Essays: the Collection

The Washington Protests: the shape of things to come  A Limo on Fire, a wake up call, or A prelude of things to come? P rotests broke out in Washington D.C. during the inauguration of the controversial 45th President of the United States.  A distinguishing feature of this one was that it was not the product of spontaneous pandemonium.  This organized event brought together several groups unified in their shared beliefs.                 One statement made by this collective was so powerful that it explained succinctly the reasons for the discontent. It was a powerful message.                 Seeing a stretch limousine battered and flaming is an arresting image. What made this one potent were words spray-painted on the side “We The People.”  The connection between those words and the anger that co...

An Essay on Political Dissonance  The American Dream of Upward Mobility, anyone can get rich, well not everyone. E tched into American etiquette is the belief  that political discussions are to be avoided, at all costs.  One can conduct conversations concerning the most private of matters. Highly personal topics are acceptable.  Ideology is not. The reluctance of Americans to define themselves politically is in sharp contrast to the way they define their religious views.  The divisions within Christianity points to the need for specificity regarding the precepts that define a faith.  Americans have little difficulty with taking a highly evangelical approach to religion.  Spreading the word is part of the faith. Sometimes it is a requirement. Just as Americans go to great pains to define their beliefs, such care is not  given to politics. Defining ones political identity in America leaves little room for nuance...

A HOUSE DIVIDED  A Primer for Democrats on How to Win Elections Governor Doug Ducey and Catherine Mirada The strange bedfellows of Arizona politics when a prominent Democrat endorses a Republican Governor It hardly gets more cynical than this.      I experienced an episode yesterday that illustrates why the Democratic Party fails and the Republican Part gains votes. It is essential that we as “true Democrats” and “True Progressives” prevent our Democratic Republic from turning into an Oligarchy.  The Arizona gubernatorial race between Doug Ducey, Republican, and Fred Duval, Democrat, ended in a victory for Ducey.  One feature that made this race “disturbing” for me was the fact that Catherine Miranda, a Democrat publicly supported a Republican instead of a Democrat.  On Facebook, I had made a point that seems to have “irritated” Miranda.  She replied with a comment, “Who are you?” For me, this sounded rather rude...