Crazy Times: Treason, Injustice, and Rebellion

When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.

– Lisa Macdonald, Socialist Alliance, quoted by Green Left

Strange times we live in.

The quote above often passes with an attribution to Thomas Jefferson. Nope. But I liked the quote when I first read it, so I won’t let that it was spawned from the mouth of a socialist sour it for me. As they say, even a blind squirrel stumbles paradoxically into an acorn every once in a while.

The quote is doubly triply (given that it comes from a socialist) fitting per current events. News coverage of previous presidents orchestrating a coup and setting the country up for failure is the only new thing on the circuit this week. The COVID-19 coverage is the same day in, day out, and the question there boils down to, simply, when will the government stop infantalizing citizens?

Point One: Treason Charges Pending (Hopefully)

Apparently (hot off the presses, so the investigation is condemning but still ongoing), President Obama and many of his top advisors went above and beyond to be a thorn in candidate Trump’s side during the campaign including laying the groundwork to usurp his authority if he was able to win the election despite their efforts. I understand campaigning for your selected next candidate, even though it means going back on some things you said against them while campaigning against them in the primary (even though they were never false), and I understand campaigning against the opposing party, but sabotaging your own country to make sure the guy you don’t like can’t get much power? I’m fairly certain that qualifies as treason.

If nothing else, will there be justice for Lieutenant General Michael Flynn? Come on, the man’s a war hero. It was dicey going after him in the first place, and now he’s being exonerated because he was framed? Not just hot-potato-pass-the-blame framed, but people orchestrated a plot to invent what looked like a hot potato and then pinned it on him. That’s some serious salt, fabricating treason against a war hero. Ugh.

Point Two: The Shutdown (Injustice!) Has To End Soon

I’m ridiculously lucky in that I’m minimally impacted by the COVID-19 shut-down. The daily thing for me is that I am not generally allowed back in the office, and the most frustrating thing is the prohibition against public Mass celebrations. Unlike many people I know, I don’t spend much time out at movies, going to restaurants, or even getting haircuts. (I cut my own hair; it saves beaucoup bucks … and awkward interactions with hair stylists.)

Something has got to give, and it’s got to give soon.

Mental health problems have skyrocketed, many are out of work and don’t know how to feed their families, Republicans opt for massive expenditure bills to try to save lives, Democrats (read: Nancy Pelosi) block the bills to blame the other party for something (Hey! Don’t you know it’s an election year?!), and the American dream is being ground into the dirt. The world as we know it has gone bonkers.

“This would all be easier if there were a Universal Basic Income.” I heard this sentiment from several people. Uh, okay, commie, where would all that money come from – especially now given that everyone is out of work? Oh, by the way, how did that work for college tuition rates? (You know, many people who went to university decades ago paid much less in tuition, room, and board because the government wasn’t promising loans regardless of how awful the bill got.)

P.S.
Venezuela. If you still want socialism, go to Venezuela and be happy if you can find a stray dog to eat.

And that’s not even mentioning the crux of the issue: what about the will to live? Work isn’t a great purpose in life, mind you, but for many, it’s all they’ve got. If they don’t have to work to put food on the table, there’s literally no point to life. It’s one of the reasons we’re expected to lose 68,000 citizens to deaths of despair (such as suicide and substance abuse) just from this pandemic. It’s a scary time, and people are losing the only reasons they have to muster through.

I’m hoping (and, yes, praying) that this little socialist experiment teaches our great society an important lesson. Unfortunately, I’m doubtful we’re listening.

Part Three: A Socialist Encourages Rebellion

What state have you to depend on if you tear it down?

That is a legitimate question. Socialists don’t exist in the natural state of affairs because they require a fabricated system to lean on. Without the commons, there is no tragedy thereof. Without the tragedy of the commons, there is no socialism.

Rebellion is more of a thing for people who aren’t afraid of having a minimally-invasive government. It would make sense for a libertarian to say something like the above. For someone who wants the government to stick its sticky paws in places where the sun don’t shine and expect everyone to be happy about it… Well, that simply doesn’t make sense.

But I’m fine with that. You know, if the socialists want to tear down the blooming socialism, I say we cheer them on. We should also build up as they destruct so there is structure to return to at the end of the day, hopefully one without all the ridiculous plumes of absurd government overreach. Let’s let the socialists tear themselves down so the rest of society can build something better.

Ready For an Uptick?

I received an email today with this subject line:

Outbreaks ‘Inevitable’ as States Reopen

Well, yeah. If they weren’t, what was the point of the shut down in the first place?

The point was to “flatten the curve” to make sure the hospitals could handle the influx of patients, particularly as we figure out what works and what doesn’t against this novel infection. So yes, re-opening, whether now or a year from now, will inevitably result in more cases. If it doesn’t, then that means the shut-down had zero effect on flattening the curve, and we should all be outraged at being cooped up for no reason.

So, I’m ready for an uptick in cases, yes. An uptick in novel coronavirus cases means an uptick in the economy and, more importantly, a serious uptick in the quality of life of all those impacted by this disastrous scenario which will inevitably result in a flattening of the mental health crisis curve.

Much love. <3