Hyphen-Nation

America has become a hyphen nation. A nation of people who identify themselves as something hyphen American. "African-American"; "Conservative-American"; "Liberal-American"; and many others. People love to let others know where they stand, and with whom they stand. However, they seem to identify more with the label ahead of the hyphen, rather than what comes after.

Many people tend to identify with their group, their label rather than identify with being an American, a citizen of the United States. This is something that keeps us, as a people, divided against one another. There are even people who think that those who are not a member of their little pre-hyphen clique are "not real Americans". Because they don't think the same as they do, and believe in the same solutions, and goals, their opinions, and suggestions have no merit, or place in their idea of American culture. There are people who would go so far as to attempt to rewrite history as to make their little clique the founders, and heroes of America, rather than show the people as they actually were, from their own words from their writings, and their own actions, as evidenced by history.

Why have we become so enamored with the idea of the Us vs. Them mentality? True, it's nice to belong, and have like-minded people around us, but We The People should only have one side, when it comes to political matters. And that side is the side of The United States of America, not a person's political party, political ideology, race, religion, orientation, gender, or ancestry. When it comes to the direction our country is going, we should concentrate on what Unites us, not what Divides us. United, we should be standing. But since we are so Divided, we have fallen, and fallen hard.

No matter what our political ideology, political party, race, religion, orientation, gender, or ancestry, we are ALL Americans. It just seems that there are a lot of people who have forgotten this.

Election day. The day where the course of the country is going to be about the same, because we are simply repeating the same mistake that has plagued America once George Washington left office. We are doing the same thing, over and over, because we keep looking to the ruling elite to guide us. I don't mean Democrats, or Republicans, my dears, I mean politicians. And it doesn't matter if they they paint themselves blue or red, politicians of both parties see themselves as the rulers of this country.

The problem lies in the political party system, and the numerous OTHER labels that have been slapped on the American people to keep us divided, and against each other.

Republican

Democrat

Conservative

Liberal

White

Black

Hispanic

Latino

(blank)-American

Christian

Mormon

Catholic

Muslim

The list goes on and on and on.

The problem with all these labels is the simple fact that many people will identify with the label before they identify themselves as American. And this has been encouraged by people who look for political power, and prestige. These people want us divided against each other, and to keep us ignorant of other points of view.

And we, the people, allow this.

We allow ourselves to be divided, because we prefer to gather in like-minded groups. We, as human beings, tend to prefer to hear our own ideas quoted back to us, and want agreeable friends. The problem with that, is that we do not learn, do not see other points of view, and become insulated against the outside. The label-makers see this, and then do their best to vilify the "other" side, and make them look evil in the eyes of their followers.

We have allowed this to happen because we can be very lazy. Doing our own research is hard work. We tend to think in stereotypes, because it's easy. And it's very easy for the leaders of each individual group to paint the "other" as the bad guy, because they know our fears, they know our beliefs, because they have guided them, and molded them. Because people don't like to think for themselves.

We need to reject labels. We need to do our own research. We have the resources, we have the ability. We need to go beyond our comfortable routines, in order to get to the facts, or else this travesty will continue. We need to stop considering ourselves Groups first, and Americans second.

Exceptionalism

It's interesting how a simple thing as a costume change will cause a firestorm of controversy.

This past year Wonder Woman went through a costume change. I didn't think much of it, really. It's just another in a long line of costume changes for super heroes. Though the jacket they put her in did look like it would provide some meager protection from scrapes, and would provide something that a lot of the typical super hero costumes didn't, namely pockets. Got to carry around that key to the bus locker where they put their street clothes somewhere... And down the cleavage isn't always the most comfortable place.

However, people hated it, because it changed her iconic look. Yeah conservative leggings and a leather jacket is SO much worse than knee-high boots, scanty star-spangled briefs, and a shoulder and cleavage exposing bustier.

There are people, however, who are so indoctrinated by the divide and conquer politics of today that they absolutely HAVE to inject the "evil liberal agenda" into EVERYTHING that doesn't agree with them, or they hate.

Somebody said that the evil liberal man-children who are running DC, nowadays, are so offended by the idea of American Exceptionalism, and wish to kow-tow to the PC-infested world, that they intentionally removed the American symbols from Wonder Woman's costume. "They're "revamping" Wonder Woman's look, because any HINT of American exceptionalism or patriotism makes them ill."

When I read that I had to facepalm.

American Exceptionalism seems to be a blanket label by a lot of people who think that America is better than everybody else, and everybody else should be more like America. Sure it can be seen as patriotic, but there are people in the United States who take this idea and run with it as far as they can go. This idea goes hand-in-hand with intolerance and bigotry, in a lot of these cases. They tend to think that "America is better than you, and should do what it wants." The problem with this is that Americans are seen as bullies, boors, and arrogant jerks, because of this thought process, even by other Americans.

The idea of "we're better than you, so we do what we want" lends itself to a world of abuse. And it is abused by the divide and conquer politicians on both sides.
Both sides think they know what's best, both sides want you to side with them, and will use patriotism to get you to do so. And both sides will use mud-slinging, and name-calling to get you to stop thinking for yourself, and just follow along. Both sides want you angry, and not using your head, and both will play to your prejudices by depicting the other side via stereotypes.

The problem with the "us vs them" mentality, however, is that eventually there isn't a "them" to be against.

Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is an important issue. The Internet is the last vestige free speech that exists in America, and around the world. And the media companies wish to quash it, in their endless quest to control what we see, and read. The eventual result being the ability to control what we think.

The Internet, and the blogs, and various websites that exist on the Internet are some of the last ways a person can express their personal opinion without being edited by media companies, and their co-conspirators the Politicians. The person who controls the forum can edit it, but for the most part will not, because they are often willing to provide a place for people to air their opinions, and grievances.

For someone who is handicapped, like myself, the Internet is a lifeline to the world at large. Having it controlled is not something I want. I want to be able to find everything from the ridiculous to the sublime, and everything in between. I don't want to be limited to reading only the content that was able to pay the media companies the most money.

The media companies already control the airwaves. We do not need to allow them even more control of what we see, hear, and read.

The newspapers don't care about supporting free speech, nor do the television stations, or the radio stations. They only will publish, or air what will bring in the most profits, and won't paint themselves in a bad light.

A prime example is the entry before this one. I sent it to my local paper's letters to the editor page. It has, yet, to see the light of day. They don't want to make themselves look bad, even though I was aiming my blows at the big so-called news channels. Propaganda channels, more like, but they wrap themselves in so-called credibility, and use that as a way to sway the people.

Net neutrality is the last vestige of free speech. The last way for the people of the world to make themselves heard, somehow. The last way for dissenting opinions to find their way to sympathetic ears, and not-so-sympathetic ears. Without Net Neutrality, there is no way for the ordinary people, with nothing more than a computer, and something to say to make themselves heard.

I may not like what some people have to say, but they deserve the opportunity to be heard. Net Neutrality is a way to allow people that slowly vanishing right.

The last time I wrote, it was about the baneful biases that are inherent in party politics, and how people will subscribe to them almost as if they have been brainwashed. In a way they have been.

Big Media works hand-in-hand with party politics, nowadays. Fox News caters to the Conservative Right, and MSNBC caters to the Liberal Left, and all the others seem to be pandering to some demographic or another in order to get the best ratings and advertisers. There is no truly neutral media news outlet that will simply cover the news and let the viewer make their own decision.

Theodore Roosevelt said, in the early days of the American newspaper industry: “There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform, or in book, magazine or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful." However, “spin” has become the watchword of the Modern Media, making “truth” relative. Some outlets spin to the left, some spin to the right, all lie by omission, and all use propaganda to make the others look like liars. No news channel, no matter what they claim is “fair and balanced.” The propaganda of the news channels is nothing more than a way to keep their core audience from going to another source of information.

This is especially true of the “party-approved” news channels of Fox News, and MSNBC. Fox, as I said, caters to the Conservative Right, and may be considered the “party station” of the Republicans. MSNBC caters to the Liberal Left, and may be considered the “party station” of the Democrats. They both use propaganda, lying by omission, and other such manipulation tactics to lead America by the nose, and keep the people of America divided against each other.

I have seen it multiple times on the Internet where people deride each other for nothing more than the news channel they happen to prefer. It may seem like a small thing, but it is another example of how Party Politics divides us and allows the politicians of BOTH parties to keep us conquered.

As I said in my last entry, like-minded people prefer the company of people who think exactly like them, but the proliferation of bias in the media has allowed people to enter into echo-chambers of similar thought where outside ideas are not only unwelcome but are often considered nothing less than absolute evil. I would say that this has reached the point that the members of these closed-off groups have a truly skewed idea of what constitutes absolute evil to them. Both sides seem to agree that Hitler, and the Nazi party were evil, naturally, but they will often attempt to revise history to include the so-called “evils” that the other Party is supposed to be perpetuating to Hitler’s list of crimes.

Doesn’t it dilute the effect of Hitler, and his historical evil, when the comparison is overused? If the other side is as bad as you say, the evidence should stand on its own, without bringing Hitler or Nazi’s into the argument. Have we not had enough of the logical fallacy of Reducto ad Hitlerum?

The truly evil thing, in my opinion, is the manipulation of the American people by the media. We are being herded like sheep, what we see and hear are being dictated by a very few giving us the illusion of variety. This control of what we see and hear is particularly insidious, because it ultimately controls what we THINK.

It is time we break the chains.

Party politics: Business as usual in Washington, and the capitals of all fifty states, but it was not how the Founding Fathers envisioned the government being run. In fact, the premier Founding Father, George Washington, railed against the spirit of party that has so polarized the country. Party politics is dividing America against itself, convinces Americans to follow their party leaders like sheep, and marginalize any dissenters who would draw ideas from both sides.

While it may be a human instinct to gather in groups that have the similar beliefs and ideas, party politics tend to take this instinct to the extreme. There is a fostering of mindless tribalism that makes the party members opposed to any idea that comes from the outside. Propaganda is used to its greatest extent to vilify the other party. Slander, false information, and vile stereotypes are used to foster an “us verses them” mentality that closes the mind, and precludes any criticism of the party line. Dissent is met with shunning, or being labeled a traitor to the cause. And it is even to the point that the members of the tribe are encouraged to only get their news and editorials from party approved media. The opinions of the party supporters are not made through their own thoughts and research, but spoon-fed to them, and repeated until they are convinced that they thought of it themselves.

This is indoctrination of the worst sort, because it is perpetrated by parents, by community leaders, by teachers, and by the media. It has been this way, it has “always” been this way, and this is how it will stay.

Don’t you think it’s time that this changed?

George Washington wrote on his farewell address:

“I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”

The First President of the United States warned against the effects of party politics as he left the office, and his warning fell on deaf ears. Parties were formed, polarity was fostered, and battle lines were drawn.

The baneful effects of the spirit of party are most evident on the Internet, where assured by the anonymity of the username, and hiding behind a psudo-patriotic alias, the mudslinging occurs on both sides. I have seen both parties call the other evil destroyers of the American Way of Life. They portray themselves as glorious saviors, wrapping themselves in the flag, calling upon their fellow countrymen to choose a side, when both sides are equally guilty of causing this country harm.

It is time to drop party politics like the bad idea it is. Aren’t you tired of being fleeced by the politicians? Then it is time to stop being the parties’ sheep. Do your own researches, find your own facts, remove the party-approved blinders, discover both sides of the story, and choose for yourself the POLICIES that will make this country great. Parties have done nothing but divide, and the politicians have conquered.