At first I thought I might be mistaken, but now I’m convinced, I’ve been hearing the term “republican lifestyle” used by my let’s call them conservative friends as an excuse to support the racism and misogyny, homophobia rightly associated with today’s GOP of old white men who know the party is over but can’t quite let go.
Why, throw in their constant indignation over the never-ending conveniently victimizing the speaker formulaic perception that Christianity is under attack, blah, blah, blah, freedom of religion, blah, blah, blah, never mind your rights, these are just for me, blah, blah, blah holiday coffee cups, and there you have it, the making of a fun filled little world where at the end of the day, every problem can be solved with a gun.
Variants on the GOP strain include your standard anti-taxer, anti-vaxer, bigots of all shapes and sizes, a Viking shaman, and several members of congress who are trying to kill their colleagues believing it is the patriotic thing to do. What the more violent forms of them don’t understand is George Washington would have shot them right there on the battlefield for mounting and or participating in an armed insurrection against the government.
There is little debate that General Washington was not against issuing battlefield justice, meaning a quick tribunal, execution and burial right then and there, was not out of the question for deserters and well, for participation in a glorified riot leading to the sacking of the halls of congress to overturning the results of a fair election and denying the people their right to the candidate they voted for and to cancel the centerpiece of American political culture of a nation blessed with the peaceful transition of power.
But hey, yes, it is as I insinuated above, these guys are a bunch of losers and I mean that quite literally. In the US Civil War the South lost. In World War II the Nazis lost and now, flying the blue MAGA flag of racial and religious intolerance and no respect at all for supposed Jewish people armed with laser beams, the Red Hat MAGA crowd will go down in history as another failed attempt at justifying a mostly evil, full of hatred and not lacking for a dash of greed as the motivating factors of a happy, healthy, righteous republican lifestyle.
As strange as this may all seem, it’s starting to make sense to me. The problem is a disconnect between two worlds. One based on repeated lies, outright propaganda and encouraging a far too literal take on events described in the Bible. The other? In reality.
There has been a great deal of talk about the “big lie”. “Stop the steal” was a pre-announced treacherous strategy that was to be utilized if the Cult45 devotees needed a reason to refuse to admit their leader lost. But to get there, to suspend your senses and form a no science please, pseudo-theology politically radical scenario based on the ascendance of a madman to a throne that doesn’t exist, requires an even bigger and far more sinister lie.
You must believe there are two Americas, one made of mostly religious, white people who believe in their superiority as a matter of divine intervention and another, who just so happen to be here, in America, with them. You know, the users, losers, ethnic minorities, “other” gods fearing individuals, gender benders, people who choose to love who they are in love with and those mean feminists that challenge their Caucasian, male-centric version of the world as we are all supposed to know it.
But we don’t. We recognize and believe that God loves all his children and that as we in the greatest of American tradition, seek out and celebrate the differences and diversity between us, this, love, caring and affection for our fellow brothers and sisters and all points in between is the true reflection of our frail, but ever resilient desire to imitate the divine and enter a state of grace.
And so, the “big lie” following in the footsteps of today’s modern Republican Party mantra of “truth is not truth” becomes that “equal” does not mean “equal” and that in so many ways, is currently expressed by the adherents to their shrinking fringe group and still on its way further down the rabbit hole conspiracy theory riddled GOP as a certain uneasy reticence with fellow Americans, so long as they know their place in the one “true” hierarchy “blessed” by the Almighty.
This is a pecking order mind you that places a stupid, fat, sick and sadistic bastard of a human being with a bad haircut and those are his good qualities, they get worse, at a level of godliness just under the Big Kahuna in the sky, for many right up there with his son.
Think about it. When was the last time you heard a right winger issue words of love, kindness, caring and understanding as part of their earthly mission? Who in their right mind separates the rights of the unborn to life and proclaims this, without deference to any other people at various times and in different places in their lives, as plenary in a surely misbegotten and ignorant way at best manner that includes the justification of murder, as a means of preventing what they see as murder?
This is one of the great mysteries of life. How is it a belief in the other worldly, the supernatural, the good, great and holy can lead to such a division among what is for all intents and purposes, one race, the human one. How does the need to believe in a greater power than one’s self result in the degradation and dehumanization of persons who are at best superficially different, in background, skin tone, gender and sexual preferences?
Things that quite frankly, could not possibly matter to the person or persons (I’m not saying it was Ancient Aliens, but it was) who created them. Are not all butterflies beautiful? Bees may sting, but they also make honey as well. Every ant has its unique place in the order of things. Everyone has a role to play both individually and for the greater good of the hive, the pack, the herd and yes, tribe.
One of the oddities of the Lion King is that it in many ways is a cautionary tale about how there is no king, lion or otherwise, that exists for very long without an adequate respect for the circle of life. That in fact, as part and parcel of the way of the 10,000 things under the sun is a deep and hopefully unshakable belief that all animals great and small, are equal participants in the eco-celestial scheme of life.
I have always found it comforting that in the end, all spiritual roads lead to Rome with the idea that a percentage of the population through nothing more than a belief will sit by the side of God while the non-believers, the infidel, shake, rattle, burn and roll in a state of eternal purgatory and all points lower, the elevator eventually stopping in the basement of the Macy’s building on the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire we all so casually refer to as hell. Hey, it’s as good as any other theory of the afterlife I’ve heard lately.
One of the more overlooked aspects of the 20th Century civil rights movement was President Truman’s 1948 Executive Order 9981 officially abolishing racial discrimination that led directly to the end of segregation throughout the US Armed Forces.
I say this not out of pity or to judge, but I would have thought those soldiers who saw persons of every color, ethnic background, gender and religious die in front of them for a common cause would gain a far greater comprehension for the precious sanctity of all life and while still part of this mortal coil and appreciation of why we must acknowledge the inner spark that is in all of us, helping when we can help, taking special note of the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves, often due to no one’s fault, and as a base line rule of social conduct, be good to one another.
The ultimate mystery being why is it some sectarian beliefs place great emphasis on the failure of “others” as proof of, or even going so far as to willingly bring about the End of Times, a time of great suffering and misery, upon the unfaithful as an absolute and necessary part of their spiritual success. Risky business I think. Nobody is right if everybody is wrong, right?
Do not be fooled. “Stop the steal” is about arresting and reversing if possible (it’s not) the inevitable forward looking and progressive nature of a nation built upon immigration. It’s not hard to fathom. Innovation requires the influx of new ideas and persons from different lands and cultures bring an abundance of different and often fresh perspectives to an otherwise largely homogeneous process of one self-identifying group creating and promoting products for people who look, act and apparently buy deodorant and gold like them.
Now, in the coming decades where the crazy quilt of America and the political barriers to voting and running for office becomes more diverse reflecting the true nature of the American We, the People, political disenfranchisement of minorities has become entangled along with the long standing evangelical notions that there is indeed a stairway to heaven favoring the rich, white and religiously intolerant among us as “chosen”. Chosen for what? I still don’t quite understand the mindset and probably never will for my relationship with God, both now and ultimately is not in any way, shape or form dependent on your actions and beliefs and never will.
Toward this end, I find no reason to proclaim myself part of a “democratic lifestyle” unless you acquaint doing good works for their own sake and as their own reward a facet of party preference, now that I’m thinking about it does seem sorely lacking from this so-called republican lifestyle ethos and operation. Sad, isn’t it?
But, when your mishmash belief system involves protecting, or let’s say not cancelling, but also honoring and preserving as much as possible the Confederacy that claimed to protect their “God given” right to practice slavery as a hideous feature of States’ rights,
while simultaneously promulgating the rampant racism and attendant cruelty, depravity and destruction of the Nazi movement of the 1930s and 40s as praise worthy and laudable episodes of our past, ones we dare not forget, well, excuse my language, but that’s just f*cked up.
I end on a hopeful note, for I myself am content knowing I have found my place in the here and now and at the end of my earthly journey will be by my creator’s side. It’s only a guess, but I am of the belief that God is a record collector and so, among the many mysteries and secrets of the universe I would love to discuss, I am looking forward to many hours sitting together, maybe smoking a little weed, hey, he made it, by the heavenly turntable with the good speakers, arguing over who was the greatest rock and roll guitarist of all times.
I’m still hooked on David Gilmour, but something tells me the Lord is a Hendrix fan. Game on.
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