Tag: democrats

Shrew U: Reading List…

One big reason why I started my blog, The Shrew, was to create a journal documenting a female perspective counter to mainstream influences like that of the women on the ABC talk show The View.  It is very apparent to me that the most vocal women on The View (Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar specifically) have absolutely no desire to do meaningful research beyond their own closed boarders of “the resistance”.  The gossip, innuendo and emotional superficiality on The View perpetuates the often “catty” stereotype of the female human species and sets back the progress of intellectual women everywhere.  Who watches this garbage?

The following is my recommended reading list for women and men who wish to honestly understand the social, political and emotional underpinnings of why the “resistance” movement is a non-starter for the majority of people in the United States:

  • Fields of Blood: Religion and The History of Violence by Karen Armstrong
  • Sapiens; A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
  • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • Where Do We Go From Here; Chaos or Community? By Martin Luther King, JR
  • The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson by David Barton Thomas
  • Jefferson and The Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager
  • The War on Cops; How The New Attack On Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe by Heather MacDonald
  • The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter Godwin Woodson
  • The African Background Outlined by Carter Godwin Woodson
  • The Righteous Mind; Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
  • Cop Under Fire: Moving Beyond Hashtags of Race, Crime and Politics For A Better America by Sheriff David Clarke JR.
  • Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell
  • Sacred Instruction; Indiginous Wisdom For Living by Sherri Mitchell
  • 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson
  • Stealing America: What My Experience with Criminal Gangs Taught Me About Obama, Hillary and The Democratic Party by Dinesh D’Souza
  • Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
  • A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
  • Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell

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This list of nonfiction literature encompasses various perspectives from authors who are passionate about their topics.  Even though many of these books are not in themselves a balanced perspective, I have found that a balance is gained by reading the complete selection.  Why?  Because the books that drive on emotion lack references to actual contextual data and the books that drive on references to actual contextual data lack emotion.  We need both experiences in order to form a compassion that has integrity from which to speak and act effectively.

My religious faith has in the past two years made it known that it is part of the “Resistance Movement” which is why I no longer support the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Association.  I’ve been doing my due diligence and reading quite a bit to understand the logic behind this movement.  I’ve also met with my minister to voice my concerns.  My church only encourages the reading of emotional literature (The New Jim Crow) and preaches a narrative of white supremacy as well as toxic masculinity.  Please tell me how this approach furthers our doctrine of peace among people?  It doesn’t!  Hiding behind a “spiritual” and emotional mask does not automatically make you moral.  Actions and words have consequences.  You cannot say that you “side with LOVE” (a current UU catch phrase) and then support a movement of hate-filled rhetoric.  Marginalizing whiteness and masculinity is in actuality a quasi-creed for the UU religion and I cannot condone the practice.  UU’s have always boasted that they are non-credal.  This doctrine does not support a spiritual belief, instead it moves it toward the political which is completely out of the realm of religion.  It encapsulates the heart, closing the door on true compassion for humanity and oneness with our Creator.  When religion becomes political, chaos and tyranny will follow.  Just think about how kings in the past usurped the “God” Priciple to subjugate their kingdoms…Is this now similar to Athiest Democrats and Progressives exclusively claiming the moral high ground while at the same time trying to get rid of those who uphold Judeo-Christian values as well as the Constitution, both of which are being tread upon in the current political and cultural environment?

My next blog will focus on the deterioration of representative leadership in the U.S.

 

The Shrew View: Of the Extreme Fringe

Party platforms only define party principles, not rules or laws. 

 

The Shrew blog focuses primarily on the human capacity for emotional maturity, openness as a condition toward wholeness, fortitude and humility.  The application of this human capacity is what I call the Female Principle (FP).  The Shrew blog attempts to show how the FP can strengthen all human relationships.

Today I would like to point out the absurdity of the Republican vs Democrat showdown in Washington D.C.  When did our representatives come to believe that their constituents want to dwell on the extreme fringe of each of these parties?  I don’t care if our President is Donald Trump or Donald Duck, representative government is not about the parties, it is about the people that they represent who are diverse in many ways.  Party platforms only define party principles, not rules or laws.

In my I’m Shrewd post of February 3rd I attempted to point out how liberals are doing their best to slander conservatives as evil.  I contend that when either side is focused on elevating their platform as the only path to America’s solutions we all lose.  For instance, during the Obama administration I observed a very liberal progressive agenda formulated by the Democrat run majority Congress.  Don’t get me wrong, I like progress.  In fact our country has been continually busting out of its tyrannical shell since the Revolutionary War.  But the American Dream is not about progressing government managed benefits as in the Democrat ideas of universal health care, government funded higher education and unrestricted welfare.  These seem like courageous acts until you discover that once government is in control, taxation increases and private funds dry up leading to job loss and wage stagnation.

The Republican ideas are no better.  For example during the Bush administration Wall Street regulators were not doing their jobs.  Oversite on banks especially where mortgages were concerned was severely lacking.  The conservative idea of everyone owning their own home was a farce.  Not everyone is prepared to own a home especially when banks intentionally poison the fiscal well.  “Fast” money, just like “free” stuff leads to consequences for the working class and cause the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.  A shared principle for both parties and all Americans could be this: “People of all backgrounds are free to actualize their own successes through a culture of emotional maturity and fortitude (FP).”

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Washinton D.C. shows us time and again that their smoke screen is unreliable.  Law makers must have humility and openness as a condition toward wholeness (FP). People and not parties are best equipped to handle daily struggles which are necessary in personal growth and freedom to achieve.  The Federal Government simply needs to provide the clear oversight to allow ingenuity to take place at the local level.  And people at the local level must advocate for each other with love and community support.

The President is a person elected for a short time to protect and uphold our democratic principles.  The Congress represents state’s rights and ensures civil protections.  Our states are incubators of innovation for all their residents.  And we the people  live out our dreams in relation to our community goals.  It works when we work together.

Let’s be a nation of ideas that reinforce our strong work ethic, and move away from childish partisan politics that stir our emotions.  It’s the only way forward…

I’m Shrewd: On Polarized Governance

“…dispel ignorance and cooperatively create solutions.” – The Shrew

I would have to say that most Americans enjoy living simple lives that do not involve much thought on politics.  I too was amoung that dynamic for a very long time.  The closest I got to anything political was the voting booth during election time.  I considered my vote to be an educated vote.  For the record, I am undeclared but occasionally will pick a party to be able to vote in a primary.  When I became a City Councilor, I was happy that the candidates ran as nonpartisan members of the community.   This experience gave me a clearer picture of how an average person can have impact with economic and social issues of importance.  I have since gone on to volunteer as president of a Main Street board as well as hold positions on the Economic Development Commission and the Transit Committee amoung other things.

Today’s polarized governance at the Federal level seems to me to be a far cry from what most Americans want.  We can accept that a binary political machine is the one that exists for practical purposes, however, the lack of middle ground that is needed for solving national issues is currently unacceptable. Why is this polarization happening?  I think it is because the Democrat side thinks they are the only party that can act morally on behalf of Americans.   They devote their words to standing on the side of love, claiming to have all the answers.  No one else should question their motives.  They would like everyone to believe that decisions involving guns, global warming, taxation, education and health care are best suited to only the Democrats.

But wait!  What does this do to the Republican party?  Does this mean that the conservative side is evil because they have different ideas?  Yup…That absurdity is indeed where we are today.  “Conservatives are Nazi racists”…Sound familiar?  I always thought that conservatism meant following the Constitution along with loving thy neighbor as thyself.  I’ll get into this critique in an up-coming post.

Our human existence is based on the very nature of duality.  It is the highest order of ignorance to not see that this duality helps us develop a healthy sense of humility and compassion for one another.  No one side can be absolutely correct.  If we believed this then we would be living in a Dictatorship.

The U.S. Constitution laid the foundation for a governance system that brought us out of tyranny.  This is why neither the President nor one political party can remain in lifelong power.  Our two party system should debate ideas strictly within their constitutional boundaries, oversee a tight federal budget, and be accountable to their constituents who in turn take care of their local issues.  Solutions must be created cooperatively otherwise we will regress into chaos and tyranny.

Wake up Washington DC!  Work together for the common good.  It is what you are there to do.