Mark Gowan's Blog, page 5

Don’t Be Fooled

America is not the America that most of us have been accustomed to.  Christian Nationalism and Fascist ideas and propaganda are on the rise.  Change rarely comes rapidly; it comes gradually.  Don’t be a frog-in-the-frying-pan.  Rely on reason and not propaganda, fear, and ignorance.  Inform yourself against Project 2025 and Trump Republican legislations.    Here are some ideas.

 Don’t rely on wishful thinking.  The world is the way the world is; accept it as it is, not as you would want it to be.  Don’t lie to yourself or others.



Don’t fall for misinformation regardless of what ‘side’ you find it on.



Make a decision to leave or stay.  Leaving has its own costs and benefits, but staying does as well.  Be responsible for what you decide. 



If you stay, join groups such as the ACLU, or other groups that are fighting for fair and charitable legislation and action.  Joining a group strengthens the group and yourself.



Personal decisions make a difference.  Do not support the billionaires that support Republican policies such as they are.  Cancel Amazon, decide to use X and Facebook to disseminate true information, or simply quit using the services.  Support small businesses, grow your own food.



Confront obvious lies and misinformation when you see it or hear it.  Don’t let it slide.  Be courteous but firm.



Help people that are under attack.



Have two exit plans: one long term and one short term.



Use time and energy to be as happy as you can be.  This is important.



Don’t forget: you are not alone.

And So It Begins

Where is the hope in this? it is nothing new; it is no surprise, except one: that the past disappears so readily; that history is forgotten so happily. Sometimes it is as if our words do nothing but dissipate into space, bouncing off asteroids and nothing else.

The cycle of evil starts (yet again) with hope and hope is brought down like a giraffe by invading marauders. Then there will be a tiredness and those that can will ask the same question: “Why can’t we do better than this?!”

And then, they too begin to forget who we are at our core, and plans are made. Plans are made and belief is born, and evil is forgotten, and days are sunny. And so it begins: guns, god, and greed reborn, rise up wanting more and hopes are dashed by gluttony with a smile on its face.

The world has time but we don’t. And the world has time but we don’t.

The Inauguration

Today there is a funeral. There is no coffin and the grieving cannot attend but must stand to the side. The monsters stand over a body splayed out and naked. defenseless. And those that stand around it do so with the smirk of spite and the arrogance of ignorance.

More is now god-the endless striving where enough dies by the pitiless hand of a psychotic killer. Religion loses itself in its ecstasy and it adherents praise the death as a start to an end they have prayed for.

The fires are stoked and the greedy lick their lips. Evil is born with a secret smile on its face-yet again. And good, decency, and right lower their heads and watch as their tears evaporate in the heat as they drop to the ground.

The grieving hope but they realize that they cannot turn their heads from the reality of the gruesome scene as the monsters feast, drunk on blood, not hiding their toothy grins.

Ten Principles of Concentration of Wealth and Power

Noam Chomsky: Requiem for the American Dream

Reduce Democracy (protect against public influence on policy)Shape ideology (keep the young from believing in democracies)Redesign the economy (more power to financial institutions)Shift the burden (reduce tax burden away from the super-wealthy)Attach solidarity (keep people separated and selfish)Run the [governmental] regulators (businesses [financial institutions] control business regulationEngineer elections (allow unlimited money into government)Keep the rabble in line (disallow democratization of the public)Manufacture consent (consumeristic society rather than a thoughtful public)Marginalize the population (take political voice away from the general public)
 

Do not kid yourself. This is where the United States is at. No longer are we a nation to be proud of. Rather, we have joined the infamous dictators that we once turned away from.

Project 2025, Explained

One Explanation

The Sorrow of Patriotism

Patriotism-endless waving of flags and empty pride in an empty idea.

Put yourself up as part of something you had nothing to do with, an arbitrary act and consider yourself worthy of praise.

The unadulterated buy-in of the consumer good called national pride. If there is nothing to be proud of you are a sucker, not a patriot.

Patriotism-a team sport at best. One which you sit on the sideline and scream your hurrahs at the very thieves and grifters that suck your soul dry.

When you have nothing else life is a lie and you are a patriot. Like prayer it takes so little and gives still less.

The sorrow of patriotism are the tears of a nation. You! Patriots. Hide behind the malicious smile of the malignant and the misaligned.

This is a place…

This is the country I live in. A place where the majority of people want Donald Trump as president. A place of fear, stupidity, and arrogance. A place where the semblance of civilization is about to disappear. This is a place where the government will be torn down with cheers from the self-righteously stupid.

This is a place where with a resounding hurrah progress has been stomped out and the old wheeze out a smile as they watch their children’s future burn in a blaze of sorrow and disbelief. This is a place where even some young people misled and sometimes simply mean-spirited, jump into the fire willingly.

This is a place where hope is replaced with spite, revenge and greed. This is a place where understanding is killed and a statue of ignorance is adored. This is a place of god and religion, and empty-eyed adherence to even emptier ideologies. This is a place where the bible will replace science and art, and progress and logic, reason and rationality. This place is a theocratic corporation because this is who this country is.

This is Where I am. But worse…

It’s Not Much, but…

It’s not much, but it’s all we have. Our vote. Our vote has been taken away from us by greed and selfishness, by apathy and laziness. Our vote, however, hopefully, can still swing the power of probability in a positive direction. Our vote. Your vote. My vote. This one concept can change the world if we use it.

Look at the facts; look at the recorded history of Donald Trump. Look at the electoral college, and what is was supposed to be and what it has devolved into. Put down your flags and platitudes and simply see for what it is. Calm your empty hatred and turn off the voice that has been put into your head. Forget god and think about the people around you. Learn! Do not accept. And you, too, have a vote.

And forget your personal interests, and your “most important” politic. Your choice is yours no matter. You had nothing to do with the color of your skin. But always remember that the right and the good is much broader than your personal identity, your personhood. You only matter because a society says that you do. And society is only as good or bad as you make it. And you, too, have a vote.

There is only one choice here. One choice against a corporate conglomerate, a fascist, an oligarchy. The choice may not be the one you want but this is not about you. This is about an idea, a story that we write. This about an ongoing battle against those that would control and take. Be a giver. Give up your high and mighty ethic, your most important identity, your nationalism, your hatred and vote as an individual for a better society.

It’s True: Freedom is Not Free

With the exception of religion, corporations are the leading cause of misery and pain for most of humanity. Corporate greed is real and very dangerous.

The corporate world as it is defined today is a consequent of the Mont Pelerin Society of the 20’s and 30’s and now because of the political maneuvering of the Republican party corporations have the rights of individuals. Our government, on the other hand once valued and funded, has been devalued, unempowered and starved by a corporate economy known as neo-liberalism.

Donald Trump and the Republican party today are nothing more than an arm of the neo-liberal economy and a move by corporations (coupled with religious nationalism) to overthrow any vestige of a working democracy that this country (the USA) has ever had. There is no other word for this oligarchic and theocratic move than neo-fascism.

Trump’s neo-fascist tendencies and the Republican’s continued support of him are barely veiled. Make no mistake. None. A vote for Donald Trump and the Republican party on November 4th is a vote for a neo-fascist backed by corporate and religious fanatics. It is true: freedom is not free. And we must fight this onslaught of greed and power or we will not be free from their sick worldview.