Douchebag #whiteSupremacist and #Nazi fanboy #CharlieKirk is openly calling for another #MAGAinsurrection if (when) #Trump loses in November. He's openly calling for violence if things don't go his way. Never let these ignorant, hateful scumbags claim ownership of American #patriotism. They're not patriots, they're nationalists. Patriots don't call for the violent destruction of our republic when they fail to prevail in legitimate, electoral contests.
A spokesman for #JStreet, accused Aipac of attempting to impose a narrow definition of what it is to be pro-Israel:
“#Aipac may hope to silence and intimidate political leaders who believe that settlement expansion, endless conflict and permanent occupation are harmful to Israel, the Palestinian people and US interests. Ultimately, however, these common-sense views are too popular, widespread and important to be suppressed.”
Pictured ⬇️
A 1950 poster shows Superman – a refugee from another planet and a character created by two Jewish immigrants to the U.S. – teaching this lesson to school kids. #USPolitics
At a recent political rally, President Trump announced that he was a "nationalist" and encouraged his audience to do the same. Since then, liberals have engaged in all sorts of rhetorical gymnastics to exaggerate their differences from Trump. Keep the following points in mind:
1). Nationalism is not limited to the overt racism espoused by the Ku Klux Klan, the Skinheads, or the Nazis. When ordinary Americans discuss global politics and invoke the pronoun "we" - they are often juxtaposing themselves to a foreign "they" who is typically poor, non-white, non-male, and non-citizen. Therefore, nationalism is not a deviation from Western governance; it is a core principle which shapes the collective sense of being and belonging.
2). Here is a quick, non-exhaustive "Am I a Nationalist?" checklist:
Do you believe that the United States military keeps you safe from harm?
Do you believe that U.S. intervention is necessary to ensure world peace?
Do you believe in the need for a strong national border?
Do you believe that non-citizens are "criminals" who "cheat the system"?
Do you believe that capitalism works?
If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, you are a nationalist. There is only a difference of degree between you and Trump.
3). Nationalism involves the violence of dividing the entire world into several arbitrary pieces. We are then told to be "patriotic" and pledge allegiance to the nearest piece ... because it is "superior" to all the other pieces who threaten our sense of peace. We must remember that "nations" are a product of politics, NOT nature. The "border" between the United States and Mexico disappears from a bird's eye view. National borders are fictional.
4). The oppressed vastly outnumber their oppressors - a fact which frightens those in power. To prevent global solidarity among the downtrodden, the ruling class promotes a nationalist agenda to drive a wedge between everyone. Nationalism is a "divide and conquer" strategy which forces us to fight each other as opposed to our common enemy. This is why Marx said "the worker has no country" and "workers of the world, unite!"
Today in Labor History October 12, 1892: The Pledge of Allegiance was first recited by U.S. school children, without any mention of god. The Pledge went through several iterations over the following decades, but it was not until 1954 that the word “god” was added to it, to ingrain in U.S. children how much superior they were to the godless communists in the USSR.
#ClarenceThomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
@GottaLaff I remember listening to the #ClarenceThomas confirmation hearings on NPR every day. In the background. As I was going about my daily life.
The pubic hair on the Coke can.
I thought “This guy is getting creamed. He’ll never get confirmed. Are they recording this? This is could be used as evidence for a #criminal conviction.”
But no.
I was so naive.
I thought politicians who talked the talk wanted to make a positive difference.
Wow. Remembering how #politicians have betrayed everyone gives me such a feeling of camaraderie with ALL. Being screwed over by the Man is a bonding experience. Is that #Patriotism ? Maybe we wouldn’t be in such a pickle if it was We The LITTLE COMMON EVERYDAY People. Ah to be so young and naive.
Given my ethos is #Greens, i tend to recycle & minimise waste. Thus this stale reheated blowie-bloated Intro is lazily rehashed, with only minimal tweaks, from the plethora of other #Mastodon, #Firefish & #Friendica fediverse #Instances whose various doorsteps i've darkened since Nov 2012.
Today, after weeks & months of indecisively weighing Pros & Cons, i've finally, formally, perpetrated my latest #FediHop. Sorry about that; i'll try not to wee on the carpet.
I wonder if a new introduction is really needed? I mean, i'm still me, for worse or worserer 😜 My original intro afaik remains at https://fosstodon.org/@dropbear42/109318341169759339, with subsequent variants scattered all over the fediverse now. Sorry about that.
I suppose that hypothetically, if i were to do another Intro, i might mention that typically i'll mumble, grumble & mutter about various topics including #FOSS, #Linux in all her glory & fun, #politics, #RWNJ ghastliness, #environment, our self-induced #ClimateCrisis, random whimsical thoughts, #LGBTQI & particularly #Trans stuff.
Sooner or later, my view will pop up here & there that #religion, #capitalism & #patriotism are historically + currently at the heart of most human misery & devastation. I also probably won't be able to resist frequent quips about & allusions to fabbo #MontyPython & #HHGTTG stuff. Did i mention #DoctorWho?
No, on second-thought, i really think another Intro is unnecessary, redundant, tautologous, unwarranted & superfluous, not to mention shamefully gratuitous, so i certainly shan't bother doing one. Silly idea altogether. Sorry about that.
“I have no fear nor shrinking. I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me ... But this I would say, standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realize that #patriotism is not enough. I must have #NoHatred or bitterness towards anyone.”
#EdithCavell, on the night before her execution, as recounted by Reverend Stirling Gahan, Oct. 11, 1915.
The Conversation U.S.
(@TheConversationUS):
"This #FourthofJuly weekend, stop using #nationalism and #patriotism as synonyms.
🇺🇸Patriotism encompasses devotion to the country as a whole — including all the people who live within it.
🇺🇸Nationalism refers to devotion to only one group or people over others.
A 1950 poster shows Superman — a refugee from another planet and a character created by two Jewish immigrants to the US — teaching this lesson to school kids."
Pictured ⬇️
A 1950 poster shows Superman – a refugee from another planet and a character created by two Jewish immigrants to the U.S. – teaching this lesson to school kids. #USPolitics#American#4thOfJuly