TheWiseOldFart

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart A celebration devoted to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, will also be remembered for a fire on the Brooklyn Bridge, a debacle in San Francisco, cancelled parades, the longest and most boring fireworks display in history, and a mass shooting on Coney Island. BEGINNING AT THE TOP What should have been a promise to renew the intent of the Declaration of Independence became another politically motivated Trump hate rally and turned a celebration into a memoriam for what America once strived to become. A few words to remind all Americans why we celebrate the 4 th of July. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This one sentence was a summation of the core values the New Nation would stand upon. I can understand why Trump failed to refer to the document which in...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart The greatest weakness in humans is the reason why America has never been a great nation. It is the most common evil inherent to every culture, every race, and every man and woman claiming to be religious. Prejudice in its many forms reveals ignorance and the need to feel superior to others. Prejudices including racism, bigotry, misogyny, and religious extremism prevent the most important promise in the first line of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: equality for everyone. A PREVIOUSLY INCOMPETENT GOVERNMENT IS NOW THE MOST CORRUPT IN THE WORLD Our government has failed its people in many ways. A massive increase in gun violence began in 2017, could be ended with a single vote, and would in no way violate the Second Amendment. Our country has never demanded fair taxation. 95 percent of the 6,871 page tax code includes measures which allow the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. As long as our nation’s big businesses continue ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart This is America. Freedom of and freedom from religious persecution is one of our greatest rights and guarantees in the First Amendment. In the 21 st century, all organized religion is in decline. I am one of about 100 million Americans who reject all religions. We are split between agnostics and atheists. A PERSONAL HISTORY At the age of 16, I became another “fallen Catholic.” I had many questions but received no answers. In the beginning of my decision, I was an agnostic. However, now still alive at the ripe old age of 79, I am an atheist. Raised by a single mother and inheriting the responsibility of caring for a younger brother, I became extremely independent. I have never accepted “statements of fact” without asking questions and fact checking. I find it unrealistic to accept the teachings offered by a man or woman standing behind a pulpit. I believe that every human being is born with a conscience; the ability to know right from wrong. I also believe that ...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Trump’s personal beliefs: white supremacy, fascism, the repeal of the First, Fourth, Fifth, and 14 th Amendments, and rule by the super-rich. What he does not believe: freedom and justice for all, due process, tradition, history, the rule of law, complete equality for all, diversity, inclusion, free thought, doing the right thing, and the New Testament of the Bible. Trump’s fascist administration, whose only “gods” are power and great wealth, consistently brag about ‘protecting religious freedom.’ Their actions prove that this only applies to Christian extremism, and their support for the  Old Testament: a collection of fairy tales and fables . They reject your right to practice the Religion of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, or any other faith not controlled by priests, ministers, pastors, and most significantly Evangelical leaders.    Their leader, Dictator Donny Trump, has never been a “Christian.” During the 2016 campaign season, he offered t...

        In the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers laid the groundwork for what would be the Constitution of the United States of America. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-“ The men who created the United States of America were in denial, ignoring their own failures to “put their money where their mouths were.” Most of them owned slaves, and obviously did not consider them equal to white men and women. When framing the Constitution between 1787 and 1789 during the Constitutional Convention, an agreement was made to protect the practice of owning slaves, primarily in the southern states. The Second Amendment was written for two reasons. First, to guarantee the availability of organizing an a...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart “All governments are bad, some are worse than others.” I heard this when I was a young man. Over my nearly 78 years I have learned that it was and is completely true. The only thing I didn’t consider was that my government would become the most corrupt and incompetent of them all. My interest in politics began in 1956, when I was 10 years old. I turned on our television when I arrived home from school, and on the TV was Dwight Eisenhower’s second convention. I was fascinated. Now that I am an old man, I look back on the 13 presidents I have watched, listened to, and read about. Only one of the 13 was a great president; JFK: and three are on the list of the worst in history: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and at the bottom, Donald Trump. Of the nine remaining, three were admirable for their accomplishments; Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden; three were somewhat competent and had good intentions; Dwight Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The f...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   One of the biggest changes in our nation’s history between the year of my birth, 1946, and today concerns the women of our country. Progress was made until 2022 when a corrupted Supreme Court reversed a decision made by a legitimate Court 49 years in the past removing a woman’s right to make decisions related to her personal physical and mental health. June 24, 2022 was one of the darkest days in America’s history.   Many changes have been made in my 77+ years, but not nearly enough .   Women are no Longer Asking for Equality, They’re Taking It   Equality in America remains virtually unchanged in 2024. Women, minorities, members of the LGBTQ Community, and both legal and illegal immigrants continue to be treated differently than white men. However, women continue to make changes in our society.   Over the last 20 years women have taken a greater interest in our government and its political system. More women are registered to vote ...