Surprise and Fear

I started this thing way back in the day to write about politics and what was happening in America. Over the years, as I’ve adopted other, newer, social media platforms, The Foggy Dew has lingered with only sporadic updates. Part of this is because of other social media options – God! I’m on Twitter now – but also because I’ve moved into jobs where I am the spokesman for a large organization. Most of you know who I am and what I do and sometimes my personal feelings might not be precisely aligned with my professional responsibilities.

That said, what the fuck is going on with the republican presidential candidates? Seriously, the frontrunner, Herr Trump, just suggested a plan that would require Muslims – even American citizens – to register and be tracked. “Just good management” he said. This type of thinking could cause a dedicated Nazi to blanche a little at first. He also suggested it would be a good idea to shut down mosques.

The other loon in the field, Herr Doktor Carson, agrees treating Muslims – even those who are American citizens – as potential enemies and terrorists is a good idea. Except for the fact that these two are leading the race to the republican nomination, this wouldn’t be so troubling except for one thing: The other 10 people running for the nomination haven’t denounced them and declared these actions to be patently un-American and a threat to the country’s soul and national security.

This is scary. Ideas like these have gained popular support in the form of the republican frontrunners’ campaigns. American’s think it’s OK for the fucking government to track citizens because of their religion. This isn’t just scary, it’s terrifying.

We all watched the events in Paris – and now Mali – with fear and a sickening sense it could easily happen here. Many of my friends are tired of the wars in the Middle East and don’t believe the U.S. has any business re-engaging there (actually, expanding our current operations) for any reason. While I don’t welcome the possibility, I believe the only way to deal with the situation is a mix of extensive humanitarian outreach to show America is that light on the hill…and brutal, ruthless military operations to show its power.

To sum up: Some assholes just need killin’.

A Facebook friend, one who’s always professed a devout belief in god, shared something or other on her feed the gist of which was “I believe there’s an internal revolution coming.” People believe this shit. They are so worried “THE GOVERNMENT” is coming for their religion, their guns, their bacon, their children (via Common Core), their land, their pick-ups and every other goddamn thing and give it to someone with brown skin or a different religion that they advocate open rebellion.

That is what’s un-American.

For the most part, every single one of these people screaming about letting 10,000 poor, starving, terrified, but now vetted and checked and thankful to god and America they’ve finally escaped their living Hell shithole of a country had an ancestor who once found themselves in a similar condition. Living somewhere that for economic, racial, ethnic or religious reasons, they fled the land of their birth, passed La Liberté éclairant le monde (the lady with the torch in New York Harbor), and were thankful just to be in America and have a second chance. For example: My ancestors departed Ireland following the First World War. My grandfather worked for the railroad, and my grandmother worked as a maid.

This country was founded by people fleeing religious persecution, never mind it was because they wanted to practice a stricter form of Christianity - hey! kinda like sharia law. So it’s pretty fucking ironic that today’s adherents to Christian sharia would suggest reinstituting the Spanish Inquisition…

“NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our *four*...no... *Amongst* our weapons.... Amongst our weaponry...are such elements as fear, surprise....”

We, America – waving hands around in an all-encompassing motion – are better than that. We defeated fascism through military might. We defeated communism – OK, the Soviet Union – through economic might and technical prowess (and Russian ineptness and stupidity). We can defeat the threat of religious extremism with a combination of all of these and the addition of kindness to our fellow man.