RECAFFEINATED MONDAYS: What now?

“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so you can live as you wish.”

  • Mother Teresa

It’s Monday after a three-day weekend. The Mother Teresa quote is a bonus.

You’ve seen the news.

You’ve watched Hamilton on repeat. By the way it’s not a completely accurate portrayal of history.

You’ve sheltered your animals, and perhaps your veterans (God bless them all) from the fireworks.

You’ve defied social distancing and gathered with family and friends. In our case, you watched the dog knock over the grill so that you don’t have to worry about dumping the charcoal. Fortunately, it was the next day and we didn’t set fire to the neighborhood.

You’ve heard the New York Times call the President’s patriotic speech dark and divisive. I’ve posted the full text of the speech below so that you can read it for yourself.

The media, and some of you, have turned hating the “Orange Man” into a profession. You need to look up the definitions of “divisiveness” and “inclusiveness” and spend some time thinking about that.

Regardless of what you think about the President, the fact that visits to Mount Rushmore by Obama, Hillary, and Bernie talked about the majesty and symbolism, and the visit by Donald Trump talked about Washington and Jefferson being slave owners should tell you everything you need to know about the American media.

But, it won’t. Anymore than the distortion of the COVID numbers will do the same.

We’re told that the virus spiked after rallies and states opened up, but not after protests. We’re given the number of increased positives, but not the number of increased recoveries, or the reduced number of COVID related deaths. We’re told about the usage of ventilators, but not told how many are in use for non-COVID-related illnesses.

Look, if you’re a long-time reader, you know that I’ve said from the outset that the virus is serious. But we’ve also been manipulated. Both can be true. Both are true.

For example, an April 11, 2020 CNN headline read “President Trump is wrong in so many ways about hydroxychloroquine studies. Here are the facts.” One of the authors was Elizabeth Cohen.

Just last week, a July 2, 2020 article, also at CNN, also co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen ran with the headline, “Study finds hydroxychloroquine helped coronavirus patients survive better.”

In other news The Washington Post called for the renaming of Washington and Lee University because of the legacy of their namesakes.

The. WASHINGTON. Post.

Can you tell I’m in a mood here?

I’m tired of being manipulated by the media, and quite frankly the left.

We’re all agitated. We’re all cranky. We’ve been locked away for 47 years with nothing but the Internet and Netflix to keep us occupied.

So, in that sense, it’s understandable that we’re beginning to crack.

At the outset I said “we can do this.” That’s when we were told it was fifteen days to lower the curve…that was more than fifteen weeks ago.

Look, I’m just sharing with you a little of my own frustrations.

You have your own.

I realize that I’m running a risk of being “canceled” here.

I am trying to create good things in writing, art, and theater, with the hope that I can be a positive influence.

But a boy can only stay quiet for so long.

You should read the stuff that I won’t put in print. Or maybe you shouldn’t.

I’m not going to convince anyone here to change their opinions. That’s not my job.

I can respect your opinion, and while I may unfollow you (okay a bunch of you) for a few days on Facebook, I won’t tell you to unfriend me if we disagree politically.

If you’ve posted one of those statements, you are not realizing that you, not the person with a different opinion, are the problem.

Yes. I said that.

But perhaps for a Monday, I’ve said enough.

Well, except for this:

Today, July 7 is my father-in-law’s birthday. We lost him in 2002. He was a veteran of World War II, serving with the occupying forces in the Philippines and Japan. He talked about climbing communications poles with the fear of being shot. [UPDATE – Tomorrow is July 7, but the flag will still be flying]

That is one of many reasons I will always stand for the flag, always stand for the anthem.

If you don’t get that, you need to go back to history class.

Start by reading the President’s speech.

The President’s Remarks at Mount Rushmore
The National Pulse



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