There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear

“For What It’s Worth”
Buffalo Springfield

When I grow up I want to own a news outlet. Maybe Fox, maybe CNN. I want to reach everybody and shape public opinion. Because right now we’ve got too many self-satisfied nitwits operating on skewed info trying to reach goals that cannot be achieved.

Now I’m Jewish. And last time I checked Rupert Murdoch was not. But that did not stop the protesters from calling us members of the tribe out, as if we were the problem, they said we controlled the news.

“The Jewish media is going down.”

“The Goyim know.”

Stand up to “the Jewish power structure.”

“Jews will not replace us.”

Am I scared?

You bet I am.

But I don’t think expressing my fear and getting us all on the left to hold hands and sing kumbaya is gonna make any difference. Might make us feel good for a moment or two, but after that?

Now back in the sixties, the protesters didn’t want to jet us back to the past, but to a better future. Whereas the agitators in Charlottesville want to return to an era that cannot be recreated. All in the name of making America “great again.”

Well, I’ve got to tell you, if you were a minority back then, it wasn’t so good.

But now the whites are on the verge of becoming a minority, payback’s a bitch.

But I’m not sure it’s about race. Although there’s a strong undercurrent of religion, I don’t think that’s the prime driver either.

I think it’s about economics. We’re a country of haves and have-nots. And the haves think they know better and the have-nots can sense this contempt and they’re throwing a monkey wrench in the works, believing this is the only way for things to improve.

Yes, they still believe in Trump. And if you think all your holier-than-thou outrage is gonna change their opinion, you’ve got another thing coming.

And isn’t it funny that Rob Halford turned out to be gay. You see homosexuals know no party, no religion, and the truth is people don’t care that much about who you sleep with, as long as they’ve got enough money to go their own way. But when they don’t, they need a scapegoat.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that the left is protesting. Hell, I’ll even argue it prevented the demolition of the ACA, aka “Obamacare.” But the truth is, if you think standing up here and there telling people they’re wrong is gonna get you what you want, you’re completely delusional.

Our only hope is the system. To a good degree, it’s worked already. Trump and the right’s agenda has been stymied. But then there’s the penumbra, the regulations, the pullback of environmental rights, it’s enough to make you cry.

And it makes no sense. The underclass supporting the billionaires.

But they’re convinced government is the problem, even though it’s government programs that are keeping them alive, supporting them.

So I know how this works.

If I express outrage at the adventures of the alt-right, my inbox fills up with hosannas from the left.

And vitriol from the right.

Everybody’s in their own camp, working the refs.

I think it’s pointless to express my opinion, I don’t think it has any effect. When you’re on the frontlines you experience this. When someone says they don’t know anybody who voted for Trump I don’t envy their cocoon, they’re out of touch with what’s happening in America today.

And I’m not sure exactly what is happening.

The left and some of the right are expressing outrage at Trump’s false equivalency, not calling out the right wing supremacist marchers. It’s all over the news…

Except on Fox. Where it came buried fifteen minutes in, after they blamed the anti-protesters for being violent themselves.

So, there’s a good chance you’re living in an echo chamber. I hope it makes you feel good to tweet, to yell at the TV screen, express solidarity with your brethren.

But it’s not moving the ball.

P.S. There’s a good chance a Democrat will win the Presidency next time, but if you think this will solve our problems, you’re wrong.

P.P.S. The left is so deep into identity politics they’ve lost touch with the greater good. Until Democrats unite to win, the party is hopeless.

P.P.P.S. It’s a long hard struggle. Reagan labeled the government useless. The Federalist Society started decades ago, resulting in right wing jurists. To this day tax cuts are seen as paying for themselves, despite evidence to the contrary. Yelling and screaming and crying foul ain’t gonna cut it. The Republicans are organized, they know how to play as a team. Hell, look at the health care vote. Until the Democrats truly put aside their differences, they have no chance.

P.P.P.P.S. Taxes are good, they pay for our roads and schools and our military protection. Everybody partakes. And regulations produce safety. And almost nobody pays estate taxes and small business is not being hobbled… These are right wing canards repeated over and over again. Until the left counters them with their own viewpoint, until they set the agenda, they’re doomed.

P.P.P.P.P.S. It’s every person for themselves in America today. They’ve eradicated so much of the safety net and you pay six figures for a college education that delivers no job. And if you didn’t go to college, you’re doomed. Instead of fighting to get ahead, think about lifting up your brother. We are all in this together, we’re more alike than different, but when times are tough we fight amongst ourselves.

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. I don’t know if Trump is a momentary blip, like Jesse Ventura, or a harbinger of a future disaster. That’s the America we live in today, nobody knows anything, and that includes me, but if you’ve got a big enough megaphone, you can sway public opinion. We are the enemy, but not as big as Facebook and Google, which control our everyday lives whilst telling us they’re helping us. It’s evening in America. It’s ridiculous some innocent person died. Fighting over an aged statue is insane. We all want the same things, food on the table, a roof over our heads and opportunity. Focus on the big issues first. And just because your parents gave you every chance and you’ve succeeded through hard work that does not mean you know what is happening. Like I said, no one does. We’re in uncharted waters, and no one is coming along to rescue us. Everybody’s scratching for cash, we revere economic winners and decry the losers. How did we get here?