I’ve never been political. I got into a major argument with someone from France while I was in college because I told him I wasn’t voting because I didn’t think it really mattered who was president.
And I don’t really think that’s changed. My immediate family is Democrat, many in my extended family are Republican. It causes friction, as you can imagine. And in the past, I’ve tried to avoid that friction. But after what’s happened in the past week, I’m feeling that I can’t keep quiet any longer.
If anything, I consider myself a Constitutionalist. For me, more than anything, the U.S. Constitution, and specifically our Bill of Rights is more important than any other part of our government. It’s what guarantees our personal rights, and you can trace its foundations back all the way to the Magna Carta when the power of the king of England was shown to be less than absolute.
That’s an important point. We have a new president who hasn’t seemed to grasp that point. The Constitution–which confirms the rights of every man–supersedes the rights of any person or group of people. Even now, the unbelievable actions that have taken place–removing the media from the White House, limiting public access to scientific studies conducted by government agencies, agreeing to build a wall that will be built by a 20% levy on Mexican goods, and most importantly, singling out seven countries based on primarily religious reasons to keep out of the United States–are ones that I hope can be reversed, and the last one I pray will end up in the Supreme Court. Because I truly believe it is unconstitutional.
Trump ran his campaign on fear, and continues along that vein as President. It’s a tried and true methodology that strongmen have used for centuries. It’s the reason why he wants to control the information that we get from the media, from science and from academia. What’s fascinating and chilling is his mentality that I have seen trickling down to his followers: if you choose not to believe it, it isn’t true. Even when the sources are undeniably valid, denial makes them invalid. It’s like learning you have cancer, and telling the doctor that no, he must be wrong, because you don’t want it to be true. That’s what’s going on with climate change, and we will pay the price for that. There’s no way around it. Chances are, it’s already too late. But of course, if we deny it, maybe it won’t happen…
People who voted for Trump wanted a change. They saw the corruption in government and with Hillary Clinton saw more of the same. But if you take a hard look at Trump’s choices for appointment to political office, not only are they a list of the same old cronies, they are highly unqualified for the positions that he has placed them in. What makes Ben Carson qualified to run Housing and Urban Development as a brain surgeon? Yes, we will have change. But what kind of change will we have?
It’s not enough to shake my head and grit my teeth and worry about the next four years. Too many people are going to suffer from the short-sightedness of our new president. And those who put him in office will soon learn their mistake.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. –Benjamin Franklin
The Great Adventure 
Hello everyone. First and foremost this is not a forum to argue points or get mad at each other, this is and will always be my Uncles website, blog, forum and his alone. My opinions below are mine and mine alone. I will not argue them with you so be kind and present your opinions and do your own research and your own thinking. Also, realize the friction described in this post did, in part, in a small way, in a different forum far far away come from me and for that small part I will start off with an apology for that caused friction. And generally I avoid politics too in public comments on the internet. This apology is sincere is to show that just because someone leanings politically are to the Right doesn’t mean, and the media and the hard Left have believed, no, a preconceived perception is that those on the Right are, mean, hateful, intolerant etc etc… and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Lastly please excuse my grammar and thought processes. I am of the engineering mindset and I don’t writing as eloquently as my Uncle.
Interesting, I consider myself a Constitutionalist too but from the other side.
This leads me to truth, which to something else but falls under the same theme and is a counter to what is happening now. So far that is. It could change with the new guy but so far hasn’t. Over the last presidents two terms I’ve seen more lies then truth blindly believed. That is what was most fearful to me was that blind devotion to anything said from that administration, liberal academics or liberal scientists, stating things as if it was fact and we should just accept it as truth. Well, I refuse to do that and when I did my research, I found, that in most cases it was truly false or inaccurate stated or mostly false with only a little bit of truth and there was no room for discussion. My point being this, the road goes both ways. The very things that are scaring the Left today happen during the last administrations time in office but directed at the other side. Thank you Glen for mentioning that sort of, in stating that the same cronies are still here and in power and really nothings changed in Washington.
In my comments in that far far away forum that may or may not have lead to this blog post, I mentioned that I have been directly affected by the last administration and I can tell what that was and still is today the ACA has directly hit my pocket book. I am a contractor, basically self employed and I’ve had to buy my health insurance since the “law” was enacted. Every year since it inception, the price has gone up. Either the premium has gone up or the deductible has. So for this year, 2017 my premium price is close to what it was last year but the deductible has more than quadrupled. Hmm, it was foretold that this would happen, in the congressional hearings by Insurers under oath before the ACA was enacted that they would not be able to maintain low pricing unless the ACA was changed or they where able to have interstate competition. Interesting.
Here’s something else, this final broken straw for some on the Left and a few on the Right, this immigration ban, not to mention a wall. What’s interesting to me is this 7 state block was written by the last administration and they where about to institute it, but they held off not because it was unconstitutional but they where holding it until after Hillary became President. This would have happened anyway. Also read up on what Jimmy Carter did to the Iranians in the US during the hostage crisis before you condemn the new Guy.
The Wall. Think about this. What is one of the key things that makes a country sovereign? It’s ability to protect it’s boarders. Our boards, especially the southern is not not well protected and we have lose sovereignty every time someone walk into our country undocumented and starts working. Will a wall work, probably not, as long and people living in the US what the drugs coming out of Mexico and further south, the drugs and human trafficking will continue to flow. The only thing that bothers me about illegal immigration is this, I pay Federal and State taxes, I’m not talking sales tax, I feel that someone who’s not paying their fair share of taxes should, I don’t care, make those who aren’t Felons citizens so they can pay their fair share. I’m not talking about a vacationer who breaks their leg in the US and we end up with the bill, that’s fine, that’s ok I will pay my part for those services rendered to someone experiencing the wonders of the US.
Another thing, I read another persons brave blog post and they, as do I, point out, from what he and I can tell, what the new guy has done so far has not gone against the constitution or due process. He is well within the law at the moment. But if every time the new guy does something, executive order or whatever, if you keep crying wolf, when he does do something illegal, which may happen, no one is going to believe it because they’ve grown numb to the constant howling.
One more thing. There used to be a time that people of different political persuasions could get along and be friends and neighbors. Seems to me that has been lost. Especially in the last 8 years from both sides digging in. I would love to get back to that but I don’t know if that is possible with all the indoctrination coming out of these supposed institutes of higher education in the next generation. It seems to me that most of the violence is coming from the Left these days, I’m not talking about self defense just violence directed a conservatives. I’d like someone to change my perception on Lefts choice of violence by stopping the violence and by condemning it.
Glen, as long as you present both sides of the issue equally in your classes you will be golden.
Thanks, Michael, you make some good points. Let me ask a few questions.
(1) You state here and you’ve said elsewhere that the eight years of the Obama administration have been filled with lies. Can you be specific? What lies are you referring to?
(2) Regarding the Alternative Care Act: Obama and others have said, and I stand with them, if Donald Trump can come up with a better system, we will support him 100%. Right now, it is looking like Obamacare will end with millions being left without health care insurance. Is that what you want?
(3) The Wall. It’s been shown time and again that it would be costly and would not stop anyone or anything. There are a dozen different ways to get around a wall. What’s the point of it? Is it more symbolic or is it really supposed to work? And if we are trying to save jobs by keeping illegal workers out of the U.S., are white Americans willing to do the jobs they did?
(4) Finally, the ban on immigrants. Is banning Muslims while allowing Christians into the country constitutional? I would take another look at the first amendment.
Regarding what I teach in the classroom: My colleagues and I don’t have a vendetta out against the present administration, nor were we totally supportive of the previous one. But we do need to draw attention to what is going on in relation to the media. What is currently happening is unprecedented, and how Trump is bypassing the media and manipulating the attitudes of Americans via social networks is something students should learn from and be aware of.
Keep speaking up, keep being informed, and you will be golden. Just don’t take other people’s word as gospel. Thanks. gr
Thanks for saying what needs to be said, Glen. It takes courage to take a stand. To your Point (1): I’ve asked the same question of several of my died-in-the-wool Republican acquaintances. Without fail all I got was a slightly surprised, blank stare.