Why I Continue My Fight

Time for a little open-heart reflection and explanation why I continue my fight against Senators Cruz, Lee, & Paul along with the tea-party Representatives and the political entertainers Beck & Limbaugh.

I've read a little history and seen enough old news reels to wish somebody had stood up to Senator Joe McCarthy earlier. I also wish more people had stood up to Cleon Skousen too. Even Ernie Wilkinson could have used a bit more of a kick in the rear when he imposed his anti-communist spy-ring on my alma mater. So I'm standing up to the demagogues now in hopes of saving them and their followers from worse abuses like those we've known in the past in this very country. And they've mostly come from the extreme Right.
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Bottom line, what I fight against is the demagoguery that pulls in some very good friends and family that I care about.

What is a demagogue? The dictionary definition: 

a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.

If you search for "demagogue" on the internet, you will come up with a few links about President Obama. I don't really get that as his message is a popular, rational, progressive one about hope and helping move society forward to make better opportunities for all, not just a select few by class or money. That doesn't sound like playing on "prejudices" to me. 

I know Rush and Beck and many others accuse the President of inciting class warfare and something called "reverse discrimination." But consider those sources, seriously?

Is there any rational way that President Obama can be compared to the Communist Dictators of this world who really did foment class warfare with millions executed? And they were real dictators, ruthlessly holding on to political power and executing, exiling, or imprisoning those who dared disagree. Worse than the "divine right" of kings, they seemed to rule under the godless right of horror. Some are still hanging around like that crazy guy in North Korea. Really? President Obama is like that?

No. The closest comparisons you can make are to leaders like Teddy Roosevelt who promoted progressive taxation because the wealthy benefited disproportionately more from our American Society than did the working poor. Or we could compare him to President Eisenhower when tax rates on the super wealthy were an incredibly higher percentage than they are today. In those days, we financed (in part through deficit spending) a massive federal highway program that benefited all, especially the already wealthy with the means to invest in manufacturing with ease of transportation. And our economy boomed. We could even compare him to Richard Nixon (without the scandals - phony Benghazi and IRS don't even come close!) It was Nixon who promoted several environmental laws many on the Right now hate. He also involved the government in serious control of the economy. There are no free markets. It's just a matter of who you let control them. I prefer representative democracy like Nixon did rather than a privileged oligarchy.

Yes, we have problems. The deficit is a big one with little political will to resolve it. Some tax revenues, reform of the tax code, and entitlement reform would do the trick as long as all sides work together to compromise. The tea party plan of more tax cuts and entitlement cuts make no rational sense to me.

I know I'm idealistic. I also work for the government. And I'm proud to do so because I believe in our divinely inspired Constitution and the promise of America as a land of opportunity! I'm not hearing that message from the people I mentioned above except for President Obama. What I hear from those others are a lot of argument appealing to passion stirring people to anger over Gays, Muslims, Mexicans, a historically unique President, the "lazy" poor, the "incompetent and/or lazy" government employee, and on and on. I'm sorry, but those sound more like prejudices than any rational argument.

Let me share a little self-pity here. Sometimes as a federal employee I feel like the Veterans coming home from Viet Nam without any respect from Society at large. I think some of those stories about people spitting on them are exaggerated, if they happened at all, but still. I'm not looking for medals or parades, just a little respect.

It breaks my heart when some from the Right criticize me just for existing with my beliefs and chosen profession. In very angry, not at all rational words, they accuse me of all kinds of things I don't believe in just because I choose to have hope in America and voted for the President rather than voting in some kind of fear of him. It's not because the accusations hurt me, although it's admittedly not pleasant with all the fury, but my heart breaks for the anger in their hearts.