My Barbaric Yawp

Over the last few weeks I have been politically hibernating.  I have been socially hibernating.  I have been culturally hibernating.  I needed a break.  Some rest.  Some relaxation. 
 
None of it happened.
 
For the last few weeks I have been more or less sitting back and observing.  Not engaging.  Sharing a few posts.  Now I understand why I post.  Something built up inside. 
 
My ire.
 
My disillusionment with society.
 
My inability to understand how people can have such skewed priorities.
 
My sincere anger with hypocrisy.
 
My wavering hope about the way things are going.
 
In the last few days it seems:

• There was direct voter fraud in North Carolina in which absentee ballots were illegally collected (mostly from minority communities) and never cast;
• Scott Walker and the Republican GOP legislature just confirmed 82 positions just before leaving office and stripped power from the new governor;
• Ohio just passed a draconian abortion law;
• Michigan just gutted the minimum wage law the electorate passed along with sick leave legislation;
• A report says that emissions of carbon dioxide hit record levels (grew 1.6% in 2017 and expected to increase another 2.7% this year);
• The president took his motorcade 250 yards (eight cars) for part of the funeral.

 
That was just reported or happened this week.  And that woke me from my slumber.
 
This is not right.
 
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I interrupt this rant for this important message:
Be nice to each other.
Don’t be racist.
Help the poor.
Volunteer.
Vote.
Don’t be a bigot.
Value people over money.
Don’t be a hypocrite.
Don’t be sexist or misogynistic.
Smile at someone.
Do something to make a difference.
Be a micro-revolutionary—revolt in small ways and often.
Don’t be self-righteous.
Fight for what’s right, not the right.
Remember this country is for everyone, not just you.
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So, here I sit.  Thinking about the complete cluster our society is in right now.  There are people praying for me because I think health is a right, people matter, the rich are destroying society, and people in other countries deserve opportunities here.
 
By the way, we don’t have open borders. 
 
People are in a fucking twist because of a few thousand people trying to escape their lives (that we helped create) and find refuge here.  I hear the argument that we should be taking care of our own before them.  And to do this we are….denying health care, attacking social security, Medicare, food assistance?  What if took just one day of the money we spend on war ($250 million) and directed it toward the poor?  What about one week? 
 
I heard on Fox the other day that we shouldn’t be sending money to Central America for aid.  It isn’t being used to help the people.  According to USAID, in 2016 we gave $297 million to Guatemala.  We gave $3.1 billion to Israel.  We have given $16.5 billion for “conflict, peace, and security (let’s say war),” and $1.2 billion for education.  Hmmm, does that seem right?
 
We are fracturing.  Splintering.  We are afraid.  We are in conflict.  Right now, we are not in a good place.