Politics, and other pesky tics ...

Dear Richard,

You've asked me to explain why I say that, "yes what happened in Germany is happening here, but it's not Donald Trump who is doing it."

I can't explain in one FaceBook paragraph so I'm writing you this letter. I hope you don't mind that I'm posting it publicly. I would like it convenient in the future in case anyone else would ask for the explanation. I really don't want to go through it all again.

Before I explain, let me express that for these years since we became acquainted on Litopia I have enjoyed our discussions and value your opinions even though we often agree to disagree. I would also like to thank you for your support of my efforts as a writer.

We view life from different sides of the fence and at times it seems there is not enough common ground to come to any agreement. I think there is often a misunderstanding of meaning because how you interpret a word may actually not be what I intend to say. For example MAGA to many of you seems to be a red flag of hate. To me it just means Make America Great Again, that we need to get back to a more middle ground as far as the countries values. It stands for a return to the American dream. I think you and your left-leaning friends would claim that this division in our country's ideology comes from President Trump and his attitudes. As you know, I disagree.

Mr. Burns claims that DT is a predator and that he attacks people. In my opinion he does not attack so much as he reacts. He hits back at those who attack him. While this may be politically undesirable it is understandable to me under the circumstances.
Let me explain what I mean by "under the circumstances." It is my opinion, and I believe the opinion of the many people who voted for our President, that he has received an unprecedented amount of  hate, lies, name calling, and all around nasty rhetoric directed at him. Yes, I know that all politicians are attacked. But I think that few have been falsely accused of treason, or "collusion" as the opposition would call it. So I find it unfair to expect him not to react with anger. After all, you have so often pointed out that he is not a saint, why do you think he should act like one? He is what he is and doesn't hide behind soft words and smarmy platitudes. In my opinion, he is probably the only man in the world who could have withstood the persecution he has gone through and still stuck to his guns. He has not buckled under. He is doing all he can to fulfill his campaign promises, something that no other president in my memory has ever done. Don't get me wrong. I don't think he is a perfect person or even close. I only voted for him as the lesser of two evils, but he has pleasantly surprised me.

Burns says that we live in a media culture where attacking people is permitted to be tolerated (a strange phraseology). It has been my belief that permitting tolerance is sort of the point, freedom of speech even if you disagree with what is being said. I hope that in disagreeing with Mr. Burns I am not being intolerant. I allow him to say what he wants, even if I find it offensive. I expect the same respect from him and anyone else who disagrees with me. This brings me back to my earlier argument that Trump attacks no more than he is attacked. Thank goodness for a constitution that allows us to stand up for ourselves, even if we aren't very tactful about it. Trump sort of reminds me of my Dad. Dad had no social filter and would sometimes say things that made me cringe, but his heart was usually in the right place. I feel that DT usually has the country's best interest at heart, even though he gets caught up in the political hate sometimes and lashes back. Incidentally, Dad was a democrat and raised me as such. It wasn't until the party changed that I switched.

This letter is getting really long. Sorry, please bear with me. Like I said, it's hard to be succinct when I have to explain every nuance without common phraseology to rely on. I hope I can explain some of my feelings in the last two years without damaging our friendship. You have no idea how many times I have bitten my tongue and remained silent because of fear, fear of the bullying responses from leftists who claim to have the higher moral ground but when their ideology is confronted, suddenly become ravening wolves ready to rip my throat out. I am called stupid, racist, misogamist, homophobic, deplorable, idiot, and a string of other names that has become the sword of defense for a people who never seem to have actual facts to back up their claims. If you can't prove it, then yell loudly and call people names. Whole groups of people are being shouted down. Excuse me for existing, but who is the bully here? Just because you yell louder than me and use fouler language doesn't mean you are right. Just because you are emotionally unhinged doesn't mean I am in the wrong. (I do not include you in this category Richard. I have found you to be mostly reasonable, except maybe when it come to Trump derangement. I know you have your reasons and would be interested to see your documentation on that. From what I have read most of the complaints are from spurious sources.)

Back to Mr. Burns and his oh so clever analogy. He says, "It's the spectacle, not the truth." Well, truth is the question isn't it? Is Trump right in his claims or do we believe the attacking media? The spectacle in my view is a media who shouts "facts" that are based on hearsay and speculation, and then continue to spew those myths over and over again for years trying to con the public into thinking they really have some sort of proof. Then, when the champion hero Mueller comes up with a big nothing, they turn on Attorney General Barr and accuse him of covering up for the president. Really? Just because you told the same lie for two years doesn't make it true. All the sputtering and blustering doesn't cover the fact that they've come up with egg on their faces. Maybe they should think twice before they believe people like leaky Shift next time. Funny they don't turn on him, that would raise their ratings. But they'd rather try to spin their way along until they can find some other non-existing scandal to push.

Mr. Burns implies by his Hitler comparison that the president is creating propaganda. I submit that the propaganda is on the side of the leftist media and the lies of the deep state democrats and those whose deep pockets have funded them. (Follow the money as you say.)Yes, Fox news takes it to the opposite extreme but as they are far out numbered I believe the left has the monopoly. Interestingly, the majority of them all spew the same rhetoric in almost the same wording across all the networks. Who do you suppose is feeding them the script? They certainly aren't doing their own fact checking and writing, even though they win awards for their well presented lies. I confess, it does take a certain talent to spin something so ethereal and make it look solid, if only in their own eyes.

I think that pretty much covers my remarks on Mr. Burns post, if indeed he did say it. Except I would like to comment that Burns is not a historian. He is a film maker. The bio that I read about him makes no claim of his having any history education. So, to tout him as a historian is stretching the truth a bit, don't you think? Besides, history has been rewritten by those same people who use it as a weapon, to the point that our children have no idea of what our country is really built upon. They do not understand how we came by the privileges they take for granted, so they are easily swayed to believe that our county is somehow evil and needs fundamental change. I pray we can enlighten them without a war that will take away those freedoms and privileges.

Instead of building on our strengths and improving our country, I see a frightening move to destroy it. There are many parts to this movement and so many factions pushing it in persistent malevolence that it is happening right under our noses and we don't see it. I'll point out one thing that has come to my attention in the last few days. You will say my source is tainted with bias, but humor me on this and give it a look. Click here for link.

Okay, is Glen Beck right, or is he caught up in some conspiracy theory? He has documented facts to back up his claims so I tend to agree with him. And, as a side note, let me tell you a bit about my experience lately with conspiracy theory. While researching conspiracies for my latest book in progress I started following the Q-anon posts (you've probably heard of this but if you haven't look it up, it's quite interesting.) I do not base my beliefs on anonymous sources, so I took most of it with a grain of salt. However, someone, or probably a group of someones, feels threatened by Q. I learned this from first-hand experience. Several of the youtube channels that follow Q are being "shadow banned." Or in other words they are being stealthily censored. To my annoyance my apple TV device kept blacking out when I tried to watch certain youtube channels. It didn't take me long to make the connection that it was only the two sites that followed Q. My daughter thought I was crazy until I showed her. She timed the "glitch" and found that it always occurred 30 seconds into my watching, no matter where in the videos I started, I am cut off at 30 seconds. Isn't that strange? Of course, for me, rather than deter me from listening to Q it only made it more credible to know that someone out there is afraid of what he is saying. Like I said, I don't base my belief on anonymous sources, but I have found this one very interesting and I can't see that it promotes violence or hate speech, it is only pointing out things that are going on around us and making speculative connections.  So why is it being censored? Maybe it's just part of the game to make it look legit, or maybe it really is part of the deep state pushing down on the truth. Hopefully time will tell and we will all know the facts.

Well, enough of that woo woo stuff. Just a puzzle to think about. I think I have covered my reasons for my comments. I love this country and what it used to stand for. It pains me to see the hate on both sides and the division it has created. I believe this is a promised land and that God will protect us as long as we acknowledge him and live in peace. We can only be destroyed from the inside and I fear that the process has begun. I fear it has passed the point of no return and that like the ancients before us we stand in danger of destroying ourselves and wiping out our own civilization.
I base these beliefs on the ancient history of the American Indian found in the Book of Mormon. I'm sure you don't believe that book to be true, but I challenge you to read it with these ideas in mind. You will find many parallels, types and shadows, of things that are happening in our government today. History, if unchecked, repeats itself.

This letter is one of the longest I have ever written. Thank you for listening to my rambles. I will gladly read any comments you have and try to see your side of the story as clearly as I hope you see mine. Please include documentation so I can be informed on claims you make. I truly do wish to be open minded, but I do see things from a different viewpoint.

Your internet friend,

Norma