In an “ideal country” no child goes unfed, no Senior Citizen has to choose between medicine and food, no disabled person is left to just die unattended, no person in the Appalachian Mountains is left to pump and shoot drugs because their government took away every means of livelihood from agriculture to industry leaving them high and dry while funding the massive genocide of innocent people in a far away country that most Americans know nothing about, no politician becomes rich “serving” the People, lobbyists are restrained, term limits are instated, Presidents cannot be Felons, MOCS can’t serve after 60 years of age, taxation of the rich supersedes taxation of the poor, kickbacks are illegal, Citizens United becomes illegal, Public Schools are fully funded, taxpayers don’t fund private schools, no theology is governmentally promoted, no President is shielded from amoral and illegal actions and does not have the capability of pardoning anyone associated with any act of insurrection ever, Joint Chiefs of Staff with lifelong Military careers cannot be fired without any kind of due process going through the Military itself, no “Golden Shield” protects a President from bombing ships with the excuse they carry drugs or anything else anywhere anyhow or murdering innocent people without international court agreement, gerrymandering would be illegal, the vote would actually be the Voice of the People with a full account-no more electoral voting, higher education would be free, the Military would not be enabled to torture people in American cities regardless of their ethnicity or color, history would be taught correctly in every school and racism as a systemic American Failure would not be avoided, all people could and should marry who they live, LGBTQ+ should not be a governmental policy, women would finally be free to own their bodies and be considered equal. We CAN do this. Collectively we can move this country into its greatest potential—here’s the clincher: finding the People to help us get there. Trust me on this, they aren’t over 50 years old. I am a Senior Citizen. Let’s focus on young people whose ideology is more profound than the Chuck Schumer’s of this world. United, yes, we can.
You have the words—they spoke straight to my own heart.
I identify deeply with everything you say, thank you for articulating it. Money poisons everything; my senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand won’t dare to deviate from their pro-Israel rhetoric for fear of losing their AIPAC money.
Loved this! It will be helpful for me as I try to bring others along. I just lose the words & just get angry that they haven’t educated themselves, but sharing this is a much better approach. Thanks
I’ve been studying the Israel/Palestine conflict for decades and lived among Palestinians (as a Jew) in East Jerusalem. I greatly respect your post here. I encourage you to learn the entire long, complicated history of the region from before the Balfour Proclamation and the British mandate, going back to the 19th century. I assume your list of writers is partial, since they all represent the Palestinian viewpoint- very valid! But incomplete. Read about the British and early Jewish and Arab leaders too. Thanks for wanting to understand what’s going on and good luck getting there.
Thank you for putting your thoughts into writing. You're helping me do the same.
You reminded me of the changes I've made in my thinking over the years. Growing up in a church-going family in WV, I idealized Israel and was glad that a Jewish homeland was established after World War II. I thought the Palestinians had sold their land as part of the creation of modern day Israel.
I moved to Rochester NY for seminary and lived there for 10 years. I remember in the mid-70's that every time the word "Palestine" was mentioned in the news, it was followed by the word "terrorist," or if it wasn't, my mind added it. Then, one day I met a woman from Palestine, heard her reactions to the news, saw her as someone who loved music, knew she was not a terrorist.
I stopped connecting the words "Palestinian" and "terrorist" and began realizing that Israel/Palestine is a complex situation; and, alot of it has to do with money, as you so well said. When I became aware that Palestinians were still living in refugee camps I remember thinking -- you can't keep people in camps forever. It's inhumane, and humans don't want to be treated inhumanely!
About a decade ago (publshed in 2006) I read the book -- by Sandy Tolan -- "The Lemon Tree," which was a real tree planted in the yard of a house built by a Palestinian family that then became the home of a Jewish family. The narrative of the two families' meeting helped me further understand the dynanmics that people there are living with daily. Only now it's much worse.
Most mornings lately I feel a haunting shame when I open my refrigerator door to decide what to have for breakfast while knowing our country is contributing to the starvation of Palestinian people -- and now to exacerbating hunger in this, our home country. It should not be a leftist or radical or liberal position to want people to be secure in their homes, to have nutritious food, clean water (implying a healthy planet), and jobs that pay a liiving wage. That's part of having "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Republicans used to be the progressive party. They abolished slavery, gave Black men the vote, established the DOJ to shut down the KKK. They eventually gave women the vote. But Teddy Roosevelt was the last progressive Republican candidate, and his Bull Moose candidacy threw the Presidency to Wilson. When the Republicans came back into power we had the Teapot Dome scandal.
Democrats like to worship FDR. FDR was responsible for putting US citizens into concentration camps because of their Japanese heritage, even as their sons served in Europe. Then Truman nuked Japan twice. The other option was to completely incinerate Japan. The US was prepared to do just that.
After WWII the US was the hegemon. The rest of the world paid tribute by way of the US dollar being the reserve currency. Happy Days! Israel became the Praetorian Guard for the US Empire. You should read up on the history of the original Praetorian Guard.
Revolution happens when institutions change. The big change in the 21st Century is the world wide web, which is what radicalized you and lots of other people. This is why the Zionists have acquired TikTok in the US, because up till now TikTok educated everyone about Palestine. The US, UK and Israel are trying desperately to hold things together, and they are failing. The big change that will happen sooner or later is the US dollar ceases to be the reserve currency. That means the world tribute stops flowing to the US. That means the end of the US Empire.
Yes, billionaires and trillion dollar corporations are the problem. World wide communication is the solution.
My view is FDR is that a lot of his domestic economic policy was good and necessary during the time, but it doesn’t absolve him of the very racist and inhumane policies toward Japanese people. Most presidents are war criminals, so it’s important to recognize that while also noting the things they did that were broadly successful domestically speaking (new deal)
In an “ideal country” no child goes unfed, no Senior Citizen has to choose between medicine and food, no disabled person is left to just die unattended, no person in the Appalachian Mountains is left to pump and shoot drugs because their government took away every means of livelihood from agriculture to industry leaving them high and dry while funding the massive genocide of innocent people in a far away country that most Americans know nothing about, no politician becomes rich “serving” the People, lobbyists are restrained, term limits are instated, Presidents cannot be Felons, MOCS can’t serve after 60 years of age, taxation of the rich supersedes taxation of the poor, kickbacks are illegal, Citizens United becomes illegal, Public Schools are fully funded, taxpayers don’t fund private schools, no theology is governmentally promoted, no President is shielded from amoral and illegal actions and does not have the capability of pardoning anyone associated with any act of insurrection ever, Joint Chiefs of Staff with lifelong Military careers cannot be fired without any kind of due process going through the Military itself, no “Golden Shield” protects a President from bombing ships with the excuse they carry drugs or anything else anywhere anyhow or murdering innocent people without international court agreement, gerrymandering would be illegal, the vote would actually be the Voice of the People with a full account-no more electoral voting, higher education would be free, the Military would not be enabled to torture people in American cities regardless of their ethnicity or color, history would be taught correctly in every school and racism as a systemic American Failure would not be avoided, all people could and should marry who they live, LGBTQ+ should not be a governmental policy, women would finally be free to own their bodies and be considered equal. We CAN do this. Collectively we can move this country into its greatest potential—here’s the clincher: finding the People to help us get there. Trust me on this, they aren’t over 50 years old. I am a Senior Citizen. Let’s focus on young people whose ideology is more profound than the Chuck Schumer’s of this world. United, yes, we can.
You have the words—they spoke straight to my own heart.
I identify deeply with everything you say, thank you for articulating it. Money poisons everything; my senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand won’t dare to deviate from their pro-Israel rhetoric for fear of losing their AIPAC money.
Thank you 🙏 and I 100% agree
Glad to read this♡
Loved this! It will be helpful for me as I try to bring others along. I just lose the words & just get angry that they haven’t educated themselves, but sharing this is a much better approach. Thanks
I’ve been studying the Israel/Palestine conflict for decades and lived among Palestinians (as a Jew) in East Jerusalem. I greatly respect your post here. I encourage you to learn the entire long, complicated history of the region from before the Balfour Proclamation and the British mandate, going back to the 19th century. I assume your list of writers is partial, since they all represent the Palestinian viewpoint- very valid! But incomplete. Read about the British and early Jewish and Arab leaders too. Thanks for wanting to understand what’s going on and good luck getting there.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. If there is an author/book you recommend, I’d love to take a look.
Thank you for putting your thoughts into writing. You're helping me do the same.
You reminded me of the changes I've made in my thinking over the years. Growing up in a church-going family in WV, I idealized Israel and was glad that a Jewish homeland was established after World War II. I thought the Palestinians had sold their land as part of the creation of modern day Israel.
I moved to Rochester NY for seminary and lived there for 10 years. I remember in the mid-70's that every time the word "Palestine" was mentioned in the news, it was followed by the word "terrorist," or if it wasn't, my mind added it. Then, one day I met a woman from Palestine, heard her reactions to the news, saw her as someone who loved music, knew she was not a terrorist.
I stopped connecting the words "Palestinian" and "terrorist" and began realizing that Israel/Palestine is a complex situation; and, alot of it has to do with money, as you so well said. When I became aware that Palestinians were still living in refugee camps I remember thinking -- you can't keep people in camps forever. It's inhumane, and humans don't want to be treated inhumanely!
About a decade ago (publshed in 2006) I read the book -- by Sandy Tolan -- "The Lemon Tree," which was a real tree planted in the yard of a house built by a Palestinian family that then became the home of a Jewish family. The narrative of the two families' meeting helped me further understand the dynanmics that people there are living with daily. Only now it's much worse.
Most mornings lately I feel a haunting shame when I open my refrigerator door to decide what to have for breakfast while knowing our country is contributing to the starvation of Palestinian people -- and now to exacerbating hunger in this, our home country. It should not be a leftist or radical or liberal position to want people to be secure in their homes, to have nutritious food, clean water (implying a healthy planet), and jobs that pay a liiving wage. That's part of having "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Thank you for sharing this. It’s really important that people highlight the intersectionality of these issues
Republicans used to be the progressive party. They abolished slavery, gave Black men the vote, established the DOJ to shut down the KKK. They eventually gave women the vote. But Teddy Roosevelt was the last progressive Republican candidate, and his Bull Moose candidacy threw the Presidency to Wilson. When the Republicans came back into power we had the Teapot Dome scandal.
Democrats like to worship FDR. FDR was responsible for putting US citizens into concentration camps because of their Japanese heritage, even as their sons served in Europe. Then Truman nuked Japan twice. The other option was to completely incinerate Japan. The US was prepared to do just that.
After WWII the US was the hegemon. The rest of the world paid tribute by way of the US dollar being the reserve currency. Happy Days! Israel became the Praetorian Guard for the US Empire. You should read up on the history of the original Praetorian Guard.
Revolution happens when institutions change. The big change in the 21st Century is the world wide web, which is what radicalized you and lots of other people. This is why the Zionists have acquired TikTok in the US, because up till now TikTok educated everyone about Palestine. The US, UK and Israel are trying desperately to hold things together, and they are failing. The big change that will happen sooner or later is the US dollar ceases to be the reserve currency. That means the world tribute stops flowing to the US. That means the end of the US Empire.
Yes, billionaires and trillion dollar corporations are the problem. World wide communication is the solution.
My view is FDR is that a lot of his domestic economic policy was good and necessary during the time, but it doesn’t absolve him of the very racist and inhumane policies toward Japanese people. Most presidents are war criminals, so it’s important to recognize that while also noting the things they did that were broadly successful domestically speaking (new deal)