by wealthy elites who are both Republican and Democratic.  They are so far removed from average Americans that many don’t even realize the damage they are doing to America.  It is ashame that average Americans are being divided by false statements and news sources with an agenda.  If we only understood that average Americans are by far the majority and worked together, we would be a great force of change.  How can we find common ground?

People seem to throw out the terms big government and small government without looking deeper to see what these terms really mean.  Many seem to believe in generalities like big government impedes on their personal freedom and gives their hard-earned money to lazy poor people.  But, government is necessary to provide rules for how we live together as a society.  Our representative democracy allows us to have input through voting for and contacting our Congressmen and Senators.

President Thomas Jefferson said that a “…wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

The government restrains “…men from injuring one another” through regulations like inspecting meat processing plants, pollution control, product safety rules and law enforcement just to name a few.  If profit is the only measure of success, safety is often overlooked.

The Department of Labor, for instance, regulates minimum wages, working conditions and child labor so that men “shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”  Lately, however, collective bargaining has been greatly diminished and many do not earn a livable wage for full-time work.

Without government regulation there would be no protection from careless practices and for fair wages.  There is, seemingly, a tendency in human nature to do what is best for “you and yours” with complete disregard for the other.  The religions of the world recognize this shortcoming in human beings and try to reach the higher self of each soul in order to treat others as they would want to be treated (the Golden Rule).

William Golding in Lord of the Flies, demonstrates what happens when rampant self-centeredness and underdeveloped empathy lacks the wisdom of a teacher and keeper of the norms.  Life became uncivilized and ruthless.

The answer isn’t big or small government, its smart and compassionate government.  I find it interesting that some small government proponents who do not want their personal freedoms impeded, want to tell others who they can love and who they can worship.

My hope has been restored by watching interviews of 2020 democratic presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren and of the newly elected democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  Both women prioritized affordable healthcare for all, campaign finance reform, immigration policy reform, protecting voter’s rights, fair wages and an economy that works for all, and repairing the infrastructure among other important issues for our democracy.  All of these issues are or should be bipartisan in that they are needed to heal our country in a way that will benefit everyone not just the few.

Of course, this will not be easy, especially since we are in the middle of a partial government shutdown.  A shutdown imposed by the President to pressure the congress into approving funding for a southern border wall that 60-75% of Americans oppose.  Right now, around 800,000 government workers are not being paid as they are being used as pawns while the terms of this dispute are being discussed.  These people have to suffer as the President tries to keep a campaign promise that he has already lost.  He promised that Mexico would pay for the “wall” and that is not happening.  He now wants American taxpayers to pay for the wall, a wall that most don’t want, a wall that is overkill and, ultimately, unnecessary.

According to Robert Reich, Professor of Public Policy and former Secretary of Labor, immigration is good for America.  He put forth the “Seven Truths about Immigration” in one of his short videos at robertreich.org.   These truths are as follows.

1. 75% of Americans say immigrations is a good thing.
2. America needs immigrants as our population is rapidly aging.
3. New immigrants contribute more in taxes than they take in public assistance.
4. Immigrants don’t take American jobs, in fact their spending creates more jobs.
5. Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born.
6. In fact, crime is at an all time low.
7. Illegal border crossings have been declining for years.

Everyone is for border security and effective immigration policy.  The idea of a wall that runs the entire southern border is impractical and a waste of time and money.  Hopefully, we can get through this impasse quickly and move on to healing our country with more important matters.  One can only hope…

The American middle class is disappearing.  It is being destroyed by big corporations that are only concerned with enriching themselves and stockholders at the expense of employees and communities.  The working class is, instead, blaming the lower classes and immigrants for their stagnant wages and lack of opportunity.

Corporations need to invest in their communities instead of hoarding the country’s wealth.  Government regulation needs to invest the country’s wealth in infrastructure, education and affordable healthcare.  America’s workers need to earn a livable wage.

The push for privatization often harms the public good.  For instance, Robert Reich reports that the administrative costs of Medicaid is 1.1% while the administrative costs of private healthcare is 11%.

I am overwhelmed because there is no easy answer.  And as soon as you say publicly funded, you’re labeled a socialist, even though, publicly funded entities have made America great (e.g. education, highway system, military).

There are news sources who are misleading the working class by making them believe that corporate greed is good and that labor unions are bad, that nationalism is better than globalism, and that our economic growth is not dependent on immigration.

There are at least a dozen topics mentioned here that could be explored more deeply and  I will try to learn more and share my findings in future blogs.  Have a Happy New Year!

 

I am often confused and perplexed by some of the views espoused by people I know both in person and on Facebook.  Seeking to understand the source of these views that are counter to my own worldview has been a major impetus for this blog.  I have explored bias or leanings in the media and have included some guidelines for finding factual news in past posts.  This week I tuned in to MSNBC on TV and Fox News streaming on my iPad at the same time and jotted down topics from each show.

MSNBC (rated on the media bias chart as skewed left with fair interpretations):

• Mattis resigns as President Trump withdraws troops from Syria without consulting his cabinet, the Pentagon or experts in this matter with complete disregard for negative consequences.
• Stock market in decline due to impulsive and unpredictable actions of the President.
• Acting Attorney General Whitaker refuses to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation even though the ethics committee recommends recusal.
• The Democratic controlled congress will look at Trump tax returns.

Fox News (rated on the media bias chart as hyper-partisan right with extreme unfair interpretations crossing the line into nonsense damaging to public discourse):

• Immigrants flooding across the border.
• One immigrant arrested for crimes.
• The President is building the wall.
• One MS 13 gang member arrested.
• Deregulation is saving money as Health and Human Services are reduced.
• A video of Millennials crying when Trump was elected who are now getting therapy dogs and massages.

AP Headlines (rated on the media bias chart as neutral news with no leanings or bias):

• A decade-long rally on Wall Street looks like it’s ending.
• Mattis resignation letter lays out challenges for successor.
• Trump call with Turkish leader led to US pullout from Syria.
• Supreme Court rejects Trump plea to enforce asylum ban.
• Trump signs sweeping criminal justice bill.
• Virtual wall grows as Trump border fight threatens shutdown.
• Mexico appears willing but unready to hold US refugees.

These topics show that MSNBC is reporting the same topics as the Associated Press (AP), but with criticism of the President added, while Fox News has none of the topics reported by the AP.  People who only watch Fox News or other right-wing media sources are unaware of the economic downturn, the diminished standing of the United States in the world order and the fact that illegal immigration is the least of our problems especially when homegrown mass shooters are prevalent and the top one percent are stealing and hoarding the wealth of our country.  They are also unaware that the President needs to be held accountable and that our democracy is being damaged, maybe fatally.  Please find a neutral news-source and compare with what your favorite source is reporting.  Power is in the truth.

 

I started this blog just over a year ago and have outlined, on many occasions, my thoughts and feelings on the unfitness of Donald Trump for the office of the Presidency.  I still struggle to understand those who support Trump while remaining respectful of differing opinions.  I came across an article on theatlantic.com called “Why Trump Supporters Believe He Is Not Corrupt” by Peter Beinart (8/22/2018).  Beinart writes, what Trump “…supporters fear most isn’t the corruption of American law, but the corruption of America’s traditional identity.”

He continues, supporters fear the “…corruption of the traditional order… of traditional racial and sexual norms.”  They fear civil and equal rights for all as they see this as a challenge to their traditional identity and status in American society.  They see this racist and misogynist president as the protector of this “traditional” order.  Beinhart states that “Once you grasp that for Trump and many of his supporters, corruption means less the violation of the law than the violation of established hierarchies, their behavior makes more sense.”

Many Trump supporters see minorities, immigrants and feminists as the enemies of their traditional American identity.  They see this as the corruption of America not the corruption in politics, in big business or of the law.  Beinhart says “For many Republicans, Trump remains uncorrupt -indeed, anti corrupt…” because he presents as the in-charge, strong white male of their idea of tradition.

The fear of this loss of “traditional” hierarchy is so great that many have been blinded to the damage that is being done to our democracy as the rule of law is being discarded.  We live in a multicultural/racial country.  Our success is dependent  on working together and upholding human rights for all.  Change should not be feared but embraced as we are stronger together than divided.

Bamboozle means, according to dictionary.com, to deceive or get the better of (someone) by trickery, flattery or the like… some synonyms include dupe, cheat, swindle, defraud, flim-flam, delude, mislead and fool.

IJRRed.com, labeled as a home for conservative news and commentary, posted a video on December 1, 2017 of President Trump’s speech during the annual tree lighting at the Whitehouse (this video resurfaced on Facebook for the 2018 Christmas season also).  The caption below the video stated “Finally, a president that isn’t afraid to say things like this.”  In the video, President Trump read a moving speech about Christ, Christmas and faith.  It would have been really beautiful if it had been read from the heart by someone who actually Talked the Talk and Walked the Walk.  (Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk was a theme for one of the Sunday School classes I taught a few years ago.)

But, instead, it was used and is being used to pander to his evangelical base who continue to give Trump endless “Mulligans” for his unacceptable behaviors in both the legal and moral realms.  As a Christian, I felt personally assaulted by his inauthenticity, and I felt that my faith was being used to give power to a soulless man who is devoid of any understanding of what it would mean to be just one of the “thousand points of light” spoken by the late former President George H. W. Bush.

Please, don’t be fooled by a craftily written and delivered speech that tells you exactly what you want to hear.  Look behind the facade for the truth and hold our President accountable for his actions.  Don’t accept his lies, bullying and incompetence.  Don’t be bamboozled!