If Egypt Had Our Immigration Policies in 0 AD.

Is This What We Want?

The story is here.  (In a nutshell, a 23 YO DACA recipient was sent to jail. No criminal record.)

I'd ask "Is this what we want?" But I know the answer. Most people will say "Of course not." But all my Trump friends, even the Christians (especially the Christians) will say "Hey, what part of illegal don't you understand?" Or "Obama did worse." Or hopefully they at least say "I don't like this, but I really like Trump's policies." Or something. Some may think, but won't say "She's a foreigner, we don't need her." Or "I'll bet Spanish is her first language." Or "She's brown, she doesn't belong here."

She was brought here when she was 10. (So of course it's her fault?) But she's here, high school diploma, working jobs, no criminal record. She pays taxes. But she didn't renew her DACA because she was scared that would draw attention to herself (can you blame her?)

(Not that it matters, but I would love for someone to just once ask Trump what DACA stands for. Guessing he doesn't know.)

You can think what you want, but this kind of crap makes me sick. I never thought Americans were like this. We're the "melting pot." We take your "tired, your pour, your huddled masses, yearning to be free." But not any more. And it turns out, it's not just Trump, it's many of my friends too.

I'm sure you all realize, though, that if Egypt had immigration policies like we do, Herod would have killed Jesus before he was 2. (And yes, I know that God would have protected him. But apparently He doesn't protect this woman.) Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but it's true.

And of course, this is just one of hundreds. It's not isolated. This is what we get from having Stephen Miller, a white supremacist, telling Trump what to do. Honestly, on his own, I don't think Trump would do this. But he's really too wishy-washy to come up with his own policies. So he does whatever is cruelest I guess. Honestly, I'm not sure what his standards are. I know empathy and common sense don't make the cut.

Yeah, but I'm just a libtard snowflake. What do I know?

The War on Christmas!!??

Really, I thought we were past that. But no, recently I’ve seen a number of people on social media protesting how they can now say “Merry Christmas” and all the lefties say “Happy Holidays.”

Really? Really? Do they honestly believe that?

Obama had Christmas Trees every year, and he called them that. There has never been any federal law about saying “Merry Christmas.” Every single Christian (and many non-Christians) I know, R or D, have said “Merry Christmas” forever.

Yet some people are convinced that there’s a “War on Christmas.” I’m sorry to say this, but if you believe that, you’re very misguided.

Every year about this time, people on the right trot this out. Because they know that all the people on social media will complain about it, and get them mad at “the Godless Left” all over again. That’s all this is about. It’s about division and hatred. Yet those who believe in this “War” are often the first to complain about how we’re so divided.

You know who does say “Happy Holidays?” Mostly, it’s businesses. (You know, those far-left CEO’s !!!) And they say it because they are trying to include as many people as possible. They want to welcome Christians, but also Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, atheists, etc. Because they want to make as much money as possible.

But actually the real problem is that conservatives have a completely erroneous vision of what progressives are. They honestly believe that liberals are God-hating, baby-killing, freedom-hating, tax-loving, police-hating, socialists. Well, that's not us. But that’s a discussion for another day.

So go ahead and say “Merry Christmas.” Or “Happy Holidays.” Or whatever you want. And don’t get so offended when someone says something different.

I Will Not Shut Up

"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

I think of this quote quite a bit. It’s by Elie Wiesel, a Romanian born holocaust survivor.

I think he’s right. When we see injustice, oppression, evil, or authoritarianism, it is important to take sides. And to act, I believe. As he implies, even if you are on the side of right, if you’re silent, you’re encouraging the tormentor.

Having said that, I know many people take that road. And that’s OK I guess. You have to do what is best for you. However, you have to realize that it is a measure of your privilege that you can ignore injustice and still be fine. Because you’re not the one being oppressed. At least, not yet.

But I won’t do that. Whether you agree or not, I see a lot of terrifying things taking place in our government right now. Of course it’s not Hitler or the holocaust. On the other hand, Hitler wasn’t like that in 1933 either. He became what he was, because good people allowed it to happen.

As an ordinary citizen, my options are limited. I can vote, which I do. I can protest, although most protests are miles away. I can donate to causes I believe in, which I also do.

But also what I can do is speak out. Or more specifically, write. If I wrote for a national news outlet, I’d have an audience, and maybe I could make a difference. But I don’t. If I could write like John Pavlovitz that would help too. He is so good, he has gained a national audience just from his writing.

But I’m not well known, and I’m not that good of a writer. So my outlet is mostly social media. If you’ve followed me, you’ll see that I don’t normally rant, scream, call people names, or try to shame them. At least I try not to--I don’t always succeed.

But I do my best. I support what I think America needs. And I protest that which I think is harmful. If you disagree, that’s fine. Engage me if you want. I may not respond, but if I do, I’ll do my best to keep it civil.

And if you don’t want to see me “rant” on social media, then I strongly urge you to unfriend me or block me right now. I honestly won’t be upset, even if you’re a real-life friend of mine. I completely understand. Not everyone needs more drama in their lives.

But I won't remain silent. Probably nothing I say will change any minds or make any difference. But I have to try. I want to be able to say that when I saw wrong, I wasn’t silent. That I tried to make a difference. Feel free to roll your eyes, tell me to get a life, think of me as a crazy old man, deluded, self-important, melodramatic, whatever. That’s fine. Maybe you're right. But I have to do what I can.

So really, unfriend, unfollow, or block me right now. And if you don’t, don’t complain about what I’m saying.

Five Best Sentences

I’ve seen the accompanying meme quite a bit recently. Those posting it mean well, but it is full of inaccuracies and misleading sentiments. So while I know they didn't ask for responses, I just couldn’t let them go. My thoughts for each of them, in order...

1) Nobody is talking about legislating anyone out of prosperity. Even Warren's wealth tax, probably the most progressive out there, doesn't kick in until someone has over 50 million dollars. And it is only 2%. For the billionaire, it goes up to 6%. But the first 50 million isn’t touched. That won't be "legislating the wealthy out of prosperity."

2) This point makes the assumption that we're going to take money from people who work hard and give it to lazy people who don't want to work. But most people who are in poverty are already working. But even a full time job can't support a family of four anymore. The implication is that rich people are rich because they work hard, and poor people are poor because they're lazy. But you can bust your ass working full time at many jobs and still be in poverty.

3) Do you really think that rich people haven't "taken from somebody else?" The Walmart family are all billionaires, yet many Walmart employees, even full time ones, live in poverty. Seems to me that those rich people are getting rich off the backs of the workers.

4) Actually, you can. When a poor person gets more money, he spends it on material things because he has no choice. More people spending money means more consumption, more consumption means more jobs, more jobs means more income. And yes, more income means more wealth.

5) Very few people just don't work because they don't want to. Yes, there are some of course. But there are also a lot of very rich people who don't work either. Most of the people who could really benefit by higher taxes on the wealthy are already working. Most of them work very hard, yet they can't make ends meet, let alone get ahead. Think of the store clerk, the waitress, the social worker, the EMT, the laborer, the maid, the stock boy, the home healthcare worker, the busboy, or the teacher's aid. ALL of them work very hard, yet none of them are even close to wealthy.

6) I'm going to add one more. Although it's a common conservative talking point, almost nobody is suggesting socialism. (No, not even Bernie Sanders.) What people are asking for is a more equitable system mostly by higher taxes on those who can afford it. Even then, the tax rates suggested are lower than during the Eisenhower administration, when the top marginal rate was over 90%. America was just fine then. We still had rich people. But even the normal laborer could support a family of four on one income. Is that really such a racial idea?

7) What the heck, still one more. As long as the rich people have low or moderate income people preaching their message, nothing will change. I can guarantee that many people who echo the sentiments in the accompanying  post are decent people who struggle to make ends meet. Yet they trumpet this stuff, and the rich people laugh all the way to the bank. And the hard workers stay poor.

Treat the Janitor the Same as the CEO.

I’ve seen that sentiment quite often, mostly on social media. It’s put out by people who claim that the janitor, or any other hourly employee performing a seemingly menial task, should be treated by the general public the same as a CEO, or presumably any other rich guy. It’s meant to show equality. Or something.

Those saying it are showing how “fair” they are. But I don’t buy it. Because honestly, almost nobody really does it.

How about the people who have lately been posting things about Colin Kaepernick serving burgers at McDonald’s. Or something similar. Forgetting what you think about Keapernick, the obvious take is that working at McDonald’s is somehow not important, or not respectable. Yet I know some of these same people have also posted about the CEO/janitor idea.

Or how about the people complaining about a $15/hour minimum wage? The usual take is (again, McDonald’s) something like: Flipping burgers should give you $15/hour?

Or the people who make fun of Walmart employees, saying they can be replaced by an automated checkout.

Ask yourself this: If you meet a CEO, or a member of congress, or a high ranking official of any type, how do you address him or her? Sir? Ma’am? Or something similar? Probably.

Now ask yourself this: If you engage with a stock boy at Walmart, or a sales associate at Home Depot, or maybe a bartender, or a server, or a checkout person, or a receptionist: do you call them sir? Ma’am? Any label of importance? Probably not.

But  you should. Not everyone can be a CEO. Not everyone can be rich. For some of us, a custodian at Walmart is the best we can do. And we shouldn’t be ashamed of it. Any job, performed with dignity, effort, and dedication, deserves our respect. And you shouldn’t ridicule it.

Next time you ask for help at Lowe’s, be aware of how you address that person. Do you use a term of respect, such as “sir?” If not, then honestly, just admit you don’t think they’re important.

No matter what you post on Facebook.