SANITY IN AN INSANE WORLD

Still trying to keep my sanity in an insane world.   Either that or I’m insane trying to find sanity.  I continue to be alarmed by the trends toward nationalism and dictatorships around the world, including those leaders who have falsely led their populace to believe they were being offered democratic freedoms.

After the lives lost and destruction of WWII in Europe and environs I could never have imagined in my lifetime the people living in any of those countries would be seduced by such leaders again, as has happened in Poland, Turkey, Hungry to name a few.  However, in some instances citizen betrayal has occurred with their government acting contrary to the majorities wishes -- a concern about which we in the U.S. should make sure does not occur here.  

We’ve known about the repressive regimes of Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Egypt and how could we forget those other Middle East nations.  Leaders of these countries have seemed to be admired by our current President which we might wonder if he wishes to emulate.

What exactly is it that allows such individuals to gain control, then keep them in power to gradually become dictators?  Some especially descriptive items follow that I’ve purloined from elsewhere -- I apologize for having lost the source for attribution. 

--creating instability, inconsistency, confusion to keep everyone off balance.

--encouraging dissension, conflict, chaos to create anger, fear and mentally fatigue citizens.

There’s little doubt all these have been and continue to be deliberately fostered in the U.S. during these past four years.

--requiring changes that violate moral treatment of other human beings.

--accepting of citizens/law enforcement by acting to enforce immoral treatment of other human beings.

--desensitization of citizens with gradually increasing immoral treatment of individuals or groups not approved of by the leader.

One such example that leaps to my mind are those adults and children seeking asylum who were and some still are separated -- how they’ve been housed/caged; the U.S. government officials and employees who’ve carried out orders from our nation’s leader causing this immorality and injustice.

-- lying excessively to their citizens and anyone questioning their lies is denied, belittled, imprisoned, “disposed of “. 

--repressing, then demonizing their news media by favoring only those printing the government’s positive news with fake facts. 

The record of our nation’s leader’s lies is endless as are instances that can be interpreted as retaliation against those questioning him.  The news media individuals, social media and organizations parroting his lies with most all others condemned by our leader are obvious to anyone paying attention to facts and truth.

--accommodating judiciary reflecting their leader’s views over what is in the best interest of the individual citizens by interpreting codes, laws, or constitution to protect the leader’s views.

--enforcing the law and using security forces who act on behalf of the leader/dictator to the detriment of any opposition groups. 

We need only look to our Attorney General to consider whether or not the above is occurring.   Now, we have questionable U.S. Government individuals claiming to be enforcing law and order that local and state officials in Portland, Oregon allege are, in fact, inciting increased violence by their actions against protestors. 

--writing laws and rules by individuals like a congress or parliament supposedly representing citizens but in actual functioning they simply parrot the acts desired by the nation’s leader.  

--maintaining quasi-government branches that are basically toothless to do anything other than reflect their leader’s point of view. 

We look to the actions or inactions of our U.S. Senate Majority Leader and that august group to see whose views they support and it’s generally not that of the citizen majority they claim to represent.   Governmental branches of our Congress, Justice Department, even Supreme Court evidence being toothless.  Multiple key government department heads have been replaced with individuals who are often without knowledge or experience in the area they direct, others appointed or hired who might be considered incompetent. 

--managing/manipulating elections to keep the leader in power.

--titling of these leaders who become dictators include calling themselves Presidents (as in Russia), or using a religious term for their leader (as in Iran’s theocracy).

Voting repression techniques, efforts to adversely affect citizen trust in our voting system, attempts to prevent mail-in election ballots being used including failure to support the United States Postal Service with adequate funding to provide necessary services are ongoing.

Do the violent acts of some U.S. Government agents in Portland concern you?   I’ve wondered if they are pawns being used -- possibly reacting to those amongst peaceful protestors who remind me of Germany’s dirty-work Brown Shirts prior to that government’s dictatorial take-over decades ago -- violence prone groups our President has been “dog-whistling” (think of Charlottesville, VA) ever since he became our leader.  Now he wants to pursue this same policy, calling it establishing law and order, in other American cities contrary to wishes of city and state leaders there. 

Under no circumstances should this President be given cause to be able to declare martial law!

I’ve never before in my lifetime felt my freedoms so threatened.   Does any of the above give you cause for concern?  Is our Capitalistic Constitutional Democratic Republic with our freedoms in jeopardy at risk?   Is this actually occurring in the United States?