Stop Your Bitchin'

Like three hundred million cats in a darkened room chasing the bright red dots from a thousand laser pointers, Americans are easily distracted from reality. Perhaps it is time to stop pursuing the shiny illusions racing around that hypothetical room and turn our attention to the people holding the light source.

I am talking about the wealthy doomsayers proclaiming that your situation is dire and only they can make things better. You would think that the average American was living a miserable existence without hope. If this is true, why is it that we have to take such extreme measures to stem the tide of people willing to risk death to come here? Maybe it is time to STFU and look around and appreciate what we have.

Americans live in arguably the greatest country on this planet. We are a land of plenty. We have an abundance of resources. We have the world’s third-largest population behind India and China. Annually we produce over 600 million metric tons of agricultural products, second only to China. We are the largest oil producer in the world, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China. We have the world's strongest (and most expensive) military force. We have the strongest economy in the world, far exceeding China, Germany, and Japan who hold positions two, three, and four in terms of GDP.

None of this is to say we don’t have room for improvement, but you would think after listening to people running for office that we are living through the Great Depression of 1929 or facing fuel shortages like the 1973 oil crisis. Make America Great Again? One of the funniest sights in recent memory was that of a billionaire standing in front of his multi-million-dollar mansion complaining about the price of Cheerios. Yes, Cheerios, an item he has never placed in a grocery cart. I would even venture a guess that he hasn’t seen the inside of a grocery store in well over fifty years, if ever.

Yes, we have problems in this country but most of them are caused by those holding our metaphorical laser pointers. It is the uber-wealthy who want to further exacerbate the income disparity that exists here so that their relative positions over the working class are strengthened. Like any good magician, it is the distraction that allows them to deceive the audience. Look at the brown and black people coming across our borders but don’t watch as I give myself a huge tax break. Look at the high price of gasoline but don’t look to see that I have raked in a record-breaking $250 billion profit selling oil during the last two years.

It is time that we start looking out for the middle and lower classes and stop listening to those who tell us that allowing them to control everything will eventually improve our lives. Only they know what is in our best interests. It is time to stop waiting for trickle-down economics to work to our benefit. This is not a time to allow a billionaire authoritarian to take over our democracy so that he can control everything. This is a man who has never done a charitable thing in his life without having an agenda where he could benefit.

The billionaires look out for each other. It is a mutual admiration society. Just recently our most famous blonde billionaire proclaimed that the Medal of Freedom he awarded in 2018 to fellow billionaire Miriam Adelson, widow of Sheldon Adelson, was “much better” than the Congressional Medal of Honor. After all, “everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor” because they are “either in very bad shape because they have been hit so many times with bullets or because they are dead.” So said the man who would be our Commander in Chief, again.

Medal of Freedom he awarded in 2018 to fellow billionaire Miriam Adelson, widow of Sheldon Adelson

Trump went on to proclaim that the Medal of Freedom is better than the Medal of Honor because, “she’s a healthy, beautiful woman.” The fact that the Adelsons donated 20 million dollars to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign couldn’t have had anything to do with the award. Nor did the 5 million dollar donation for his inauguration or the half-million-dollar donation to his legal fund. After Miriam Adelson got the Medal of Freedom, she donated another $75 million to a pro-Trump super PAC. It’s too bad the less fortunate have to get killed or severely injured to get one of those less important Medals of Honor. According to Trump, our war dead are the “losers” and “suckers” of history. Just the sort of person you want in charge of our military because he wouldn’t hesitate to send more losers and suckers to their deaths.

Trump’s plan for our future has been outed and published. It has a name, Project 2025. In this Stephen King-worthy horror tome, we find the plan for setting aside our democracy for a pseudo-democracy where the chief executive has total control and voting is a mere formality that proclaims our undying love for whatever “they” decide. Their religion is our religion. Their decisions will be good for us if only we have faith.

So, darken the room. If you are good, they might even break out the green lasers to give you something new to chase. The billionaire class knows what’s best for you. Put on your little red MAGA hat to let them know you hear and obey.