Perhaps I have angered you lately—with my pro protest posts.

I have listened to rhetoric and propaganda from both sides of the political spectrum. I have seen numerous people say their opinions should be respected. Well, no that’s not how it works. I respect your right to an opinion. There is no doubt about that. But to respect opinions that go against my own ethics would be ludicrous.  Especially if your opinion is not fact-based or based on hate.

I try to keep it real. I try to do my homework before I spout off about anything, but particularly politics. I have numerous friends much more left-wing than myself that I don’t always agree with and will say so. I’m generally not a demonizer, nor, do I put people on pedestals. I have no idols, just a few people I admire. I try not to hate.

The last election drove a huge wedge between me and the people I know, including some of my own family, who voted for Trump. (and perhaps they feel the same about my vote for Clinton.)

For me, it was an easy vote. I didn’t struggle with who was the better candidate. I never gave Bernie with his pointing finger and spittle mouth a second thought. I listened to what the GOP candidates had to say- and rejected them based on my own understanding of right and wrong. I watched every debate, I watched every news channel, (although admit that Fox gives me a migraine). I read every article- even the fake news ones. I researched. I watched 90% of the 11 hour Clinton interrogation in the Senate Hearing. (and frankly, I would have told them to go fuck themselves about hour 4.)

I know about Benghazi; I am a military mom. I don’t know – for the life of me- how you can blame the Secretary of State for those deaths, and not blame Bush/Cheney for the deaths of 5000+ troops in Iraq & Afghanistan based on lies. It makes no sense.

Afghanistan War	2001–present	1,954*
Iraq War	2003–2011	3,836*

*Source Wikipedia

And now… the Trump administration is using private email servers … so much for that issue. The corruption from this administration has put anything the Clinton’s ever did to shame. If you can’t see it… you aren’t looking.

I have watched this president (not capped on purpose) denigrate everyone that disagrees with him about anything. He is petty – like I knew he would be. He is knee jerk, he lacks depth, he seriously lacks empathy, he lacks historical facts, he lacks global knowledge, he lacks etiquette, he lacks vocabulary, he has made a fool of himself to the world with every single meeting he has with heads of states. He forgets their names, their titles, and admires thugs and murderers like Putin and Duterte. He is a global joke. He undermines his own cabinet. He insults women on a regular basis.  He always reminds me of the man that tried to put my head through a window when I wouldn’t serve him any more alcohol. He’s a spoiled, rich white guy that no one dare say no to. I have no doubt he has forced himself on women – I have met men like him.  But still, to me – his worst thing is that he is stupid. And by stupid I mean he lacks intelligence. He is not a reader – despite the pictures of his desk with reams of paper—he has lacked a complete understanding of the law. (Which by the way the rule of law is the backbone of our country.) He is not a successful businessman- he has stiffed so many people that he might as well have held a gun to them and stolen the money he owes. Yet people chose to overlook these character traits and voted for him.

And some people think he hung the moon. Some people have put their own morals aside (or maybe not) and decided that this man would do a good job. But has he?  Not by my standards.

So far he has tried to take medical insurance away from 20+ million people  (including many vets not covered by the VA) and sabotaged the market so that either way the American Health Insurance markets are screwed. Obama care or no Obama care – Health insurance is going to be unaffordable for most. And Medicare – that which those of us 65 and over-rely on – is in jeopardy as well. He would like to raise the taxes on middle class and cut the taxes for the very wealthy (proven to not work theory by top economists.)  He has created travel bans that are race/religion based (illegal) halted by the courts. He has rescinded DACA causing 15 States to sue the administration as well as 4 other lawsuits in a matter of 3 weeks. DACA Lawsuits

He has made legal immigration so difficult that it will probably lead to more illegal immigration.

He has loosened sanctions on EPA and National Monuments. He has pulled out of the Paris Accord- (then like a slippery dick, slid back in.) He has effectively dismantled just about any progress Obama made in his 8 years in office.

The article below by the BBC sums up this administrations successes and failures thus far. It’s not a great report card.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38663043

Trump’s support (as seen by lack of disdain and/or some respect) of White Supremacism/ Nazism was not a surprise to me- but what did surprise me was how many people were silent on the matter. (but some quite vocal about Black Lives Matter.) Afraid to speak out perhaps? Afraid to be political?  Afraid to make enemies of the true enemy of America?  Or was it because they held those same beliefs?

I have been arguing with people for 2 weeks about NFL and taking a knee issue and I am done. People will believe what they want to believe. No amount of logic and /or facts will change the will of some people. They want to be where they want to be. I see that as narrow-minded. Perhaps they see me the same way. Eventually, the facts will prevail.

And from BLM’s and Colin Kaepernick taking a knee- and trumps tweetstorm shit-show about the NFL when Puerto Rico is dying was just about the final straw for me. An insult to the flag and the troops and the anthem– not at all. I know this country is split in half about this – most of the veterans I know personally say they fought for this right (to protest) even if they don’t agree with it. When a silent protest is seen as unpatriotic I have to wonder what kind of protest is okay with you?

You want to know the real insult to the troops? Wars for no reason. The killing of 18–30-year-old people in the name of a war that has only made the issue of terrorism worse. We (the US) have effectively insured the terrorist of the future are the orphaned and homeless of the war-torn countries of today. We have a country full of veterans from wars since Vietnam until today with PTS due in large part to the fact they realized it was all for nothing, that they were killing people that wanted the same things we want- food, shelter, education, good health, and their children to be safe.

Another insult to the flag and patriotism is the heinous racism in our country. I have always been painfully aware of racism but lately it’s so overt I don’t know how anyone can deny it’s happening – and yet they do. Under trumps leadership (for lack of a better word) it has become okay to hate people of color. Newsflash folks – it’s not okay. The so-called “race card” is a misnomer. The “card” is issued by white people to denigrate blacks even further—the card is used by whites when they don’t have the intelligence to have a real conversation about race. The race card – is a term invented by whites who hate blacks.

If you wonder why I am writing about all this now- it’s because these thoughts eat me alive until I spit them out, because I can’t sleep thinking about this—and because I want to make sure that it’s clear that I have not come to these conclusions lightly- but not with great difficulty either. My core values have led the way.

My core values consist of equality, truth, and belief in humanity. The latter isn’t always easy for me–humanity lets me down on a regular basis, yet I continue to hope – and sometimes I see hope prevail. Recently someone asked me if I ever lose hope… I can honestly say that I have- but not for long. I lost hope this last election – for weeks I was depressed, angry, tearful and fearful. It was a blow I was not prepared to handle. I had to vow to myself to make sure that I leave my son and grandson a legacy they can be proud of to restore my positive energy  (hope) so that I am able to fight racism, hatred, fascism and all things intolerable to our Constitution as Americans and humanity in general. I don’t have much to leave anyone, just an abundance of tenacity and some words that tell the story of who I am. Who I hope to be.

I really don’t care if I am alone in the fight- though I know I am not and grateful for that. And I don’t think that everyone I know has to think the way I think – but some basics are a must. I will not tolerate racism—just like I will not tolerate rapists, murderers and child molesters. They are all the same category to me—unacceptable. If your racism is showing I am going to call you on it. I won’t be a coward and look the other way. I won’t worry about hurting feelings or losing a friendship. No one should allow that kind of behavior – as long as we do it will prevail.