MAGA snowflakes
I read the other day that Donald Trump predicted the Kansas City Chiefs would defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Too bad for the Donald, because the Eagles won the game in a dominating fashion.
Now I suppose we’re all going to have to listen to Trump and the MAGA snowflakes whine about how the Eagles stole the game.
Kevin Devereaux
Kamiah
They’re not patriots
Imagine a society where the wealthiest few don’t just influence laws, they write them. Where the wealthiest don’t just benefit from policies, they create them. Where state power isn’t just swayed by wealth, it’s wielded by it. Sound familiar?
Well over 2,000 years ago Aristotle identified a system of government he called oligarchy as rule by the wealthy few. He warned of oligarchy’s resulting tyranny, demagoguery, and plutocracy as anti-democratic and anti-republic. Anti-democratic-republic. Anti-USA.
As I watch the U.S. give up her voters’ interests to the whims of the wealthy, it feels like a hostile corporate takeover. A giant capital venture with our taxpayers’ capital.
Oligarchs maneuvering for control and tax evasion are not patriots. They’re parasites. Taxes pay for national security and sustenance, so we don’t become a sitting-duck nation of unhealthy idiots. Tax the rich traitors. Prosecute them for tax evasion.
I imagine Aristotle today would have this to say: Silly MAGA, to a billionaire oligarch, everyone who must work for a living is a diversity, equity and inclusion hire. He’d see how voters got played and exploited because that’s what billionaire oligarchs do.
My dad’s advice to avoid being conned was, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Propaganda is also identifiable for those who don’t want to get fooled. In addition to bandwagon hype, propagandists use scare tactics and scapegoats to elevate paranoia and cloud judgment.
For oligarchs, division works. Keep people squabbling amongst themselves. After all, what’s feudalism without petty feuds?
Janet Marugg
Clarkston
A spending freeze
A one-day economic boycott or spending freeze on Friday is being called for by a group called The People’s Union USA. The 24-hour stop on buying anything that isn’t an emergency is intended to demonstrate the power of consumers — regular citizens.
The government’s ban on diversity programs and the blind adherence by major companies such as Amazon apparently triggered the movement. But the overall impact of not buying gas and groceries or shopping online would make apparent that each of us can influence what is being done to this country by everyone from the president down.
I encourage people to check this out online and buy your essentials before or after Friday. Let’s — for one 24-hour period — put our credit cards and checkbooks aside and maybe make it a family evening at home. It won’t have a major effect on any company’s bottom line, but it will show we still have the power to make changes if we care enough.
Sandra L. Lee
Lewiston
