Some thoughts on Independence Day

 

Today, I'm posting an entry which is meant to be current on the day my readers see it.  Too bad that I have to write something like this.

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This year, I'm no longer sure if I can still say that I'm proud to be an American.  Our screwed up electoral system allowed a bombastic, dictatorial, grifting third rate TV personality to become president.   I can only imagine what the cadets at West Point were thinking when our so-called president gave the commencement address, given their honor code:

"A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."

What would you think in their position?  They are obligated to obey orders.  But in the back of their minds, some must be wondering what happened to the German soldiers who defended themselves by saying:

"Ordnung ist Ordnung" 

 

or, in English,

"Orders are Orders" 

That is, orders must be followed, no matter what.

Given that our president is trying to provoke people in California (using ICE raids to round up illegal aliens) to use violence so that he could declare martial law,  the resistance is holding firm - and GROWING!  Our president uses cruelty to achieve his ends, and has given Carte Blanche to his masked criminal enforcers (usually without judicial warrant) to snatch people off the streets of America.  The time to resist these criminal actors is now!

Two hundred and forty nine years ago, our forefathers said that they were fed up with having a king whose government didn't care about the needs of America.  I hope that the same sentiment is still held by enough people so that we can prevent another "king" from destroying our republic.

Years ago, someone asked Ben Franklin what kind of government do we have?  He replied, saying:

"A republic, if you can keep it." 

 Hopefully, we will be able keep it.....

 

If I had the skill, I could easily write several books.

 

I am not a fan of Ernest Hemingway.  Every time I tried to get through his books, I hit a wall.  When I was younger, I enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea.  But I can't even get through that book now.  Yet, I find Mickey Spillane to be a much easier read, and more fun as well.  I'll jokingly describe many of his Mike Hammer tales as love stories - between Mike and his gun, Betsy.  Even his secretary, Velma, plays a background role in his stories compared with Betsy.

When I broke up with my recent ex-girlfriend, several people said that I should write a book about it.  That I will not do. I have good reasons for that, including the wish not to hurt her or any of the people whose characters I'd rework to tell my tale.  Instead, I have other tales I'd want to tell, such as a man who beats the Devil at 3 wagers but who doesn't want the prize, saying that he "cheated", having read Satan and Sam Shay. The Devil and this man develop a friendship based on mutual respect, as the man gives the Devil a way to both redeem himself and to cause problems for the God that cast him to hell.

Another story I'd want to tell is that of a man (or woman) who is a fervent believer in democracy, but ends up becoming a brutal dictator (temporarily) to restore the country to a state where democracy can flourish again.  When asked about the country he (or she) is leaving behind, Benjamin Franklin's famous words are used once more: "A republic, if you can keep it."

Of course, I could also explore science fiction, telling a tale about what aliens find when they encounter Earth for the first time.  This would be a wrinkle on the typical "Take me to your leader" story, as the secret to Earth's survival would be that we have outsourced self governance to artificial intelligences without the general public realizing it has done this. A second secret uncovered in this tale would be that the alien species also had to do this, and has come for its own benign reasons.

Unfortunately, writing takes a lot of practice, something I haven't taken the time to do.  I'll never be like J.D.Salinger, a man who gave up being a public figure and stopped writing for public consumption. If I were to make the effort to be a popular author, I would stay in the public eye and have fun with the time I was there....