It's The System Stupid

In 1992 the the young Governor  of Arkansas, William Jefferson Clinton, ran for the Democratic Nomination for President. He got it. And then he went on despite several nasty scandals, to win the Office of the President. Four years later he won re-election and thus was in office for eight years. Again, surviving some nasty scandals.

During his first campaign, in 1992, he had an internal motto. He had it plastered all over his campaign headquarters. That motto was "It's the Economy stupid". It was a way to keep everyone focused on the theme of the campaign so they would not veer off of it to far.

I have taken that and reworded it to keep us all focused on the main problem with our country now so we do not get lost in the weeds of the symptoms of the problem.

And one of the most visible symptoms is the Orange Felon. And people feel that if we could just get rid of him then everything would go back to normal and we could undo the damage that he has done to our country.

I really hate to have to tell you this, we can get rid of him and his people right now. And we are not going to get back to "normal". Because it is not just him and his enablers. Not in the slightest.

It is a system that is baked into the National DNA that we have to have open and public discussions about and then dismantle completely.

And we will be a much different and better country afterwards if we can manage that transition.

So what is this system that I am talking about? It is White Male Supremacy/Privilege. Pure and simple.

And when I say "baked into the National DNA" what exactly am I talking about? Well, I am glad that you asked. It goes like this:

• When White people first came to North America, from the times of Columbus on up, the Native peoples were considered "Savages" and thus less that Human. Making it very acceptable to Kill them, Cheat them, and Steal from them, and commit other Heinous Acts.
• Then began the buying and selling of people Kidnapped and Human Trafficked from Africa. And very quickly the people Human Trafficked from Africa went from Indentured Servants to life long Slaves. To Justify that they were made less than Human.
• And Woman. They had no rights really at all. They were the Property of their Father, if he was not alive then Older Brother, or Uncle, the nearest Male relative. And eventually, a Husband. They were always someone's Chattel Property with very few Rights at all.

The Power Structure from the beginning was White, Protestant, Male. That was the definition of Human by the rules and custom of the time. So when a Politician or Lawyer spoke about "The People" that is who they were talking about.

And when they set up the new government for the United States of America that is how they set it up. For Minority Rule. It has always been set up for White Male, Minority, Domination. By Law, by Custom, by any metric you cared to use.

There were many ways in which they did this:

• The Electoral Collage. We have seen how the Popular Vote does not mean much. It is the Electoral Collage vote that matters.
• The United States Senate. California, with 39,000,000 people has the same representation as Wyoming which has 576,851 people.
• The 2nd Amendment which, some how, never seems to actually apply to People of Color.
• The Ivy League Collages. They were, and still are mostly, places for the old school money white families to educate, and network, their sons. The Collages have tried, and are trying, to break that dynamic, yet they are having a slow going time of it.

There is more. If you are willing to do a little bit of research you will find plenty of evidence that this is so. If you are willing to see it.

And when looking for Systemic Racism and White Male Supremacy/Privilege today what would that look like? Well here are a few:

• Rich White Males failing up. Never held accountable always rising way above any level of ability.
• Voting restrictions on anyone who is not a White Male. Especially People of Color and other minorities. Cleverly disguised of course. Yet still...
• Ever notice how Men have the same rights in every state and woman's rights vary from state to state? 
• Religion which is geared towards the exaltation of wealth and privilege and making a virtue of greed.

Again, there is more. If you are willing to do some honest research you will find plenty more.

Today, right now, we are finally in the end stages of the Radical Right Reaction to the gradual loosening up of the definition of Human and Citizen in this country. And Donald John Trump is merely the most visible symptom of it.

So how do we fix this?

The only way that this can be fixed is by doing the one thing that America has never been good at, facing itself, past and present, completely and openly. By seeing ourselves, good bad and indifferent, as we really are. By White America being uncomfortable, and being ok with being uncomfortable, while seeing the truth about who have been and still are.

And we also must break the power structure that props it up by:

• A Constitutional Amendment saying that Money is Not Speech and is Not Protected.
• A Constitutional Amendment that says Corporations are Not People and have No Civil Rights.
• A Constitutional Amendment Guaranteeing that all Public Officials, from the President of the United States down to the Dog Catcher and everyone in between, especially Law Enforcement of any stripe, are bound by the same laws as any other Citizen and Office does Not give either Immunity or Delay.
• Breaking up of the Corporate Conglomerates, especially the News Behemoths.
• Breaking apart Investment Banking from the Banking that you and I do. A Restatement of the Glass-Steagall Act.
• A series of Laws making Free Speech not permission too Lie for the sake of Propaganda.
• A complete and total Protection for Whistle Blowers.

And what all of this means folks is that you, and yes, I mean YOU, have to get off your couch, out from behind your keyboard and/or phone/tablet, and get involved. Get out and vet your candidates, local, regional, and national. Protest something. Engage with your neighbors and talk about the uncomfortable subject of Politics. Participate in a Voter Registration drive or twelve. Or more.

VOTE!!! Get out there and Vote. Even if you don't like anyone I can guarantee that you dislike someone. Vote for their opposition if you cannot figure out who to vote for. In these United States of America there is no excuse for the fact that the Largest Voting Block in the Country is people who Do Not Vote. If you have a neighbor that does not vote go and talk to them. Engage them try to see why they don't and see if you can help them change that.

Congressman Tip O'Neal once said "All Politics are local". And that is where we must get involved. We are on the knife edge, and starting to slide down the wrong side of that knife, of losing what little freedom we have left. It is going to take all of us who are not blinded by Anger and Hate, all of us, to change that. To claim The United States of America back from the Nazis.

We are just about out of time.

Are you willing?

I am.