State of America for the 250th

So we're approaching the nation's 250th birthday. I remember the 200th event in 1976 and how it happened during a cynical time in American history. I made this comment in the back shop of the Sun Tribune newspaper once and Jim Morrison agreed with me. Decades have their peculiar traits. 

The fall of Saigon happened in 1975. You can find YouTube accounts w/ archival media coverage of that mess: people literally clinging to helicopters seeking escape, helicopters being pushed off ships to make room for more desperate refugees. Today our presidential administration would try to shield the public from all this news. 

Oh, but the public's right to know? In theory, yes, that would be the sound principle. Logic does not score the kind of points that it once did. Look at how our Supreme Court behaves now. With time we will probably see a drift back to something approximating the Jim Crow laws in the South. We cannot rule anything out at present. 

Why do I bother writing about this? I am only imperiling my own situation out here in coyote country where MAGA has such strength, to an extent because of our churches. Ah, the Christian church: what will become of it? I wrote out my last check to First Lutheran of Morris and learned within a short time that the members would only be spending half-time there in the future - the rest of the time we'd be going to the Methodist/UCC church. 

ELCA churches got "tarred" with the reputation of being left-leaning politically or "progressive." It's the kiss of death out here in coyote country now. 

Just think of First Lutheran with its truly grand tradition, and I mean that. We used to have "UMM Sunday" which was a celebratory event. It stood out on the calendar. It no longer exists. And if I try pointing out this and other shortcomings to the FLC people, well the reception I get is one of discomfort, of just not wanting to talk about it. Out of sight, out of mind. 

First Lutheran Church essentially got rolled over by the MAGA forces - of course that means "Make America Great Again." A lot of people poured money into a totally new church just outside of Morris, and then these mostly well-heeled folks poured money into a new "steeple" for the new church. Why? What tangible benefit does that steeple bring for anyone? 

Of course, the church I am speaking of is Good Shepherd. 

Just as it is fruitless for me to prompt discussion of the drift of rural Christianity, it is fruitless really for me to be in any sort of political conversation with anyone. It is past time for finding that productive. I may have already dug a hole for myself by doing that. I have seen evidence that my access to various online platforms is limited. In a couple of these situations, the barriers went away after a while, possibly because I was not alone and pressure was brought to bear on the people doing this. 

And we know with 100 percent certainty that the Trump folks will do anything to tamp down any voices that are skeptical toward them. This type of thing clearly happened in Germany of the md-20th Century. The U.S. has also allowed "concentration camps" to be established. Shouldn't you all be concerned about how all of this is likely to end? 

The president initiated the whole Iran thing because he did not want a previous black president to get credit for anything having to do with Iran. Or John Kerry, a white person who once had the Democratic presidential nomination. 

Trump got three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. And the electoral college is nothing more than a vestige of Civil War reconstruction. 

Martina McBride

And so our current circumstances, which I can do nothing about, are in place for America's 250th birthday. Martina McBride withdrew from an official event because she saw it was going to be slanted in favor of MAGA. She said that she hoped that such an event would be the kind that "brought all Americans together." My God, who can argue with that? When I was a young adult, no one would. Today? We are in such different times. 

Really all I can do is observe. And if I really knew what was good for me, I wouldn't write my thoughts. Maybe stop writing completely. It might be too late. We see headlines every morning that should scare us. Blame the reflecting pool thing on "vandals." Some people just eat that stuff up. Well a lot of people out here in western Minnesota do, the people that plow their hard-earned money into a new church steeple. They are total flat-Earthers. Maybe I should say "bigots." Or, "maggots" as a takeoff on MAGA. But where will this get me? 

Martina McBride is a huge name in country music. After she withdrew for the 250th event, she gets slammed by the Trump people as a "lefty." Follow the script everyone. I guess I'm a "lefty." 

But I will not vote Democratic if the party continues to show signs of being tight with teachers unions. There are some things that I just will not do. The more money that teachers get, the less is left over for support staff who are very important people with school programs. At least I can see that. 

So to you Republicans, you do still have hope for getting my vote.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - musicstuff54@gmail.com