Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man

Isn’t it a little interesting how the most conservative of states are the most neediest of states. 

Their education systems are often lower in rankings. 

There are high instances per capita in needing SNAP or Medicaid benefits. 

They are often the unhealthiest of states. 

They have a lower GDP. 

And, as mentioned at the beginning, more often than not, receive a higher rate of federal assistance to their state budgets to keep their states afloat.  

Yet, these same states are killing the United States of America by their religious zealotry, their bigotry, their racism, and their prejudice of anyone not white, not Christian, and not heterosexual. 

Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone who lives in these states, but it does, based on who those states elect to their State Houses and Congressional delegations, as well as their votes for the person in the White House, it does seem to apply to the majority of their residents. 

They are also the states who actively work to take away the rights of women, are against equality for all, and behave fanatically about keeping all who think or act differently than they do from being able to vote.

What they seem to have forgotten is the meaning of the 1st Amendment, the 14th Amendment, the Declaration of Independence, the whole of the Constitution, and as importantly empathy.

If the states labeled as being red would remember these things—the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, that we are a nation of immigrants, many who arrived early on illegally, and we are a melting pot of people as designed from the beginning—they would also remember we are a United States. That the old adage a house divided cannot stand is where we are and it is killing all of us.

I have never had an issue with a red state receiving the help they need. Be that of a need for extra funds to help those less fortunate—SNAP, Medicaid—or because of natural disaster. The reason I never had issue until now is because we have been a collection of states united from the beginning and definitely more so since the Civil War. We are one large family.

A family is not perfect. A family does not always agree. A family gets upset with one another. A family will never have members who are exactly the same or have the exact same beliefs. That is the nature of family.

The nature of family, also, is one that allows for those imperfections. Families support one another even in the worst of times. Families do not turn their backs on those who need more, nor do they rely solely on those with more. It is a balance.

Right now we are out of balance. Right now we have forgotten, due to many reasons, that we are a family. We have forgotten that family sticks together to bring balance when some members of the family, the ones with money, believe they get to tell us what to do and when to do it just as those most in need do not get to pull everyone down into the abyss. Every family has those kinds of members. 

It is time for us in the larger family to remind those who think they get to call the shots they have gotten to big for their britches and bring them back down to earth. 

However, if the red states of the family don’t get a grip while also continuing to mooch, then the blue states should exercise tough love. The blue states should withhold their federal taxes until the red states realize they can’t survive on their own, that we need the whole family together.

The ball is in your court, our red state brothers and sisters. For you to survive, you need the blue state brothers and sisters because you can’t stand alone. The blue state part of the family is ready to reunite to make the family—the country—better moving forward whenever you decide we are one large family who need one another.

Until then, it is time for the blue state brothers and sisters to say enough is enough. Either our red state family takes a hard look in the mirror and their state budgets to decide to come back into the fold for us all to have better lives, or your states collapse under your own shortsightedness. 

We’ll be waiting for you in the proverbial living room. I hope you join us soon and before it is too late! 

I’ve often said we all need to be involved in saving democracy in the ways which fit our lives and our comfort levels. These can be blogging, reposting on social media, calling your elected officials, letters to the editor, donating to organizations, and/or marching in the streets. Nothing is too little or too much. Here are some ways to get involved whether from the comfort of your own homes, or on the streets, over the next few weeks:

• Call your U.S. Senator to demand they fight the Republican administration’s defiance of the court in following laws and the Constitution. The switchboard number is 202-224-3121. They will connect you with the correct senators. If you get their voicemail, which I do often, make sure to leave your name and address for your call to be registered as received.
• Sign up for General Strike and commit to participating.
• Download the app Five Calls to help let your elected officials know you are paying attention and don’t approve. Website: https://5calls.org/ 
• Join a local group of Indivisible.
• Participate in the action items of50501: 50 Protests, 50 States, 1 Movement.
• Continue to boycott companies who have bent the knee or no longer believe in equality. Don’t buy from national chains or companies, such as Target, Amazon, Tesla, Walmart and any others who are bending the knee and capitulating to authoritarianism and the billionaire class.
• Write letters to your local papers expressing your disappointment and tell your stories of how the Republican administration is harming our families.
• Please say thank you in some way to the universities, law firms, companies, and organizations not bending the knee and capitulating to the fascist-acting Republican Administration.
• Watch for and attend the next big nationwide protest when announced.
• Do something, anything, peaceful to fight back!