Skip to main content

The Possible Sad Decline of Our Nation

My friend Jennifer Ables reminded me the other day that not all Republicans are bad. And she is right. And the frustrations and anger I express on here toward Republicans and the Tea Party is not directed at my friends like Jennifer. Not at all. Although, as I said to her, I don’t really understand how some of my friends can vote for and support Republicans since the party seems totally controlled now by Tea Party extremists.  People like Ted Cruz who cynically uses and manipulates voters in order to elevate himself. What has he done for America? I can't think of anything positive. He and his small but noisy crowd of followers in Congress seemingly have no interest in serving our country or helping make it better for all of our citizens. They appear to only care about playing the game, beating their opponents, making lots of money, and doing everything they can to smear President Obama and keep him from leading the country.

Now, after weeks of holding the nation in limbo, hurting millions of employees, small businesses, shop keepers, people on disability, Head Start children, and others; after costing the economy $24 billion in lost revenue; and after creating more hatred and division in the country, Ted Cruz said yesterday he won. He won! He got 2 million people to sign a petition to repeal ObamaCare. That was his proof. He shutdown the government. That was his trophy. So he got 2 million measly votes out of a country of 267 million eligible voters, according to the National Census Bureau, and he calls that his victory. He also got nearly $2 million in campaign funds. Votes and money and power is all this man wants. If people can’t see that by now then they choose to be blind to the truth.

Senator Cruz, and minority leader in the Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell, both said yesterday the fight is not over. They intend to continue to fight to repeal ObamaCare. Seriously? Seriously? I mean, that is just stunning. You may disagree with this, but I don’t see how, but I will say it anyway: behind this insane fight to get rid of the constitutionally sanctioned law that is the Affordable Care Act, is a sneering, depraved, psychologically sick hatred for this president. And I believe that hatred is fueled by seething racism. Cruz and McConnell might not be racists. You as a Republican might not be racist. But I am convinced the people Cruz and McConnell are afraid of, the voters who they and the Tea Party now represent, are racist. They refuse to legitimize an African American president. They have never accepted the defeat by the Union in the Civil War. They remain bitter, angry people, afraid of change. They are terrified by an expanding nation of rights—Civil Rights, Gay Rights, Equal Rights. They may be hard working people. They may go to church every Sunday. They may say they love Jesus Christ. But in their hearts they refuse to accept people of color, especially blacks. And this president scares them not because of his policies. ObamaCare is just an excuse to sling hate and venom at a man they despise simply because he is African American. And people like Ted Cruz see this, they understand it, they don’t necessarily agree with it because they’re too smart to be that bigoted. But they flame the fires of hate in people against the president by telling them how dangerous he is, how he wants to destroy America, how he is a socialist and a Muslim, and the rest of that nonsense that stirs up these racist people afraid of blacks and change and progress.

Why keep fighting this battle over ObamaCare? Why? Why refuse to accept our president? Why be willing to sacrifice the unity and goodwill and strength of the country in order to obstruct the law, divide the nation, damage the economy, harm our influence in the world, and hamstring the processes of government? What is motivating that kind of inexcusable recklessness? What? There is something behind it. Open racism. Galloping fear. Entrenched ignorance. Poisonous hate. And vicious unconscionable greed.

If we do not get a grip on this and begin to get back to a healthy, cooperative, respectful approach to government; if we don’t start electing responsible, emotionally stable people, people actually qualified to govern, people who genuinely want to serve  and help the nation advance, then America will without question decline, fall into ruin, and become a disjointed, angry, violent conglomerate of people consumed by their fears and lost in their hate. And the rest of the world will move on having seen what happened to us and decide to not let it happen to them.


© 2013 Timothy Moody

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

We are Made for Human Connection

There are words from Brandi Carlile’s song, “The Story,” that I might sing, and perhaps you, too. “All of these lines across my face Tell you the story of who I am So many stories of where I've been And how I got to where I am But these stories don't mean anything When you've got no one to tell them to” You don’t have to be single or alone to feel the depth of those words. Someone in a longtime marriage or relationship might feel them, too. The voyage through life takes each one of us through an assortment of experiences. Some of them ennoble us. Some crush us. Some lift us beyond ourselves and carry us into the lives of those who need us. And some carry us to those we need. Some experiences are burdens. Others ease and encourage us. Some leave us baffled and unsure. Some build confidence within us and are so affirming that we grow in substance, in courage, in tenderness, and sympathy. As we age, the lines in our faces can represent the hurts we have not yet resolved. Or t

Remembering Dr. Bill Craig

In Memoriam  Dr. Bill Craig January 1, 2020 In the Hebrew Bible, we see from the life of Moses, and the Psalmist, Isaiah and others , concern for the problem of living rather than the problem of dying.   Their primary interest was not how to escape death, but rather, how to sanctify life. Bill modeled that kind of wisdom.  The brilliant novelist Louis L'Amour, who wrote bestselling books about the American West, what he called “frontier stories,” basically said the same thing. He wrote, “The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail.” No one attempted to sanctify life and get more out of the trail than Bill Craig. He was a deep thinker, a gifted veterinarian, a rugged and unbreakable man with the kindest heart and the purest motives.  He was a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Karen, Shalor and Melissa, Kellan, Nolan and Carter, were his world. They meant everything to him. I guess he had faults, but I don’t remember any of them.  There was o

Do we need a new country?

Have you seen the elaborate, stylish, opulent television commercial for Cartier? The original commercial seemed to go on forever, a full three minutes. They have shortened it now, but it still drips with ostentatiousness. It is conspicuously pretentious in spite of the beautiful music and the sleek panther and the stunning scenery and the elegant model dressed in a striking red gown. The commercial takes the viewer through an amazing montage of dreamy landscapes and famous cities and spectacular stunts while moving past a giant expensive watch and finally to a glittering diamond bracelet modeled by the woman in red. Each time I see it I keep wondering who the target audience is. It seems to be such an over the top expression of unbridled greed and materialism gone ape. In a time when much of the world is starving and millions are still out of work here at home it seems bizarre that Cartier would spend what has to be millions on a television commercial celebrating 165 years in