THE GOOD FIGHT FOR A SHARED FUTURE

I like a good fight as much as I don’t like a bad fight.

As for a shared future? If it’s not shared it can’t happen.

While I’m not a political writer or activist I am a fan of both and I have experiences for the buy-in.

They come from two things: age and paying attention. Those are my secret powers.

A good fight begins with taking a side to fight on, to fight for.

I vote. That’s the side I take, the voter side. If that’s not you, you’re not fighting the good fight.

So register.

I like voters.

It can be dicey, it can be dangerous, and that’s no exaggeration.

It can be boring and feel pointless. But persistence is key.

The pictures of Milwau­keeans wait­ing in line to vote on April 7 with homemade personal protect­ive equip­ment were both beau­ti­ful and horri­fy­ing. It was beau­ti­ful — inspir­ing even — that with a deadly pandemic on their door­steps, so many people still cared so much about their right to vote that they went to the polls. And it was horri­fy­ing that they had to risk their health in order to do so.

Asking The ‘Other Third’

If one third of the country votes one way, one third votes the other, and one third doesn’t vote, who do you reach out to?

I’m not a ‘fine people on both sides’ guy. Or an apologist, ‘that guy in Germany got things done before he went too far.’

This is what anyone reads on my twitter account:

Be fair, take turns, make a difference where you are. I write a blog under those rules. Long term wife, kids, new dog. Army vet without attitude. Take a look.

This is my twitter picture taken in the cardiac rehab gym sucking my gut in and wearing my ‘Thinker’ shirt. Isn’t it ironic with a broken heart?

In other words I’m not stirring the shit pot for effect.

I don’t speak for a group or affiliation. If this is the platform I think it is, someone the opposite of me will read a post and think better than to throw in with scummy people parading as virtuous.

There is a difference.

Opposite Of What?

I use this blog to figure out what’s what. If you already know what’s what, tell me in comments.

If we know anything at this point in history, we know that people who claim settled law is off the table rethink it under pressure. Or they were less than honest in their first claim.

No one wants to think a Supreme Court justice as less than even and unbiased, even if it’s Clarence Thomas and his busy wife.

I’m not a Thomas fan, either of them, because of their reported associations and activities, not because they are a right wing team carrying out orders.

They seem opposite of me.

I was literally a Boy Scout in elementary school, played tenor sax in band sixth and seventh grade, played every season of football between fifth grade and high school. Was I any good? I lettered.

I played basketball every season from fifth grade to ninth, then switched to wrestling in high school. Was I any good? I wrestled a year of NAIA college competition and tried out for the All-Army team.

By then I knew what it took to win and knew I didn’t have it. After a state Greco-Roman championship, and third in the nation, I saw the next generation of stars. I lost to good guys.

The key is to value the experience, not use a bad call by a punk referee to send me on a revenge vendetta. I understand that people make mistakes and his cost me a national championship, the kind that comes with a plaque the size of a hubcap.

So, that’s all about me. The rest is in the writing.

And I spent two years in the U.S. Army, so there’s that.

Every Loser Has A Story, Don’t They?

Fighting the good fight takes resistance to self pity and playing the victim.

When those two are leading personality traits, watch out. Even worse? When people who know better take a knee.

Donald Trump is the Kingmaker in the Republican Party. With his blessing you will go places; without his blessing your opponent will go places.

But his blessing carries the stench of being handled by someone with handlers.

Raise a hand if that sounds fishy?

Did Trump fans get a little squirmy when they saw their man humbled in Helsinki?

Putin’s mastery of the issues dominated the news conference, making Trump look weak and clueless by comparison. Trump’s failure to raise publicly any of Putin’s transgressions in Ukraine and Syria and his acceptance of Putin’s denial of election interference all paint a picture of a groveling American leader eager to suck up to rather than stand up to Putin.

How does a bombastic bullshitter capture the imagination of people he calls under-educated to their faces and they still love him?

To the 1/3 of the country who don’t participate in elections:

You feel derailed, like nothing you do matters, so why bother? You feel registering to vote is giving the government too much information?

I’m sixty-seven, never been to war, been arrested, maced, beaten, or jailed because of my beliefs.

Here’s my worry: People make mistakes, and one mistake I’m hoping to avoid is the knock on the door, or worse. I don’t want to get rousted in the middle of the night by confused submissives responding to their master’s order like they did on the day of Jan. 6.

Equal protection under the law? Anyone else up for fighting the good fight and voting?