The Republican Terrorists

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is voting on a Farm Bill, which traditionally gets passed without much hoopla. It is different this year because House Republicans (Tea Party) seek to cut SNAP (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), ie., food stamps. In the first go around they simply tried to cut SOME hungry people off the program. That met with resistance so now they came back with a version that totally fails to mention SNAP, which effectively defunds food assistance for some 42 million Americans. They are doing a very good job of scaring  a LOT of people with this Bill. 

As of July 1st, the House also failed to stop a scheduled increase in the interest rates paid by students who have government loans. The increase doubled the interest rate for students while banks and other major corporations pay half as much. This occurred because the House of Representatives simply failed to take action even though the Senate already had passed relief legislation.  Thirty-Seven million American students will be affected.

Between those two outrageous actions, the United States House Republicans (who control the House) have put 79 million Americans behind the proverbial eight ball. The Republican House has effectively terrorized all these people. They have deliberately sought to intimidate and coerce a significant part of the population of these United States and have done so for purely political purposes. The definition of Terrorism , according to the World English Dictionary is, " the systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal."  Not all violence is physical. Indeed, the worst part of terrorism is precisely the fear and panic it causes.  The Tea Party Republicans have done precisely that - caused fear and attempted to force the American People and the Democratic Party to accede to their will. They cannot win elections without threats, cheating and intimidation so this is what they have become. The no longer govern  (" to exercise restraint over; regulate or direct", Free Online Dictionary), instead they impose a reign of terror.  It is Robespierre all over again. One only hopes they do not manage to send 79 million people to the guillotine. 

Cause and Effect

"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." -Gandhi

 If Gandhi is correct then the Koch Brothers, the Tea Party and the GOP have achieved: debasement, degradation, derision, disgrace and dishonor, all the opposites of greatness.  They have actually SOUGHT austerity in this country and applauded when sequestration took effect. 

 "In an email, Koch brothers’ front group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), sent congratulations to Republicans and their supporters around the country for helping push sequester cuts AFP says are “an important step forward for economic growth.” The email continued, “Americans for Prosperity thanks Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans for standing up to President Obama and making sure the $85 billion in much-needed sequester spending cuts took effect,” and it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Koch brothers and Republicans own the sequester and are giddy at the prospect of a recession and killing millions of jobs." (Rmuse, The Koch Brothers Take Credit for Imposing Economic Hardship on Millions of Americans, in Politicususa, March 4, 2013) 

The Koch brothers and their ilk are trying their best to bring about the same decimation of the economy via austerity as in Europe. The misery, the hardship on the people, especially the poor, is intentional. The more misery for the 99% the greater the wealth for the 1%. As Rmuse describes,

 "Republicans won the austerity battle, and Americans will now know what it feels like to live in “socialist Europe” that imposed austerity, massive unemployment, negative growth, double and triple-dip recessions, and no hope for recovery anytime soon."

What these modern day "robber barons" do not realize (or  care about)  is the spiritual price they pay and will continue to pay  for their arrogance, greed and disregard for the welfare of the weakest in our land. 

 "Shame on you! you who make unjust laws and publish burdensome decrees, depriving the poor of justice, robbing the weakest of my people of their rights, despoiling the widow and plundering the orphan. What will you do when called to account..." (Isaiah 10: 1-3b NEB)

What WILL they do when called into account, and they will be one of these days.  It is inevitable. It is a spiritual truth and it is a law of physics: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." The equal and opposite reaction in this case is yet unknown, though history tends to point to rebellion or revolution.  Regardless, it has to happen, it cannot be averted. Call it what you will; God's judgement or a law of physics, the actions of the 1% will catch up with them.

The Tea Party, the Republicans and the Koch Brothers have all made their austerity bed and now they must lie in it.

The State of Things

There once was a time when
America was still cool
the government a good thing
and politics the tool.

Then Watergate occurred
and it changed my perspective.
Nixon WAS indeed a crook,
statements irrespective.

Moral Majority
moved GOP to the Right
Religion came to the fore
and began to incite.

Moral Majority
was neither but made big noise
convinced many smaller minds
of  Jerry Falwell's ploys.

The Grand Old Party moved
even farther to the right,
getting closer to the edge
where they'd be out of sight.

The Tea Party appeared
with funding from fanatics
to promulgate falsehoods
and increase dramatics.

They fooled the ignorant;
it seemed so easy to do
because they watched Fox News
whose facts were very skewed.

So now we have gridlock
in our government order
which leaves the People angry;
congress in disorder.

Citizens United came
called corporations persons
and said money is free speech;
campaigning now worsens.

Freedom is now up for sale
to auction's highest bidder.
The People have no say now;
Time to reconsider.

Fear Not

Perhaps the most basic problem we have in our society today is that we live in fear. We fear for the future. We fear the other person, we fear growing old. We fear the government. We fear. Fear is a destructive feeling because it closes down the possibility for rational thinking and creative thinking. When we are afraid, we "hunker down.".  Most of the time what it actually needed is to face what ever it is head on. When we are fearful, it is far more difficult to see alternatives. We also freeze the situation so the only thing we see is one possible scenario. The fact is, rarely are we totally accurate in how we are viewing the situation. If we insist on seeing what we are afraid of in one way, there is only one possible outcome. If, instead, we realize that there are alternate possibilities, we are freed up to see multiple outcomes. 

How many times have we seen what we fear the most come about?  Often, because we allow for only one outcome. In our fear, we bring about the very outcome we fear the most.  Fear is a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

That is why the Bible spends so much effort saying, "Fear not."  Three hundred and sixty-five times, in fact. One for every day of the year. The Bible recognizes how debilitating fear really is, how it separates us from G-d and one another and how it distorts reality. Fear is the single biggest source for anger and sin. We cannot be the people G-d has created us to be if we live in fear, anger and anxiety. G-d created us to love and love is impossible  in the midst of fear. G-d created us to be in relationship with one another and society is impossible if everyone is afraid. That is why the world is in so much trouble. We are all living in fear and that keeps us from relating with one another in truth and trust. Without trust, civilization is impossible. Unless we turn back to one another and start relating in good faith, we will fall apart as a country. 

That is what is so destructive about the Tea Party: they are afraid of EVERYTHING  and EVERYONE that doesn't think, act or look like them. What they are afraid of, they attack.  What and who they attack, attacks back. They (and we) need to be reminded of the Biblical message: "Fear not."  Only when we follow this command can we become the People of  G-d.  Only when we stop living in fear can we become what G-d created us to be. Only when we "Fear not" can we be free to love.