ClydeStyle

Tag: Constitution

  • Death to the freedom of the press

    In journalism school, we were taught about the history of the press and how truly patriotic it was to be a part of the historic institution of the press.

    They made sure we knew how sacred sources were and that the media, more than any other industry, would hold thebkeys to informing the public of what is happening in government.

    In the beginning, people saw the press as the watch dog, which would guard the public interest and expose wrongdoing through great investigative journalism.

    James and Ben Franklin championed this idea in colonial America and even went to jail over their writing content. According to google: “the Franklin brothers’ actions and writings set the stage for a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of freedom of the press. Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the printing and publishing industry, as well as his writings and political activities, helped shape the development of a free and informed citizenry.”

    Ben Franklin said, “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government.” He would also argue that without freedom of speech and press, the constitution dissolves.

    Fast forward to 2025, and with the second term of Donald Trump, we see the deterioration of the free press. Covering the White House without being able to question anything is a problem. The days of journalists going to jail for their beliefs are over. The Republicans are just as afraid of Trump and won’t say anything about it, and the Democrats only get involved if it causes mass protests.

    For example, there should be mass protests for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is the Maryland man deported to El Salvador without due process. No mass protests, so no objections from Democrats.

    On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis, and the world protested, and the Dems jumped right on the bandwagon. As of today, most of the reform gains we saw in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder have been squashed by the Trump administration. Again, no protest equals silence from the Dems.

    With the influence of the press being gutted, the Trump Administration can do whatever they want while we watch. We can now lay to rest our press.

  • How do you feel now?

    This post makes the first of 5 posts that will be written this year covering American history to see how you feel about the incident today. I will briefly discuss the feelings of the day, and then you, dear reader, can comment on how you would feel if it happened today.

    So, on June 20, 1967, Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the Army and was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison, and fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years.

    Ali had a religious conviction. It should have been the same religious conviction that everyone in a Christian society should take. But America has always had a duality with good and evil depending on the circumstance and who is likely to benefit.

    Ali said: “My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America. And shoot them for what? They never called me nigger, they never lynched me, they didn’t put no dogs on me, they didn’t rob me of my nationality, rape and kill my mother and father. … Shoot them for what? How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.”

    These statements cut deep to some in America who thought Ali was being un-American for making those statements. At face value, he was expressing the great divide that has always been in America between people of color and white people.

    The issues Ali brought out were not things America wanted to deal with or discuss, and definitely not publicly. It was the type of truth that had no rebuttal, only shame, denial, and blame.

    As a result, the powers that be wanted to punish Ali, so in the prime of his boxing career, they wouldn’t let him earn a living boxing. A few years later, the conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court.

    So, what are your thoughts on Ali. Should he have gone to Vietnam and fought in the war? Should he have gone to jail? Should he have been reprimanded for the things he said about America? To some people, the answer is “yes” to all three questions. What say ye?

  • The embarrassment of America’s Memorial Day

    Today typically marks the start of summer and barbecue season. Here, in the Midwest the weather is normally very nice, with fresh air and plants doing their thing.

    People are graduating, schools are preparing to dismiss for the summer break, and the majority of the time, our minds are far from war – let alone anyone who died in one.

    After WWII, America tried to prove to the world that we were the leaders of the free world and that democracy was this really great thing. We boasted about our constitution, our rule of law, our desire to be the world’s big brother, and tried to pass ourselves as the greatest ally.

    Meanwhile, back at the range, America was lying through her teeth. The wealth gap, income inequality, racism everywhere, and a lack of equal opportunity have minorities and women being treated like second-class citizens, and there needed to be several movements for change.

    We saw the Cuban missile crisis, the War in Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, a ridiculous 10-year attack on Iraq, battles in Afghanistan, and foolishness in Gaza. All of these events helped change the view of America to nothing more than a self-absorbed bully. What’s worse is that men and women died for these causes under the impression that they were doing some great things when they weren’t.

    Then, when many service men and women came home, many failed to receive the benefits promised by the military. Now, this was no surprise to minorities because after WWII and Vietnam, many Blacks were denied the GI Bill and the stipend to assist in buying a home. And if you did get your stipend, you were “redlined” to keep you out of prospering white neighborhoods and good schools. Today, people of all colors are denied benefits, and neither political party has tried to fix it.

    So that brings us to today. How do you celebrate such a dishonest holiday? Why attempt to remember folks that you broke promises to? Until we fix this atrocity, we should not celebrate what we have done, we should be ashamed.

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • Judges Thomas and Alito are just the tip of the iceberg

    Life constantly proves that we are flawed. As a part of our moral development, we should seek to excel in integrity, goodness, truth, and character, but we have lost our way.

    If we can no longer expect our Supreme Court justices to be honest, how can we expect it in other courts? It seems that there is always a problem when people don’t speak out against injustice. We made that a habit in our country, and it still hinders us today.

    The only thing needed to start a revolution after slavery ended would have been for whites to stand up and acknowledge wrongdoing. If some would have just called it as they saw it because never is it ok to make people property.

    During the Civil Rights movement, our legislative, judicial, and executive branches had a golden opportunity to move our country light years ahead by simply speaking up for what is right! Today, there are horrible police practices that many police, if they were not guilty themselves, could denounce as evil, but they stand silent. Some of the districts that our children are supposed to be educated in are failing. Some of that failure is “teacher failure,” but no one is saying that. Prison conditions in America are deplorable, and very little is being done to change it. Veterans still don’t have all of their promised benefits, but again, we are quiet.

    It’s hard to name an area of interest that isn’t corrupt. Pastors in churches are taking advantage, and some are even getting paid to sell a bad version of hope. And even in the presidency — from Trump to Biden — there are major struggles with integrity and truthfulness.

    Sadly, it seems that we declared independence from the wrong things. Where we should have set ourselves free from lies, laziness, selfishness, and bigotry, we embraced these and would go on to forsake fairness, honor, moral virtue, and serving others. Our freedoms are not for the better but the worse in America. We are free to dishonor our constitution and look out for number one — self!

    There are more justices guilty. We will see more police brutality, bad teachers, and corrupt politicians. And unless there is accountability being enforced, America will implode from within. We won’t have to worry about foreign enemies destroying us. We’re killing ourselves.

  • History and truth need validation

    We live in a time that has the phrase “fake news” circulating through our language. Most of our country looks back at history and tries to cover up the wrong doing because of guilt. In fact, the further back we go the worst it gets. Our country is very divided which was the intent of some. We actually have people who are hoping for another civil war. Because of all these things and more, our history needs to be fact checked and validated.

    The greatest reason for this is so that we don’t repeat the mistakes. It’s always difficult to hold someone accountable in their ignorance. And it’s even more tedious to suffer someone through their wrongdoing. It really becomes taxing on everybody because our ignorance and forgetfulness tends to effect us in great numbers.

    Recently, the Queen of England died. She was on the throne for 70 years and whether she was a figure head or not, that monarch has a ton of innocent blood on it’s hands. Colonization of countries was their specialty and to reign over a place that terrorized countries for a living is not fashionable at all. Their entanglement in South Africa, Jamaica, Barbados and other places was absolutely horrible. But I guess if you live long enough people forget. She lost family members recently because they could no longer endure the racism. But I digress.

    America has a reputation for building weapons on mass destruction, incarcerating it’s citizens and racism. The Bill of Rights and freedoms we have on paper are great until they aren’t. Sure there are worse places you could live but measuring and comparing us based on our resources and what’s actually possible for us to do, we are definitely found lacking.

    This is a perfect place to live if you are wealthy — but that’s only one percent. For the rest of the 99 percent we have varying degrees of contentment and down right bankrupt individuals who are barely keeping their head above water. We have been repeating our past and finding better ways to be convert in our repeats. Our problems are systemic and design to maintain the status quo.

    As a country, we need to figure out exactly what we are trying to do and be honest about it. If we really have a plan to continue to disenfranchise citizens then say that. But based on resources, our country could be a place where everyone thrives.

    We need the correct history so that we can be more tolerant of each other. There are way too many injustices to name here but if we really wanted to correct the problems we have to start with admitting the wrong.

    We need a history check and an honest conversation about what type of country we really want to be.

  • Liberty and justice for all?

    President Barack Obama’s endorsement of a controversial plan to build a mosque just blocks from Ground Zero has fueled raging debates over religious freedom and sensitivities over the 9/11 attacks.

    One of the many things about President Obama’s presidency that bothers me is the fact that Christians I know keep circulating propaganda that says Obama is not a US citizen. Furthermore, there is an email – I call it a hate email – that talks about Muslims out-numbering and taking over America. This is also being circulated by so-called Christians.

    I’m reminded of a quote by Gandhi: ‎”I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ … ”

    How true, how true!

    I’d like to think that America is home to some of the smartest people in the world. I’d also like to believe that given the facts, we, as a people, would allow for our opinions to be trumped. It’s sad that I can’t believe or think these things.

    How can we be “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” and fight against the building of a mosque near Ground Zero?

    I guess the same way James Carter and R’heem Turner could get beaten unconscious in Atlanta in 2006 for being gay (not to slight thousands of others); or the same way Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 (not to slight millions of others).

    It doesn’t matter the target or the place. There’s just always a, “we don’t want _____ in our or near our _______” in America. We don’t want Jews in our neighborhoods! We don’t want Blacks in our schools! We don’t want foreigners in our factories! We don’t want gays near our children! And now, we don’t want a mosque near Ground Zero!

    What’s worse is that there are some who think that protesting the building of a mosque near Ground Zero is a religious stand. This is the truest insult to all of the first century Christians that were persecuted for the cause of Christ.

    This is not a religious stand at all.

    Religion in this instance is a cover up to mask the hatred and prejudice toward Muslims!

    Let me give some sobering words here: All Muslims are not violent and waiting for an opportunity to blow us up. Just like all Blacks are not criminals and waiting to steal from you. Nor is it true that all Whites are racist and looking for a chance to discriminate against you – although these statements are true for a small minority in each group.

    It is true that in all races there are people who hate and are looking for ways to harm other people. It is true that all races have criminal intenders who plot to take what doesn’t belong to them. And it is equally true that all races suffer from bigotry and hatred.

    Every one of us needs to examine what “liberty and justice for all” means.

    Originally, many of the framers of the U.S. Constitution agreed to these words – while still owning slaves. They didn’t sign the documents and run right home and free their slaves.

    But over the years, these words could have been changed, but they were not. “All” could have been changed to “some” because, unfortunately since this country’s beginning, it’s been interpreted that way.