ClydeStyle

Category: Protest

  • Raise your hand if you voted for this?

    I love history! I love history because it allows me to stand in the present, take a factual look at the past, and in some cases, see exactly what the future will look like.

    This past and future vision has a caveat, which is whether or not we learned from and  acknowledged our mistakes. This is great given the fact that America never learns from it’s past and it never acknowledges it’s mistakes.

    We are now about four months into the second Trump presidency, and we have seen a calamity of executive orders that have harmed millions of people. From foreign aid funding being sliced and essentially killing humanitarian efforts across the world to thousands of layoffs of federal workers to the destruction of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to cuts in federally funded research programs at various universities across the country, all in an effort to somehow make America great again?

    Those against Trump’s plans seem to be waiting on others to step up and defend the American way. These “others” I speak of are those in the Republican party. Democrats are hoping for Republicans to have a conscious and stop Trump from destroying our country as we know it. They can not defend what he’s doing, and they are avoiding meetings with their constituents, believing the carnage will end soon.

    Funding for school programs that level the playing field and assist those who are struggling have been cut. Healthcare initiatives like vaccines for hepatitis B and the flu shot were sliced, and the mass deportation efforts have disrupted kids in school, workers for farms and other industries where migrant workers are now afraid to leave their homes for fear of deportation.

    The worst part of all of this is the fact that most American people are delusional about the Trump administration. It seems that those who believe it’s pure evil and those who think it’s the greatest are both wrong.

    As usual, the American government is repeating past mistakes. We are looking at fellow Americans being hurt by all these cuts with no regard to their well-being. We are waiting migrant workers living in fear every day of their worst nightmare coming true. We are seeing people’s lives devastated by Trump’s actions, and we don’t say much against it because it doesn’t affect us. After all, I’m not a federal or migrant worker. I have no use for social programs or welfare or DEI, and I don’t own a farm. There are still a lot of Americans that can make this claim, but for how long?

  • Modern day house slaves function like their past counterparts

    During slavery, house slaves were unique in that they could live in the Master’s house and always be in close proximity to the family. They would learn domestic skills like cooking, cleaning, and even child care. Sometimes, the slaves would be taught how to read. Definitely, these house slaves had greater benefits than being just a field slave that worked outdoors.

    House slaves dressed better, did not have to work as hard, could get scraps, and other items considered trash by the Master. Life was definitely better.

    But at no time did the house slaves have any influence over the Master, nor could they even express their opinions. When the Master did something that they didn’t like or agree with, they’d better just keep it to themselves. The wrong kind of expression on your face could end in a backhand by the Master if he thought he wanted to say something about his actions. So the house slaves were just that – a slave and they had no opinion or independent thoughts of their own that they could express.

    In Congress these days, we have seemed to resurrect the house slave. Republicans in Congress, instead of serving at the pleasure of the people who elected them, are now serving at the pleasure of our new dictator, Donald J. Trump. He is never challenged, questioned, or  advised even when he makes a decision that violates the constitution.

    Now, let’s not be nieve and think that Democrats have no house slaves because they sat back and allowed Joe Biden to leave our border wide open. They didn’t wave or salute. Trump has been a bit outrageous with his latest decisions, and the recent town hall meetings in Republican districts have been very vocal about their concerns over Trump’s decisions.

    The bottom line is this: We can not properly implement democracy if the checks and balances won’t hold the line. In other words, Congress has a job to do, and it is not to be the Congress for the president, but for the people. We voted for representatives who would be the voices of the people. Our country has lost sight of this. If we continue down the current path, it won’t be long before we are all house slaves or we really have an insurrection.

  • Our political parties have failed us completely

    Next month, our Supreme Court will hear arguments as to whether former president Donald Trump is eligible to run for president given the 91 charges he is facing. The people are confused as to what is really happening because Trump is claiming he is immune from wrongdoing and that the charges are not valid.

    There would have been a time in our recent history that the Republican party would select a more presidential candidate. George Santos was booted out of Congress for all the lying and cheating he has done. How is Trump different?

    Would Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush approve of such a candidate like Trump? Further, with the danger of election interference by Russia and Trump facing a ton of debt, are we not taking a chance with him being vulnerable to more corruption because of his debt?

    Then there is current president Joe Biden. He might as well be 300 years old because, for some reason, despite the level of stress that comes with the job, would any former president agree with Biden continuing in this role? It is hard to believe that Bill Clinton and Barak Obama would agree that Joe is ready for another term. We know that both parties could support better candidates. But at this point, they can not be trusted.

    The two-party system does not work for this reason. They have lost the trust of the people, and that is probably the only thing that can be agreed on.

    So what is the country to do? This clear, good Ole Boy network in politics has betrayed us. The parties have lost sight of what the people really want. The majority of the people are tired of seeing money by the billions sent overseas, and we have millions of struggling people here.

    We are tired of wars and being involved in wars. We are tired of our government taking care of everyone else by us.

    Solution: All three branches of government need to be replaced. One huge election and nobody over 70 should be allowed to take any position. Our smartest and brightest people are between 40 and 60 years old, and we need to tap into that market. We need to have a greater balance of medical professionals, former teachers, business executives, and blue-collar workers in Congress. We should maintain a third of each. We need to pledge to take care of home first and settle our own issues so that we can reach out together as a country to help others, but not until we are good at home. Finally, we need to be as diverse as the U.N. white people should not dominate the branches. We need to embrace diversity and build a country that works for everyone and not just some.

  • King’s dream would be different today

    In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did his famous “I have a dream” speech, and it had everything g to do with equality, diversity, and inclusion.

    He dreamed of an America that would serve everyone and allow for freedom for everyone. His speech pointed out our areas that needed work and delivered a hope that things would change.

    Now, more than 60 years later, that dream never came close to happening, but what’s worse is that the country is on the brink of anarchy.

    Politicians are complete sellouts, and the greedy has completely taken over. We live in a time where something caught on camera can’t be trusted. We live in a time of alternative facts and fake news. The Republicans could care less about anyone in America, but themselves and the Democrats are rationing our resources to foreign lands despite all the things we need here.

    King’s speech was about taking care of the republic and making sure that the least of us could make it. Our government has lost sight of that dream.

    At the time of King’s speech, neither candidate for president would be considered a good choice. Joe Biden tried to run for president in 1988 and 2008 before winning in 2020. He copied a British politicians speech and tried to make it his own in 1988, and when he was found out, he dropped out of the race. His work on the 1994 crimes bill and what has happened to more than a million African American men as a result should have kept him out of the oval office forever.

    There is no other era in history where Donald J. Trump would be considered a serious candidate for president. On the issue of integrity alone, he would not pass. This is how far we have fallen.

    King’s speech today would emphasize taking care of America first on every level; canceling student loans; no more wars; universal healthcare; and reforming criminal justice system, prisons, police force, corporate greed and increasing social security benefits.

    If we don’t start taking care of America, there soon won’t be an America!

  • Election season is one big storm for both parties

    The Republican party sees themselves as this big.

    It is sad that we can not put our trust in either political party. I can’t remember things being this bad, and I’ve been paying attention for nearly 50 years.

    Our criteria need to change. We desperately need an age limit, and I would add a financial limit. Imagine if Congress could only be between the ages of 35 to 65 and could not reside in a household that makes more than 400k? The smartest people in our society are definitely not the richest. The level of greed in our government is killing us and not a benefit to the middle class and poor.

    In addition, we need to give up the party system. We already know that there are conservatives and liberals in both parties already. Neither party has been a benefit to the average American. Further, the rich in Congress is out of touch with what the middle class and poor need.

    This is a perfect symbol of the Democrat party.

    We need good wages and a better credit system that works for us and not against us. We need universal healthcare, and everyone should be able to afford to by a house. For example, instead of loans being based on income, the majority should be based on work consistency. A two parent family should be able to live comfortably in America.

    We spend way too much on the military, and as a country, we don’t need to be involved in everything. We have spent more money on Ukraine than we have provided for our poor in this country.

    Every politician has this Pinocchio effect.

    Corruption is at an all-time high. Promises are made and not honored; a “tit for tat” mentality runs rampant with our government; and far too many people are struggling.

    What was once progression has turned into our demise. We need to take serious notice of the America we think we are. Change is need immediately!

  • Do you seriously care about causes?

    One of the great things about living in America is the freedom to protest. This government claims it will defend your right to do just that. I have to say “claims” because I still have the images of the protests during the Civil rights movement where water and dogs were used on peaceful protesters. Also, within the last 5 years with the Black Lives Matter movement and how brutal the police were to them.

    But my point is that causes are connected. It’s almost impossible to just protest one thing because chances are there are several issues within the cause you want to champion.

    Then, we tend to fail in the areas most important with causes — our solutions suck!

    For example, once upon a time teen pregnancy was shameful and the idea that you may get pregnant was a good deterrent for abstinence. Our country at that time was conservative and had a much better observance and reference for the word of God. There were government agencies that controlled what was acceptable over the airwaves and we made sure that what kids could see and learn in media would be something beneficial to their development.

    There were definitely protests regarding unwanted pregnancies and then adoption was the main source of handling them. Then some where the pregnancy dynamic became worse and some women (mostly poor and disenfranchised) sought their own methods of handling the problem (sometimes with a coat hanger of all things). Then Congress sought to solve this issue and put a bandaid on our unwanted baby problem and abortion was legalized. If you can’t beat them, join them philosophy.

    Now before abortion protests started, did we not see the deterioration of the American family? Did we miss how sex was overused to sell everything? Where were the protests for these because this is still happening today.

    We are depleting our resources, making animals that don’t belong to us extinct and using persevatives and additives in our foods that are slowly killing us. What’s our big cause again??

    The largest drug in America is not opiods, it’s sugar. Sugar is responsible for more degenerative diseases then anything else. Where are the protests?? Of all the “walks”, “races”, and “marathons” for cures, we haven’t cured a thing. Our health care system makes the majority of it’s money treating us instead of curing us and their prices are astronomical.

    Is it possible to have a cause of abortion, but not murder? Aren’t they the same thing. There are Christians in this country who are quick to protest abortion but won’t even speak of an unarmed Black man being murdered by police. We protest fur coats, but could care less about the treatment of pigs, chickens and cows.

    We would do well to check our causes so that when we protest (and I believe we should) we can be more productive with our solutions and actually make life easier for others. And above all else, we must avoid hypocrisy!