I LOVE NEW YORK….MARCH 30, 2023

Life versus Death in the United States in 2022

By InsightAnalytical-GRL

While contemplating the intersection of the GOP’s gun cult, racism, misogyny and “Christians” (see note below)…I came up with this thought:

“Pro-life” Means Valuing Guns More Than “Post-Born” Life

To quote George Carlin….

“Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to 9 months. After that, they don’t wanna know about you. They don’t wanna hear from you. No nothing! No neonatal care, no daycare, no Head Start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare, no nothing. If you’re pre-born, you’re fine, if you’re preschool, you’re fucked.”

1996 HBO special, “Back In Town”

Youtube

Hypocrisy at its height.

If George were alive today, he would add to the list the total lack of concern about kids being killed with guns, because the GOP as a corrupted, cynical, cruel party does not worship life…it worships guns, the NRA and political contributions and, above all, power. A few “Democrats” also fall into this group…but, by and large…it is the vile Republican Party that is destroying lives every day. Does the Republican Party ever really use its power to actually do good?

I’m not going to bore you with a look at the role of Trump, evangelical white nationalist “Christian” churches, sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention or the Catholic Church, and witch-hunting “pastors.” Or quoting the unctuous Ted Cruz. But I will use the words of the Texas governor Greg Abbott as the prime example of how utterly debased/detached from humanity a person can be:

“I’m EMBARRASSED: Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Let’s pick up the pace Texans,” Abbott tweeted on October 28, 2015.

New York Daily News

The insults to my intelligence have been coming especially thick and fast lately. But the wounding of my soul has been ongoing as I’ve observed the decline of the American “experiment.” Frankly, America is failing. Just my opinion, but one that is valid.

NOTE

“Christians” in the context of this post does not refer to the Christian faith as practiced by people who are not brainwashed into being part of the Trump/GOP cult of arrogance, racism and cruelty. I feel sorry for Jesus Christ. Would he condone the use of his name by these people?

About 100 Years Ago, Rudolph Valentino Described Americans…And His Words Ring True Today

In 1922 a journalist named Willis Goldbeck interviewed Rudolph Valentino in Motion Picture Magazine. Although it carried an enticing title–The Perfect Lover–Valentino opined in this article about the 18th Amendment which established Prohibition, as well as his views about the passivity of Americans, words that seem prescient and which could apply to a large part of the American public today.

Weighty discussion in Motion Picture magazine Circa 1922

Valentino was baffled about how comparatively well-educated Americans at the time seemed to be so intellectually passive:

Valentino said:

“I CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU AMERICANS….”

Back then, Valentino was comparing Americans to his European understanding of the world. In the context of today, I would define “Americans” with the characteristics he described as being the current masses of Trump voters, evangelicals, and many of the Americans who sit glued to reality TV for hours at a time, totally oblivious to national and international news. In 1922, Valentino called out the “individualism” that we are told Americans possess…he could see even then how thinking was already reduced to mass acceptance of messaging presented to them. Today we have social media and toxic right wing media spouting “alternative facts” both which makes things even worse compared to how Valentino saw the papers and the public then…propounding and the public accepting. The trashy tabloids and William Randolph Hearst’s “yellow journalism” reached the masses and Valentino’s personal issues with unrelenting press coverage certainly made him sensitive to issues regarding the press.

One hundred years later, things haven’t changed that much…

Out of Commission….and Out the Door

By InsightAnalytical

A Weight Has Lifted…

By InsightAnalytical-GRL