Government agents cannot shoot citizens dead on our streets for taking an IPhone video of their actions. Peaceful protests are allowed in our country in fact throughout our history such protests have been encouraged. Has government decided that the solution is in the use of physical force? Are these tactics acceptable? Have we changed as a people? If we have, why now?
Discord, division, confusion seem to be the rule of the day. We need a message tailored to the problems we confront today that offers voters a physical solution to the threats we perceive. Facts must be available for any person to verify, to document. If we accept what are not verifiable facts then discord, division, confusion will continue to rule the day. Why do we disagree on what is factual?
Facts can not be what we believe, reinforced through social media, what we want to be true. Facts are truths proven through science and observation. If social media states, the sky is green and 1000 people agree it remains false. If I agree and then repost it, that still does not make it true. Sometimes politicians knowing the facts choose to distort or embellish them beyond their intended meaning, even then it stays untrue. If I support what was said, because I want to believe it is true, still not true. However, in the social media world the algorithm recognizes my comment and floods me with similar exaggerations. The more I see the fact distorted, posted, and reposted, I become more convinced of its veracity, but it is still a falsehood not a fact.
If we lack the ability, the wisdom, to discern a verifiable fact we are lost to truth. All the ways that political institutions have distorted, misunderstood, or weaponized such beliefs in the quest for power and authority, reinforces their grip on people, on power. It is still a falsehood, a lie. It is too early in the day for many to see clearly. If we rub our eyes our vision becomes clearer allowing wisdom to break through. If we reconnect with the light that shines at the heart of truth, we gain clarity and wisdom tailored to the problems of the current times. We can see the threats of this era, a divided majority in need of unity based on a solution in defense of free speech and public politics. It’s not about being “woke” as heard today, it is about being Awake! Woke as used today is a derogatory term by those who do not understand its prior use. These people are neither woke nor awake.
When intimidated people acquiesce due to fear such political action results in discord, division, and confusion. We still have freedom of expression. There are, however, examples of democratic erosion, democracy in the US is not dead yet.
The invasion of American cities focused on “blue” Democratic cities by federal troops finally has stirred the conscience of the people. Thousands of citizens have braved frigid temperatures and taken to the streets. Ordinary citizens everywhere are blowing whistles, taking videos, and protecting their neighbors. More people are speaking up, including those who had not before. Democracy is still alive. Dark clouds may still hang over our sunny land. White Americans in particular out of fear maintain a relationship between fear and care. My hope is the last Trump/MAGA supporter was born 20 years ago. We must move forward believing the fear that results in our current discord, division and confusion can be removed through understanding and truth. Much time must elapse before the world accepts our greatness as a nation again. The first step is believing in ourselves and in America.
Phil's Personal Perspectives 