And they can't take that away.”
....Lee Greenwood
Our political arena has become so ugly that it is difficult to dig through the dirt and find something to hold on to. Lee Greenwood’s song, "God Bless the USA", used to bring tears of pride to my eyes. The tears still flow, but now they are mixed with a fear that we a losing the very essence of what we have always stood for in a very scary world.
We have another presidential election coming up next year, and voters from both parties need to pay more attention to this one than any I can remember. The hateful rhetoric on both sides cover the real issues. The far left, as well as the far right, bring hate to the forefront, and I, for one, am sick of it. I understand the instinct to fight fire with fire, but we as a country are better than that and must show this at the ballot box.
Now, more than ever before, we must research each candidate and stand behind the one who best represents us. We can not hide our head in the sand. Our current administration has shown itself to support an ethnocentric America with a fear of losing their vision of the American identity. It makes sense to vote to continue with this administration if your feelings align with theirs. Although I don’t agree with those voters who say that since their desires have been met with this administration they will overlook the hatred, I understand that they are looking after their own interests.
Who I don’t understand are those people who claim to see no hatred or bigotry in our administration and dismiss those who worry when supremacy groups are becoming part of the fold. It might be easy to say that these voters are all “deplorable,” but that is a dangerous mistake. We all have intelligent and educated friends, neighbors and relatives who are casting their votes for people throughout the country who represent various forms of hatred, and many of these voters are not bigoted or xenophobic.
They are believing what they want to believe. They are listening to a media that exploits their fears while it skews its information, because it allows them to support beliefs that would ordinarily scare them. They are being educated by those who share only half truths, and this allows this hatred to grow.
Their counterparts have fallen into the same rut, listening to information that highlights only the worst of an administration that has shown some progress in certain areas. We are all following the lead of a dysfunctional Congress filled with senators and representatives who would rather go against their own core values than compromise with the other side. It is enough! We each need to use our vote wisely and repopulate Washington with people who see us as a whole country rather than two feuding halves.
I realize that I have said similar things in past blogs, and I know I will say similar things in future blogs, because this is important enough to be repeated until we are once again the “United” States of America. Your educated vote will make a difference, so no matter which way you lean, please take the time to learn the truth about the person who earns that precious vote. This is urgent because if history hast taught us anything Mr. Greenwood, they can take our freedom away if we allow ourselves to ignore the facts.
The book that I read/reviewed this week, Nondisclosure (A Medical Thriller) by Geoffrey M. Cooper is a medical thriller that will keep you interested without bogging you down with technicalities. When Brad Parker, department chair at a top medical research institute, learns that one of the professors in his department is being accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a student he is mentoring, he realizes he must find out the truth. Author Cooper does a good job taking us on this journey for the truth through the pages of his latest novel.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly