Dear Greenland, Canada, Panama and Mexico:

Please allow me to explain the mindset of my people, U.S. citizens. I know Americans, albeit my certain knowledge comes from a specific race and nationality hailing from the nations of Western Europe. Long ago, my people came to the New World, as this ‘discovered’ continent was called, for whatever reason. [We were taught it was something very noble like religious freedom, to practice Christianity as they believed best, and more truthfully to not be persecuted for their Christian practices whether Catholic or Protestant—in the Old Country, imprisonment and death were quite likely.]

I can tell you, citizens of the world, why Americans (well a tad more than 50%) voted for Trump twice. America has had a mostly middle-class citizenry for a good century or so—especially after World War II. But then all that blowing and going and economic gains for most American families in the mid-20th century came to a sudden halt in the 1970s. That’s when a number of very important U.S. industries, such as auto manufacturers, closed up shop in this here Land of the Free and Home of the Brave and moved way across the sea or just south of the border to continue business at a greatly reduced cost. Business is, after all, the most important thing in the heart, mind and soul of an American. We understand it. We accept it. We’re also very angry about it (because it puts us all in jeopardy).

To be an American is to understand the almighty dollar. Most of us just want to work, have a good job, raise kids, have some time off, enjoy our lifetime. Most of us don’t really want to be millionaires. That is an incredibly tiny segment of the U.S. population, rare—and rarer still the very few who have the je ne sais quoi [meaning “I know not what”] to break through to the other side and join the teeny tiny ranks of wealthy Americans.

But all of us understand what it takes to make it in this country: We pull ourselves up from our bootstraps and get up every day to work and earn our keep. That last part is very critical in understanding our collective American mindset. It goes back to when families first started coming over here and through the decades spanned out to settle across the prairie and along the coasts, mountains and hills.

We are taught to take care of our own, meaning literally our own family and if we don’t have a family then just our own selves.

So with this uniquely American philosophy, permeating throughout our modern era, comes a great hatred for taking care of millions of people we don’t know and honestly do not care about. Cruel as it sounds, it’s not, not to Americans and the way we figure. And my people think they have a point; a good half of our population thinks this a-way.

I suppose the attitude of “I got mine; you get yours” sounds selfish. [And, well hell, it is.] But when Ronald Reagan said it, it just made sense. You have to FIRST take care of yourself and family. And all will turn out right if you strive toward that goal (and that goal only). Never mind if that goal at times meant some families and communities were harassed with burning crosses in their front yards or if this goal created segregation and job discrimination against races who were not WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) or prejudices and bigotry against all immigrants in this country (this nation founded by and for immigrants). That is U.S. history.

With every election, Americans who vote are choosing how to spend our tax dollars. Whether they think about it or not, each voter is at a gut level voting to sit on the money (not one dime to anyone who isn’t one of us) or to use American tax revenue for the common good (whatever that is).

The greater good

This is the difference between our two political parties, groups of opposing viewpoints who sometimes merged together toward progress but nowadays have intentionally and harshly divorced from one another.

That’s where we are today in the U.S.

Notice no protests, or very few, against all the mass federal worker firings and the dubious reviews by an unelected billionaire/trillionaire and his troupe of unknown young acolytes. Americans are mostly silent. None of us is shocked or awed. We’re not all that enraged by legitimate media banned from covering our federal government. For decades many Americans have wanted to ‘drain the swamp’ that is believed to be our federal government. It used to be the working man’s motto ‘Throw the bums out’ referred to all the elected leaders who go to D.C. and then do nothing (other than vote themselves raises and the very best health insurance courtesy of U.S. taxpayers).

The great majority of us live nowhere near our capitol of Washington, D.C., and really know nothing about how government gets done. But our 300 million citizens across the country have come to believe, for generations now, that our federal government—with a budget of $6.75 trillion and a massive $30 trillion debt—is bloated and ineffectual and … exactly how are we not bankrupt by now?

So the ‘fat’ of presumed government waste is being chopped off. [Again, the waste used to refer to elected officials in Congress not necessarily to all the federal employees.]

And as the world knows about America and Americans, we tend to shoot first and ask questions later.

That’s what’s going on now. We finally have a U.S. President who will fire almost everyone who is a federal employee—so despised are they, these loafers who are paid by us, the American taxpayers.

Unlike our European cousins and other relatives across the world, the U.S. has always prided itself in looking out for Number One. That concept is not only unknown to the rest of the world’s people but indeed flat-out cruel not to mention impolite and, as everyone except an American knows, hardly Christian. [JC did teach us to “love our neighbors like ourselves,” the neighbors being everyone on the planet.]

One final thing to never forget about Americans is our nation produces the highest number of sociopaths compared to every nation on earth—our rate believed by psychologists to be 20 to 25 percent of our population. Other nations, which have been around for thousands of years, may have two to five percent of their population who turn out to be sociopaths.

What is a sociopath? A sociopath is someone who has no regard toward other people, is antagonistic and selfish, loves only himself and never anyone else even spouses and family, who has usually average intelligence although a few are brilliant, and whose only ambition throughout life—and the longer they live, the more clearer the picture becomes—is to destroy people, leave a trail of ruined lives and businesses, and get off by watching people he’s pitted against each other. They are cheaters. They are lazy. They don’t really work for a living. A few manage to have money from dubious circumstances including inherited wealth.

Prisons are full of sociopaths, people who thought they would get away with their crimes because they understand human beings are generally nice, polite, kind, don’t get too nosy or ask a lot of questions. Sociopaths will easily anger if they are pressed about their motivations. They don’t want to be found out. On the other hand, they don’t give a damn either.

So people of Earth, for now Americans have elected someone that leans toward ruining tens of thousands of lives in D.C. which will inevitably ruin many others across the U.S. as well as immediately impact the entire world—because in the past, the U.S. used to be proud of our leadership in the world. We liked thinking of ourselves as the Good Guys, helping mankind and fighting injustice across the entire planet. But for now, and hopefully not for long or forever, America can finally proclaim it’s no Friend of the World. We are practicing the political isolationism that I assure you many Americans have always wanted … throughout our entire history.

sixtysomething: our last great decade of life, maybe

Live long enough, and we reach yet another awkward age: our 60tweens—old but not old enough … ineligible for some senior discounts; not old enough to retire, get on Medicare or collect Social Security. As an observer of human lifespans, watching my parents and relatives and celebrities age, I’m thinking this decade of life may be the last hurrah. If other health battles haven’t interrupted our relatively long lives, such as cancer or debilitating injury, then 60something is likely our last decade of still getting around, confidently walking on our own, still somewhat flexible, able to exercise though moderately, traveling, driving, dancing, thinking, creating, working. Besides, a recent AARP magazine article made clear the 60s are when we really start dying out as a generation. Thanks for giving us the straight dope, AARP.

Perhaps having old U.S. Presidents is making us think 80 is the new 60, that we will all be just as active as Biden and Trump. How long we live and age truly is in the genes for the most part. Some families have long life spans. Look at Jimmy Carter. Other than sheer luck, health is the most important factor. Just keeping ourselves healthy by eating right, modest indulgences like drinks and sweets, managing stress, and maintaining an active as opposed to sedentary lifestyle. In short, KEEP MOVING. Keep on keeping on.

So, I keep working—despite awakening almost every day with new aches and pains, some that will become chronic. But each day I realize my mind is not as sharp as it used to be. Often the single precise word I need has left the building of my mind. On the other hand, I’ve always been that a-way even as a kid. I remember it well, talking 90 words a minute then drawing a complete blank over the right word or name of someone, always just on the tip of my tongue, ahhhh nuts. Sometimes even when writing, this can occur. But in writing, I have time to remember the perfect word(s) I wanted to use. And in our wonderful century, I can easily edit something already published digitally. Gotta love our times sometimes.

Both my dad and mom had heart attacks at the end of their 60s. Afterwards, physically they were brought down a few notches, not as agile as they had been most of their lives, never again to consider traveling anywhere, more inclined to stay put at home, enjoying simply sitting and watching TV and napping. My parents still exercised, their living room adorned with a treadmill and stationary bike. In good weather, they used to take country walks, enjoying their golden years of well-deserved retirement. But their respective heart attacks changed them from active and energetic seniors to … more cautious with every step and breath.

Twenty years later, mom fell and broke her hip. That was it. A year later, she was dead, so traumatic to the body is a broken hip perhaps at any age. But at 85, her bones were brittle, too.

Many of my high school classmates have retired, having lucked out with a solid job for 30 or so years. Not me. The truth is I enjoy working. Makes me feel useful, like I’m part of life on the planet. Don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have a job to go to, a big purpose. Besides, unemployment makes me extremely depressed. And I wouldn’t have health insurance without a job. Not yet. So I keep on truckin’.

The future is now

If this is indeed my last great decade, I hope to travel the world again. Number one on my bucket list is Latin America. Never been, not even to Mexico. Traveling to Germany, of which I have some ancestry around the Rhineland, would be another adventure to look forward to. Scotland, too. And I’ve never been to Hawaii or taken an ocean cruise.

While I still have my health, vision, hearing and mental faculties (as good as they’ve ever been, I suppose), I realize the time to do whatever makes up my final chapter is now.

When I was in my 40s, I wrote my obituary and memorial desires and instructions. Have it all figured out. Over the years, I’ve gone back into the doc to update, changing specific songs, to me the most interesting aspect of a person’s memorial. Still keeping Carry On by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. And the more I think about it, that Laura Nyro song And When I Die seems a fond farewell sentiment I’d like to leave everyone. Both songs are optimistic; they are songs encouraging the rest of humanity who will see and experience things I won’t after crossing into that great Classroom in the sky.

Life is for learning. That is my philosophy. Religion is not the study of God but the study of people, cultures. Yes, it is. In pondering the Great Unknown—where we all ‘go’ when, you know, we skip outta this human existence on Earth—I’ve been fascinated by stories of people who’ve actually died at least for a few minutes. Their stories are remarkably similar, and their experiences are real. The most amazing claim is they no longer fear death. And neither should the rest of us. It is a blessing that we don’t live forever, that we finally retire permanently, thank God. The older I get, the more I find myself looking forward to the Glad Reunion in the Sky … just not quite yet. Please, please, please?

Only an idiot would shut down the Department of Education

The opening page to the U.S. Department of Education’s website reads: Fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

Aha! Now we see why the Trump Administration is condemning a federal department that ensures the education of a hundred million children, teens, young people … and adults of all ages—regardless of race, sex, creed, color, ability, and religion.

The website’s sub sections include: higher education (financial assistance to go to college), adult programs (to complete GEDs), K-12 education, teaching and administration (assistance for educators and principals), grants and programs, and laws & policy.

There’s even an overview for laypeople to understand the purpose of this federal department: Education is primarily a State and local responsibility in the United States. It is States and communities, as well as public and private organizations of all kinds, that establish schools and colleges, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation.”

Aha! Even the U.S. Department of Education acknowledges the states’ and communities’ roles in educating our country’s youth.

Makes perfect sense now: why only idiots would have an axe to grind with our nation’s great aspirational goal, envisioned by Constitutional framers in the 18th century at our country’s formation, to provide free education for every single child living in this country.

See, democracy can only work with educated voters. Democracy, therefore, cannot be maintained in a nation of idiots. Idiots include people who refuse to routinely check out opposing views, who want immigrants kicked out (because their beef is not just with illegal immigrants), whose bigotry and prejudices run generations deep just like the Jew-hating Germans a hundred years ago, who do not believe in American journalism as a legitimate investigative watchdog of every aspect of government—written into the U.S. Constitution.

These are the same idiots, no doubt, who somehow managed to graduate high school without taking a mandatory government or civics course. That course has been cut from U.S. high schools for a good 20 years now.

So the Idiocracy has begun.

Idiots don’t got no brains

There’s a difference between people who learn slowly and an alarming number of individuals who insist on maintaining an idiot’s view of the world. The U.S Department of Education, originally dating back to the days after the Civil War as an act to bring Americans back together as one nation, clearly is a partner in education instead of a ramrod forcing ideals such as ‘wokism’ (which was never a thing, by the way).

By this time in the 21st century, don’t you think kids in rural areas have a right to learn everything that their peers living in major cities learn? Don’t they have the right to the same science labs, libraries, field trips, scholastic achievements and honors, scholarships, along with technology (laptops/computers in every classroom for every single enrolled student) as well as all sports and all fine and performing arts?

These are the basics to a 21st century kid.

Still, because the U.S. does allow communities and states to call the shots on a child’s education, we have a state than banned Journalism as an elective course in all public schools and another state requiring Biblical ‘teachings’ in science textbooks. We have a state that banned yoga from being taught in public schools even as a weekly after-school extracurricular program while another state fully implements yoga in its public school curriculum, teaching kids to meditate and calm themselves (which is necessary to learn, by the way).

What kind of idiot has a problem with yoga?

I’ll tell you the type: an uptight ignorant religious bigot, someone with a closed instead of an open mind.

Two courses that should be included in every public school in the U.S. are Psychology and World Religion.

You think the past decades-long wars don’t warrant our youth’s complete understanding of religious beliefs? Americans should be studying up on it and not just through internet ‘research.’

Today’s youth also are not reading books anymore. They’re not reading articles online either. Their attention span is about one minute due to smart phones, social media and TikTok. This is absolutely the wrong direction for humanity, well those who want a democratic government. But we have states with a list a mile long of banned books. Poor American kids, stuck in the middle of the 21st century, confused with teachers encouraging them to read and learn everything they can while their communities warn of dire consequences—for learning. Today’s kids are caught between states and communities pretending to have their best interests at heart (and they don’t) and a liberal ideology that pulled many voters toward the ‘blow it all up’ approach to government management.

American idiots know a few things. One: If you don’t like something, blow it up. Two: They can believe anything they want whether it’s right or wrong, true or lie. Three: Schools are a political punching bag (so maybe education isn’t all that important).

If we’re going to get back to educational basics, then start with allowing teachers to teach. Despite what idiots think, teachers are not the enemy. Teachers want to share their passion for their subjects. Youth respond to human passion like they respond to a favorite entertainer whose musical message resonates with their own lives. It matters to them. Splitting hairs over yoga, journalism, Bible stories and banned books just creates more societal distrust in education … creating soon-to-be more adults angry at themselves for having missed educational opportunities while in school due to a bunch of powerful strangers’ petty politics. After all, free education is just a few years in the span of a long fulfilling life.