Any Americans Out There for Democracy? Yes? Then WAKE UP & VOTE…!

TL;DR / BLUF

VOTE! Get out and VOTE! This is the only way to make changes in America. Voting for those who care for all will eventually remove all of the repressive and backwards-thinking individuals from power. These individuals are the ones causing all the drama we face today. We spend so much time and money on trying to do the right thing but, because of these power-hungry individuals, we are not progressing as we should as a country… and as people…

— — —

Here we are in 2021, where we have so many individuals in America in power but are acting like young, spoiled children.

• I’m taking my ball and I’m going home, so there!

Tell the rest of us that this is not the case. Go ahead, I definitely dare you to open yourself up to honesty — that is, if you have any honor and integrity remaining in ANY part of your being… We have GOT to move past being Republican, Independent or Democrat and THINK about Democracy for all. Democracy for all to grow, prosper and succeed, not just certain sectors of this country.

Throughout the country, we have individuals who are in power, no matter how they arrived there, and want to retain that power — “no matter what it takes or what it costs” the rest of America and its citizens.

So, why is that? Are these individuals afraid that if they lose that power, they:

• Cannot make an honest living doing something else?
• Do not know how to do something else meaningful to them (or others)?
• Are just flat out scared that they will fail doing something else….?

What is happening to so many of these Americans? And it seems to be primarily Republicans / Conservatives (yes, I said it, Republicans) who are hell bent on stamping out ANY chances whatsoever for America’s growth in future elections. These individuals appear to want to suppress any paths of progress for people of color. That seems to be the elemental effort of all the individuals in power in Red states — to put in place severely restrictive voting processes that “might” curtail voters from casting votes for others who are more progressive. Others who are more progressive and want to see this country grow and see that more Americans have an actual chance to succeed in life.

I really hate to say it but this current atmosphere just keeps taking me back to what happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You know, in 1931, where a young white female teenager screamed in the elevator because of the young black teenage male who was in the elevator. We still, to this day, do not know what actually occurred. And then, the whites of Tulsa wanted justice, not the legal kind but the restrictive, repressive (DEADLY) justice of past decades (and centuries) where the whites took control and hung (lynched) or dragged a black to their death or tarred and feathered black(s) before killing them. I decline to include the ghastlier things that were done to these unfortunate souls.

And these whites thought (and believed) that what they did was righteous and fair justice. Stop the blacks from doing anything, let alone be successful as they were in Tulsa, using their power for their justice.

Remember the horrific pictures of crowds of whites, gathered around hanging (lynched) DEAD blacks, pointing and looking up at the dead or looking back at the camera man AND SMILING AND LAUGHING at the grotesque sight. Do any of you remember those images of justice? Does it bring a tear to your eye to even think this was possible in our American heritage — it should and we can also talk about the Native Americans and what happened to them as well? IT DAMN WELL SHOULD — that is, if you have an ounce of morality in you and you truly know right from wrong…

The problem is, it was not just Tulsa, IT-IS-STILL-HAPPENING-TODAY…!!!! Where we have large pockets of whites, who happen to be republicans, that want to control what goes in the various cities and counties and states in America.

These individuals who happen to be in power want to continue to rig the game so that ONLY they will continue to remain in power and reign over all the inferior and insignificant lower classes of people. Yeah, you got, those of color.

• Poll taxes ring a bell to anyone?
• Okay then, how about counting jelly beans in a jar?
• Dang, what about the literacy tests….?

It is like these individuals in power in mostly Red states want to get us back to those days… We just have too much ongoing racism, covert racism, subconscious racism and implicit racism. Then on top of all that, we have groups of militia, sovereign citizens and even current and former military (as a former Marine, I am completely heartbroken to keep hearing this) who buy into this atmosphere of conspiracy and illogical patriotism and again, likely racism in these groups too.

So, the point of this minor diatribe of mine is to attempt to get more, MANY MORE Americans WAKE THE HELL UP.

MORE Americans have to WAKE UP and get out and vote! YOU HAVE TO VOTE for individuals who are more progressive. VOTE for individuals who are open minded and want to see all Americans grow and prosper.

And to do this, to have a successful future — all open-minded Americans HAVE GOT TO VOTE. And we have to do so starting with ALL the 50 state legislatures (leaving D.C. out because it is on that path already). MORE Americans HAVE GOT TO VOTE out the conservative and backwards thinking individuals in mostly Red states, so we can all prosper and grow going forward.

We spend FAR too much time repeatedly fighting amongst ourselves over Red and Blue topics instead of subjects and areas that will benefit ALL OF US.

If you are young and are of voting age — YOU HAVE TO VOTE and not make an attempt because you believe it is not important to you. IT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU! It impacts your future. If you continue to sit on the sidelines and let these repressive and suppressive minded individuals stay in power — they will put in places that become like bedrock foundations that you may NEVER be able to overcome or overturn.

If you are an adult and you feel left out and as a result you sit on the sidelines — STOP DOING THAT!!!! You have to get out and VOTE as well. To have a democracy that is inclusive and brings everyone into the fold — YOU HAVE TO GET OUT AND VOTE as well. This is the only path. If you allow these backwards thinking individuals who are in power and who want to stay in power by focusing only on themselves and their families — you MUST get out and vote as well. Otherwise, this country will continue to flounder and stay behind the curve ball while other countries continue to move ahead of us in education and societal norms. You MUST get out and vote to help change the directionality of this country. Otherwise, we will continue to limp along with:

• Bridges with potholes where you can see down to the river or street below the bridge
• Levees and damns that are FAR past their prime but no one is upgrading them, meanwhile — these things burst apart and flood the surrounding county area
• Broadband that flat out sucks for many in the rural areas of America and definitely is pathetic in low-income areas, just because they are low-income areas and too many individuals in power do not believe these folks who live there are worth it
• Schools that are sub-par, horrendously sub-par — c’mon, MOLD! Lead pipes and non-functioning plumbing and HVAC systems that are not nearly adequate enough to be used
• Medical facilities that need overhauling and renovating — not the facilities that have an iron grip on the country and charging exorbitant costs — I mean the ones in most communities that are barely hanging on in supporting the residents of those communities
• Etc.,
• Etc.,

AMERICANS! You simply must get out to vote or you will continue to see this country fall apart. We have to vote in individuals who care for all and not those individuals who only care for some subset of American areas of the country as in the mid-west or some suburban parts of the country.

As noted above, we have to start replacing state legislatures across the country with forward thinkers, those who are thinking 5, 10 and 20 years down the road.

Putting in place smaller budgets or stop gap measures to do minor patch work fixes or tweaks is not good enough. We need to do more and we can do more.

Besides getting rid of these backwards thinking individuals in state legislatures, we have to vote OUT more of these governors — ones that many of us still cannot believe they won the election their elections.

• With Kemp of Georgia, we know how he won — he was the Georgia secretary of state and he refused to recuse himself from that role and was able to influence the voting process.
• DeSantis of Florida, well, he won because he had a large following of individuals who want to retain a status quo and not become more progressive.
• Abbott of Texas, completely unclear how he really won, unless it was along the same lines as DeSantis. But Abbott, he is dangerous. He had all information on toxic chemical locations removed from all state websites. This information was helpful to many in deciding where they wanted to live, or where to send their children to school or where to locate their elderly in nursing homes — without this information, well…. And for Abbot to say that people can ask the fire department or other agencies, that is a non-starter because they mostly will not give out that information. How would you feel if you discovered a toxic chemical storage facility was located 200–300 yards from your child’s school (and think about the blast radius of an ammonia holding facility should it go up in flames)?

We all have to vote to overcome and get rid of things like ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) efforts. This entity is the one that really spring-boarded many, many republican legislative actions over the years since its founding in 1973 and grew to prominence under Newt Gingrich.

Basically — ALL forward-thinking individuals, those with an open-mind, those with the foresight to see that we MUST unify as a country to grow again. Not grow as in divisive groups within America but as ONE WHOLE entity — all Americans. All of us need to vote. And you have to use your brain to do so. If we want to continue to be the leader of the free world, of developed countries — we all must participate and vote!

Research who you vote for — as in, is the person going to help everyone or just selective segments of society. Think about who you vote for. STOP listening to conspiracy groups and individuals, this only leads you down the path of despair and danger because you start endangering yourselves and others by buying into these non-sensical and illogical plots that only belong in movies.

You HAVE TO USE YOUR OWN BRAIN!!! Read and talk to and with others who have “rational” thoughts, not siloed bubbles of fellow conspirators. Educate yourselves.

Those of you want to vote for the likes of a Trump, Marjorie Greene or Matt Gaetz or Louie Gohmert or Jim Jordan — you are going down the rabbit hole of failure because the thought processes of these leaders do not appear logical and can be non-constructive.

You absolutely MUST use your own brain and your education to vote for individuals who WILL move the country forward, not give it an exercise of lip action only (while lining their own pockets with money from greed, while at the same time — lying to you). Please, those Americans with the tendency to stay in these filter bubbles (as author Eli Pariser) talked about — get out of your comfort zone and expand your mind. Grow with other Americans. You can only grow if you learn more. Talk to more people who are “not” like you.

As it is, we still have far too much many people in America who to return to the America of the 30s, 40s and 50s, where a, ahhh, certain race of people had the power.

Please — all Americans who want to see America grow — get out and vote.

And, it is not just some of the Republicans, we have to remove individuals like Joe Manchin of W. Virginia who is playing at some kind of game that only he knows in preventing or slowing growth.

Vote, not just in the Presidential elections but in ALL of the elections that crop up in your community. This is how we as a country will grow, starting with local elections, county elections and state elections — your vote matters. Vote for those men and women who see the future as prosperous for all. Vote for those people of color who are completely inclusive of everyone around. Stop thinking about age, religion, handicaps, race and gender as the sole criteria of who you would vote for.

That old or young; Jewish or Atheist; good looking or not so good-looking person standing next to you — might just be the future President of this country. You never know, you must put your personal biases aside and vote for those who want to do public service work.

Tags: Republicans, GOP, Democracy, Voter Restriction, Voter Suppression, Power, Republican Power, Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Progressive, Suppression, Restriction, Tulsa, Red states, Blue states, American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC, Newt Gingrich, Trump, Marjorie taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, The Filter Bubble, Eli Pariser, taking my ball and going home, hanging blacks, tarred and feathered, racist, covert racism, subconscious racism, implicit racism, Joe Manchin, lynching, lynched, lynchings