Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The Right Prevail

a few days ago my brother was given a facebook portal by his son.   he was excited to try it out and texted me to see if he, my sister, and i could visit with each other using it.  i was out on an errand at the time, so the next day we decided to try engaging in a video chat.  i was reluctant to participate because i dislike video calls, but he was so excited about his new toy that i didn't want to disappoint him.  being unfamiliar with the technology, we were not successful and had a conventional visit on the telephone.  later, his son told us what was needed on my end of the potential video visit, and i suppose we'll try it again soon.

as i thought about the portal and similar technologies, like amazon's and google's personal assistants, i was reminded of the telescreen of orwell's 1984.  we have so little privacy in our lives anymore, and these new devices seem to have the potential to diminish our privacy still further.  we are tracked everywhere we go on the internet unless we take steps to mask our wanderings, and, even then, the means we use to insure our anonymity are not secure should government or business want to exert their power to discover our use of the technology.  i have friends who keep the cameras on their computers covered and refuse to use search engines like google because of security concerns, and i've always thought these tactics a bit extreme.  as i ponder the increasing invasion of our privacy i'm not so sure anymore.

given the power of a government with donald trump at its head, i'm wary of the potential for abuse of our individual rights.  when the head of government is convinced that he alone can solve our problems and that he is an expert in most every field, from finance to military strategy, and when most others members of his party seem to be willing to give him carte blanche, it would be all too easy to use these new devices to spy on those who oppose him and his policies.  orwell's vision doesn't seem so farfetched anymore.  one thinks of nixon's enemies list on steroids in the hands of someone like trump.

i used to wonder how someone like hitler could have come to power and think that could never happen in the usa.  as i've watched trump's rise, i can see how a free society can allow someone so obviously evil and corrupt to assume the mantle of power.  when his own party wants power so much that its members refuse to speak out against his abuses and lies and are willing to go along for the sake of maintaining their hold on the reins of government, there are few ways to stop someone of trump's ilk in the short term.  one fears that too much damage will be done before the next election has the potential to vote someone like trump and his supporters out of office.  as we see the restriction of voting rights and the gerrymandering of legislative districts at the hands of republican state legislatures, the willingness of these elected bodies to thwart the will of the people in states like michigan and wisconsin,  and the makeover of the judiciary into a more right-wing institution, even the power of the ballot has less likelihood of success.

perhaps the results of the last election that sent a majority of democrats to the house of representatives is a harbinger of things to come in 2020.  one can only hope that the country can hold on until this next election and that the voters will see the grave peril we are in if trump and his supporters are not stopped.  we have a great responsibility to protect our constitutional rights and to become a champion of freedom and of the rule of law to the rest of the world once more.  i'm not sure we can restore our position with our allies now that the world has seen the damage that one person like trump can do and our willingness to allow him to take the helm of our government but we must try.

may we not be complacent in these perilous times.  may we work to rid our government of trump and his ilk in any legitimate way we can.  may we return to our core values and may the arc of the moral universe bend in the direction of justice.  may lovingkindness triumph over hatred, fear, and the desire for revenge.  shalom.

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