Potato Salad Politics

It’s been a minute or two since I posted anything like this. In fact, it’s been decades. A long time ago, I wrote a lot of political posts, articles and even books in support of the War on Terror.

During the research for my first non-fiction book, I had some online issues with someone who didn’t like my opinion. He really didn’t like it, and he believed I should die for expressing a view (a fact-based view) that he didn’t like. He was from Egypt, and in 2002 a death threat from someone in Egypt meant getting the FBI involved. They told me to either stop writing or use a pen name, then blew me off. I tried using a pen name, but as time passed, and the War on Terror became a domestic political tool so too did the trolls and threats. One day, someone trolled my Facebook account, and made some intimidating comments about pictures of my family. That was enough, and I stopped writing. They successfully cancelled me.

This cancel culture is not new. People and groups have always turned to boycotts or a Scarlett Letter as a way of forcing their views to be accepted above others. I gave in. Most people do. We are lesser for it.

Today, if you call someone a “they” instead of a “ze” it’s grounds for violence. Canada even tried to make it a law. In many businesses, universities and other entities such a misuse of pronouns can be used as grounds for expulsion. The same is true if you express a politically incorrect view. It even happens if you ask a question about something the left states with authority (even if it’s a lie or proven incorrect later).

So it was that for years I watched the news, lived through Presidencies, plagues, near economic collapse, and a myriad of other human tragedies that were global, national, regional, and sometimes personal. It’s been the better part of a generation since I said what’s on my mind. This week the silence that was demanded by an Islamofacist in 2002, by a self-proclaimed democratic socialist in 2008, and by a progressive Democratic Party at large….this week I’m breaking the silence they demanded.

During my silence, an online friend who I never had the chance to meet in person, went to war, came home, and couldn’t adjust. He had been to Iraq and Afghanistan several times. He used to joke about how safe it was to walk around Bagram Airfield (as long as you stated between the caution tape that outlined the path through the Soviet minefields!). Like more than 20 other veterans every day, one day, my friend took his life. The last email I got from him gave no clue. He just complained about Democrats’ opposition to fighting Al Queda around the globe. The focus of his last email was a frustration and outrage that Homeland Security published an annual threat assessment, and on it-instead of Al Queda, Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, or a long list of rogue nations and groups….the number one threat to American security was from American combat veterans.

A few weeks later I hadn’t heard from him. I searched, and my friend, the veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had taken his life. He left behind a wonderful wife and kids who I’ve been blessed to watch grow up, and he would be so proud of them. But our country was not proud of him.

Oh, they’ve always said, “we support the troops not the war,” but that’s a lie. Homeland Security’s declaration that the greatest threat to America is the American veteran…that’s the reality. Half the country stands and applauds them, the other half sits smugly with a shameful, envious disdain for people who earn and deserve respect.

Fast forward a few more years. America moved from a country that was deliberately divided over the invasion of Iraq, to a country that feeds upon itself over immigration, African-American culture, and non-heterosexual relationships. Today, media pundit-parasites prey on the once-United States of America. Today, if you disagree with them, you’re a xenophobic, racist, sexist.

You’re a NAZI, and according to popular leftist understanding, it’s ok to punch a NAZI. They deserve it. If you disagree with them, you’re a NAZI, and you deserve whatever intimidation, defamation, slander, or even physical attack you get. Oh, they’ll say they don’t condone violence, but then they turn right around, and when violence does happen….they silently accept/condone it. Cities burned by self-proclaimed Marxist groups, -they don’t “condone it,” but instead they have reporters standing in front of burning building and tell us it’s a mostly peaceful protest (not America burning).

Complaining, or even refusing the newspeak is not acceptable. If you think that immigrants should check in like immigrants used to at Ellis Island, then you’re a xenophobic racist son of a bitch, and anyone who wants to get in your face at a restaurant to shout at you until you leave…that’s acceptable under the ok-to-punch-a-NAZI mindset of the modern left. If you think that the Black Lives Matters protests that led to hundreds of people killed and wounded with billions of dollars in damage were all just an election-year stunt….you must be a racist NAZI=ok to have your house and car spray-painted w swastika, and your employer and/or customers informed that you’re a Himmler. (Odd that the nationwide protests ended as soon as the BLM leaders had enough donations to buy mansions). If you think that it’s silly to have to use a person’s chosen pronouns by law, even if some people change them hourly, then you’re a transphobe sicko, and you and your family, and friends, and co-workers should be publicly humiliated as such.

The other night, my President went further. He told me that I’m a “Clear and present danger” to the United States and global democracy; to liberty and freedom for all mankind. He specifically, and with great emphasis (as well as theatre that made Darth Vader proud) said that this is the case with “MAGA Republicans.” He didn’t call me out by name, or you. He just lumped us all in together.

Do you think that 20 months of 10% inflation is bad? If so, you’re a MAGA Republican/clear and present danger to your country.

Do you think that the evacuation of Afghanistan was handled worse than the abandonment of South Vietnam? If so, you’re a MAGA Republican/clear and present danger to your country.

Do you think that maybe an extra $5-10,000,000,000,000 in federal spending could be excessive? If so, then sit down and STFU you SOB/MAGA Republican. Otherwise, you’re a clear and present danger to the United States.

Do you think that maybe there should be some control or sovereignty along the US border to make sure that some bad people don’t come in? OMG! What a disgusting idea! You should be whipped you NAZI, MAGA Republican thug. It’s people like you who are a clear and present danger to this country.

Do you think there should be some sort of election security? If so, then you’re a threat to democracy. Dead voters shouldn’t be purged from polls, and govt officials should be allowed to change the rules of an election during the vote count. To believe otherwise is to believe “The Great Lie” and be an election-denier, a MAGA Republican, an insurrectionist, a clear and present danger.

This list is infinite. Literally. I turned on MSNBC today, set a timer on my phone, and waited. It took only 75 seconds to hear the word “racist” tossed out like chaff. Turn on CNN, and you can hear the over-arching name de guerre “MAGA Republican” in just over a minute.

Make no mistake about it, the words “clear and present danger” are not a rhetorical tool. They are words that a President uses to authorize the use of force. Whenever there’s a school shooting the parasite pundits and Democrats scream for an assault weapons ban before the shooting is even over, and anyone who suggests hiring more security is-you guessed it-a MAGA Republican. Meanwhile, Democrats in the House, in the Senate, and in the White House just hired 87,000 new IRS agents without the blink of an eye. Why? Because half the country or more (the MAGA Republicans) are a clear and present danger. We’ve seen the Biden Admin use the FBI and other branches of govt to go after political opponents. It happens every day. Do you really think those 87,000 new IRS agents are gonna be going after the richest 3 million Americans who already pay half the revenue, or do you think they’ll be used to go after people who are a clear and present danger?

Look, I get it, politics is boring and nuanced, and divisive. There are always at least two ways of looking at an issue and so there are always going to be political divides over those two different perceptions. This is amplified exponentially depending on where you get your news: if you watch FOX, you’re likely to see more favorable reports about Trump and right leaning issues. Conversely, if you watch or read anything and everything else, you’re going to see positive left leaning perspectives. At best, the media outside FOX might pretend to give you what “the other side’s” position is, but their viewers don’t care if that presentation is accurate or not. The vast majority of people watch partisan news so their fears and perceptions are affirmed. No one turns on a TV looking to get worked up about how wrong they were about something.

Here’s the catch, the people who decide elections, the independents, the undecided, the RINO/DINO crowd, are usually the least informed. They’re the people who we see in those on-the-spot sidewalk or beach interviews, and when asked who is Vice President they say, Dick Cheney. These people decide how to vote based on pop culture, a little punditry, and on their experience. They “get their news” from late night comedians who are all staunch progressive democrats. They’re the ones who decide on the health of the $18,000,000,000,000 US economy based on their frustration that a pint of potato salad costs $5.79 instead of $3 at Walmart. They’re the ones who make decisions about healthcare reform based on a relative’s recent broken leg. They’re the ones that wanted to nuke everything from Casablanca to India on Sept 12, 2001, but then felt leaving 2000 Special Forces in Afghanistan was too much military might.

Right now, many of these people are becoming MAGA Republicans-not Trump fans, but people who have beliefs that are-you guessed it-a clear and present danger to the Biden Administration and the Democrats control of Congress.

The midterm Congressional elections are only weeks away. Historically, the President and party in power lose seats. President Biden isn’t on the ballot, but his leadership has been hovering in the 30-40% range for months, and while most Democrats say they’ll vote for him if he is the nominee in 2024, most also say they don’t want him to be the nominee. More importantly, the vast majority of the American people-more than ever before-think that the country is headed in the wrong direction. It would be odd that so many would say they want a new direction, but then turn around and vote for the same candidates. Granted, that happens all the time in major cities where almost all have had Democrats as mayors for decades.

Obviously, for Republicans to win, they must get people to vote FOR them. Parasitic political pundits for the Democrats are working hard with the Democratic Party’s leaders to make the midterms some sort of referendum on Trump. That’s why they attack anyone who disagrees with them as a MAGA Republican; i.e. a Trump fan. Anyone who disagrees should be cancelled.

The problem isn’t as simple as a change of political power via the midterm elections. Cancel culture is far bigger and deeper. In the few days since President Biden’s divisive rant, the mainstream media and partisan media have been forced to either stand up and say, “Yeah, that’s a bit too far” or embrace the ravings of an old man who reads anything put on the teleprompter. Sure as anything, the loudest voices are the ones on cable news, the internet, and in the dying print media who say, “YES! Joe is absolutely right!”

Then the slippery slope gets going. “Some extremist, MAGA Republicans” gets shortened to “MAGA Republicans.” A bit of crosstalk on a cable show, and it gets shortened to “Republicans.” Finally, a bubble of nutjobs get together, and it’s “people on the right.” What they really think, and mean, is:” you.”

So what is to be done? There’s a lot of things that can be done. They run the gamut from peaceful to catastrophic. The smallest, most necessary thing to do is to stop being silent. I’m going to try that. I beg of you all to do the same. If we continue down the path of an enraged and powerful left, increasingly excusing violence against the right, I fear that eventually the violence we saw through 2020 will happen again, and it won’t be as one-sided. Doubt it could get that bad? Call a gun store and ask if our President’s speech had an effect on gun sales.