I didn’t throw my vote away!

 

It's that time of year.  I got my absentee ballot.

I'm proud to say I didn't throw my vote away.

Here were the choices for president . . .

1. A lying psychopath who takes special delight in murdering heads of state and innocent civilians, will start World War III, if that's what it takes to get her name writ large in the history books.
2. A lying sociopath with ADD and a penchant for locker room talk, who takes special delight in making racist threats against anyone who's not white, and moreover who can't put together a coherent sentence containing more than six words.
3. A clueless empty suit who apparently has modeled himself after Alfred E. Neuman, who thinks Aleppo is a blood disease which causes diarrhea in house pets, and the name of the leader of North Korea is Kim Buk Too.
4. An articulate medical doctor, peace and environmental activist, who has an inspiring and detailed plan for reducing poverty and wealth inequality, ending the unnecessary and destructive wars, addressing the mounting crisis of climate change, and restoring representative democracy and integrity to government.

Seriously?  There's a choice?

It reminds me of the time I was asked to appear on a TV game show.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Choose Well or Die, America's new giveaway fun fest, where some lucky guy gets a chance to go home with a new lease on life, or meet the Grim Reaper.  Tonight's first guest is John Rachel, itinerant blogger and novelist originally from Detroit, Michigan.  Welcome, John.  How are you feeling tonight?"

"Better than an Eskimo with a bikini wax."

"Sounds terrific, John.  So here are your choices.  Now take your time and think this over.  Would you rather . . ."

1. Have your eyes gouged out with red hot tire irons while the lower half of your body is immersed in a vat of pure hydrochloric acid?
2. Be anally raped by a buffalo while five rabid pit bulls rip your face apart?
3. Be skinned alive, then trampled to death by a stampeding herd of elephants?
4. Win $1 billion tax free, and be shuttled all over the world from your private tropical island in the South Pacific, in a luxurious 360-foot yacht with 24 of your closest friends and admirers?

"Hmm.  This is tougher than I thought.  Is that yacht eco-friendly?"

You get the idea.

 

Anyway, after thinking about it for less time than it takes Bruce Willis to comb his hair, here's how I marked my ballot. 

Did I throw my vote away?  I guess that depends on how you define "throw away".

I decided to vote on principle.  Somebody has to, because . . . eventually everyone must. 

It should never come down to what we are faced with this election, deciding between psychopathic Hillary or sociopathic Donald.  But it has.  I'm not sure which of them is worse.  It's too close to call.

I do know one thing.  If we play this game again this time . . . it'll be the same next time.  Maybe even worse, though that's hard to imagine.

What's the principle which defines my choice?

A vote is an endorsement.  Therefore . . .

I will not cast my vote for corruption; lying; wars; rampant corporatism; totalitarian rule by an oligarchy; wealth inequality; government by Wall Street, the too-big-to-fail banks, and transnationals; the destruction of democracy.  Both Clinton and Trump are all of that and more.  More of the slow, steady evisceration of what I once believed America stood for.

A vote is too precious to waste on criminals and narcissists.



[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]


I didn’t throw my vote away!

ASD: A Pandemic for an Empire in Decline

It's important to label everything, as if giving something a name somehow establishes control over it, mastery.  If it's a disease, just being able to say, "It's obvious that this person suffers from catalomistic phrenapsidia," puts us well on the road to a cure.

An acronym is even better!  Three or four letters does the trick.  Knowing that 10.2% of our children are ADHD, coupled with the understanding that we can douse them with all sorts of miracle drugs -- prescription meth -- puts us all at ease.  Situation under control!

I've come up with both a new pathology and a self-generated acronym that sums up what seems to afflict our political leadership -- or lack of leadership might be more accurate.

ASD!

Doesn't it just roll off your tongue?

While phonetically it's a cousin of LSD, and you could certainly speculate about possible fanciful connections, LSD is just short for its chemical name -- lysergic acid diethylamide.  ASD tends to be more descriptive and incisive, comprehensive, and indeed incriminating.  It says just about all that needs to be said about behavior that seems counter-productive, anti-social, self-serving, self-obsessed, even ultimately self-destructive, manifestly driven by values most of us don't understand, much less share.

ASD stands for Advanced Sociopathic Disorder.

What are the symptoms of sociopathy?

• Glibness and Superficial Charm
• Manipulative and Conning
  They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.
• Grandiose Sense of Self
  Feels entitled to certain things as "their right."
• Pathological Lying
  Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.
• Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
  A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.
• Shallow Emotions
  When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.
• Incapacity for Love
• Need for Stimulation
  Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.
• Callousness/Lack of Empathy
  Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others' feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.
• Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
  Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.
• Irresponsibility/Unreliability
  Not concerned about wrecking others' lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.
• Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
  Promiscuity, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual acting out of all sorts.
• Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
  Tends to move around a lot or makes all encompassing promises for the future, poor work ethic but exploits others effectively.

Given this characterization, maybe I'm being unfair in exclusively singling out our leaders.  Perhaps it's an affliction that is spreading virally down through much of our society.

Certainly there are good, decent, caring, kind, compassionate people all around.  Yet we tolerate, even celebrate, egomania and narcissism like it's a national religion.  A sign of the times?  Or a symptom of societal malaise, massive disillusion, and a spiritual vacuum.  Is there no public path to self-aggrandizement and extravagance which isn't acceptable now?  Can we make it through a day without taking a selfie?



They say desperate times call for desperate measures.

Maybe desperate times create desperate people.

And desperate people?  What is their future?

If they were only dangerous to themselves, that would be one thing.

But . . .

(And now we turn our attention back to our leaders.)

When we see the recklessness of the sociopaths running things these days, we need to seriously ask ourselves.

Who is to stop them? 

If they aren't listening to others . . .
. . . and there's no voice of conscience on the inside . . .

Then what will stop them from destroying everything?

Because there's no denying . . .

It would be a truly AWESOME SELFIE!

#POTD
 




[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]


ASD: A Pandemic for an Empire in Decline

No . . . THEY DON’T!

 

I'm finally cured __ I hope.

I used to ask questions like . . .

"Don't the rich care that there are many unfortunate people in America who will go to bed hungry?"

Or . . .

"Don't they want world peace __ a permanent end to war?"

Or . . .

"Don't they want everyone to share in the vast wealth of America?"

Or . . .

"Don't they want true democracy in our country?"

Well . . .

The answer in most cases is:  THEY DON'T!

Who are the 'they'?

You know who they are. They know who they are.

They're not ashamed at all. In fact they're quite proud of their elitist status. It's their imperial entitlement. They're rich. They can afford to not give a shit.

Take the first question. Quite simply, there are many people in our midst __ to whatever degree they mix with us pathetic peasants __ who can just shrug when they see a starving child. Especially if the kid isn't white.

Or they look the other way. "The view of the marina is so lovely from the club house, don't you think, honey?"

How about war? Give me a break! They love war! They make tons of money on war. Best of all, they don't have to fight them. They just wave the flag, conjure up some cartoon version of an imminent threat to our country, our women, our freedom __ whatever __ then send the rest of us, especially if we're not white, off to fight and die to protect their investment portfolios.

How about sharing the wealth? Are you crazy? It's a lot of hard work piling up daddy's money in nice pretty stacks. Why share it? Besides, we all know what would happen. Your typical slob would waste it on beer, lottery tickets, a leather bumper bra for his Ford F-150 Series pickup, the latest X-box, and a new flat panel TV to watch porn.

What about democracy? This nation was founded on . . . right right. Yes, we are a symbol throughout the world of government of the people, by the people, for the people. The rich know a good thing when they see it. Image is everything. So they want to keep the illusion of democracy in America, where everyone gets a darn good feeling every couple years from thinking that by voting they are deciding the direction of the country and shaping a future for their children. But giving people a real say in government? No way! If the majority of citizens could actually make a difference, it would be complete anarchy! Why everyone would have plenty of food, clean air and water, educational opportunities, the best health care, good solid jobs. The U.S. would be at peace and provide leadership in the world to address the challenges of poverty, disease, climate change, wealth inequity, illiteracy, women's rights, proper nutrition, population control. What a nightmare!

Aah yes! It's a relief knowing where things stand. Knowing that it's a complete waste of time to try to discuss the values which we as Americans all supposedly share, but in point of fact do not. Most of us do. But the ones who have ruthlessly destroyed our democracy and now firmly clutch the reins of control over every aspect of our society, do not!

Here's what I've concluded we each must do, and the advice I now give myself every day. It's kind of a new form of meditation. The idea is to get me to wake up, pay attention, stop dreaming like some silly clueless idiot. My newest spiritual mantras . . .

KNOW THE ENEMY
CUT THEM NO SLACK
DON'T TURN YOUR BACK
DON'T FORGET WHO THEY ARE
DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT FORGIVING THEM!

Try it! Say these every day. Repeat as needed for it to really sink in.

There are frankly some very very ugly people in the world. We here in America have more than our share. They're selfish, smug, disdainful, self-absorbed assholes __ sociopaths who don't care about any of the things most people reading this blog care about.

They do have their own set of priorities.

They love war. They love absolute power over others. They want all of the material wealth they can get their hands on. They love getting their way because they really truly know in their imperious hearts they deserve it. They know they're right about everything and it's their right to ignore the filthy masses. But . . .

They don't care about starving children much less starving adults.

They don't care about human suffering unless it's theirs.

They don't care about murdering innocent people.

They don't care about equality and justice.

They don't care about democracy.

They don't care about you.

They don't care about me.

Hate to break it to you.

They just don't care.

[ I'm sorry if my views offend any of the wussy liberals out there. But as Chris Hedges has eloquently pointed out in his amazing book "Death of the Liberal Class", by ignoring treachery you become its ally. ]


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]