:Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door"
The words on our Statue of Liberty used to define the United States.
Now fear and those who voted for the demagogue president elect are attempting to redefine us.
How did we get here? There are many explanations and each contains a piece of the fascist puzzle.
Hate, fear, racism and a perception of exclusion from the "good life" are some of the causes.
Once again the Republicans and Billionaire bankers and corporations, through legal bribery of public elected officials are the main culprits. Once again people have been duped into voting against their self interest. Who believes Mr. Trump is the champion of the poor vs. the billionaires? He never pretended to be anything but the gutter rising to the top. How long will this con persist?
Listen and learn: The government may be ineffective and that is disgusting. They have allowed the wealthy class to oppress the rest of us. The actual problem is the billionaires sucking the resources and life from us. The government is culpable due to corrupt elected representatives accepting bribes form lobbyists and corporate campaign contributions.
Bernie Sanders proved that an honest man with financial support in small donations from the rank and file can shake up an election and wake us up the potential for good that still lives in our country. We are in mortal danger of being crushed by unAmerican greedheads who would deny a document which has served us well for 230 years: the Constitution.
The famous inscription on our Statue of Liberty faces outward and beckons the vulnerable to the "land of opportunity."
The answer begins with aid and sanctuary to those in peril. Terrorism More people are killed by violence in a week in Chicago than in a year by terrorists in the USA. What is wrong with that picture. I know a teacher in Chicago who hears the cries of kids in terror of their families being torn apart by deportation and even worse fates. The image of the new reality are chilling. It has been seventy short years since the same happened in Germany. Does anyone remember Hitler?
Apparently scapegoating remains effective. Help the kids and their families stay together. Where is the Party of "family values?"
Liberal organizations must unite and coordinate strategy to "make America compassionate again." In unity is strength. We must stop lamenting and turn our words to action. If we don't help, who will?
