It's the Simplest Things

 Chapel Hill, North Carolina once was a haven.  Past Chancellor and the nation's then youngest, Holden Thorp, held a speech in his political arsenal that eulogized his late father, Herb.  Often he spoke of the little light up on "The Hill," a place of refuge, humanity, and education.  I was lucky to be able to matriculate at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  My father and his two brothers attended, and my mother went to Women's College, what later became UNC Greensboro.  I had the grades from Terry Sanford High School and was in its Honor Society, but they tell you outright that family alumni are important.  I was appreciative of this opportunity, and to this day still it was the most difficult thing I ever accomplished.  I received a Bachelor of Music Education degree, and with not much trouble became certified to teach in the state of North Carolina.  I had this license transferred to Ohio when I attended The Ohio State University. There is some turmoil at UNC-Chapel Hill, and it ain't new.  When Dr. Thorp, a research chemist, was appointed Chancellor at the behest of Erskine Bowles, there was an academic scandal.  This was the time of Michael Jordon, and college athletics were of prime importance to everyone.  In short they created non-existent courses in African-American studies, so that academically underachieving athletes could qualify to play.  I am surprised there are no books or a Hollywood film on this subject.  It would make a great movie, but great movies are becoming more rare.  Real life or human interest stories are becoming extinct, because the Covid generation is addicted to the internet and its often fictitious, radicalized, and violent content.  The net is not what it used to be when Netscape Navigator let you troll for romance in the quiet solitude of your own carrel.  I broke my ties with UNC at the onset of this athletic scandal.  Today politics still is active at UNC, and the latest news is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees has proposed a new school for the University with openly political intentions.  It would seem its intent is to counteract a too liberal bias at the university.  In my previous post I stated there have been two major events that have changed America since the Trump presidency.  One was the election of Donald Trump as President.  Specifically I did not mention the other event, and it was the outbreak of Covid 19.  It would be difficult to determine which event was more destructive to America.  It would be wise to assess that they were collaborative, and the two of them together, "The Donald" and "The 'Vid,'" became our modern domestic war.  Under the cover of Covid Donald Trump achieved a substantial and specific agenda which will continue to shape America for his purposes.  Those purposes, while a continuation of both Bush administrations, sought to deregulate big business in America.  The regulatory processes of both state and federal government always have been necessary to ensure the well being of the citizens of the United States.  Without them we have now.  Systematically in the name of economic opportunity most polluting industries have been given waivers to treat the American landscape like a garbage dump.  Deregulation of the airlines, of telecommunications, and of the railroads have industrialized a once beautiful and healthy nation not unlike the fate of the Mediterranean Sea.  When I was ported in Venice it was surprising how ugly it was.  The surviving architecture was beautiful, but the ocean was a huge superhighway of maritime commerce.  The simplest things are the most important to the sustenance of a nation, and in America "The Swamp" truly has become that.  Instead of intelligent, thoughtful, Christian leaders, Washington, DC has become a place of political crime.  Largely it is being controlled by Corporate America, and their lobby probably is more expansive and efficient than all of Congress.  Supporting agencies are being dismantled from within often by foes appointed to hurt them.  Louis Dejoy comes to mind.  The lives of everyday Americans never will improve until these problems are solved.  The problems are simple, but they are made complex by the same reasons Americans are fighting each other.  It is a  premeditated smoke screen meant to disguise corporate malfeasance.  When Americans of any ethic background are fighting one another, then we are not addressing the real issues of America.  These issues are the raping and pillaging of our nation for the wealthy.  The four years of the Trump presidency subversively undermined the legal rights of most American citizens.  How can a blanket shield be applied to the entirety of the internet protecting providers from legal action?  The internet has become more influential and relied upon as a source of information, but we have not updated this agreement.  Billions of dollars are being made from the internet, and yet there is a global "Get Out of Jail Free" card distributed to these providers.  Similarly Washington law makers are proponents of making guns of all kinds freely available to anyone, including convicted criminals.  It has reached a point of absurdity, where mostly Republican zealots openly laugh in the face of the common American citizen.  We have reached a point where bereaved parents crying over the senseless murder of their children in their own schools should and will begin to find justice of their own.  If the elected politicians in this "Swamp" are unwilling to provide the peace and security traditionally provided in America, and they continue to do harm to our families, then consequences are merited.  Again it is important that mainstream Americans pull their heads out of the sand and realize this nation is a nation governed by the people.  If Washington fails like they have, then we the people have the power to remove them.  This process isn't always civil.  A drunken bacchanal rummaging through the Capital with no clear plan does not suffice.  Instead a look back to the 1960's and the rise of the Black Panther Political Party is more appropriate.  How long are Americans willing to be murdered?  Somehow our sense of civility is inhibiting our true understanding of our problems.  It is much more grievous than we think.  The way we know is when the highest court in America, The Supreme Court of the United States, and their judgements stray from the Constitution and our laws and become politically motivated.  Cancel Culture is rendering a massive blow to the substance of America by eliminating pop culture and the arts.  Film, television, theater, and music all have lost their relevance as the social conscience of America.  What we are left with is the inane and inciting rhetoric of Fox News leftovers some now in power in Washington.  It has become a, "He said, she said," kind of America, and all of this hot air just disguises the real social strata.  Instead of the poor fighting the poor, the poor should be eye balling "The Swamp."