I used to believe that the root cause of all problems in the world stemmed from government not having enough money.

I used to believe that if I and all the other high earners just paid more in taxes – what I thought was our fair share, even though I already paid 50% of my earnings to government – the circumstances of our world would improve because government would have the funding it needed to put everything right.

I used to believe the only thing wrong in the world was George W. Bush and if we just got rid of him and elected a nice and decent person – a democrat – everything would change for the better.

I used to believe democrats were the good, kind, caring politicians and the virtuous members of society.

I used to believe republicans and conservatives were coldhearted, big corporation-backing, corrupt politicians and ignorant people.

I used to believe the two major American political parties stood for and pursued vastly different policies in service to what is best for the American people.

I used to believe newspapers, radio and TV news stations existed to report, in an unbiased fashion, the most important news of the day. 

I used to believe modern medicine was about human health.

I used to believe science was about truth and that the broad collection of medical/scientific associations, journals, and professionals pursued truth above all else for the benefit of humanity – not profit.

I used to believe vaccines were not only safe and effective but the greatest invention of mankind.

I used to believe that New York city, the Netherlands, and many island nations would be underwater by 2013 due to global warming.

I used to believe that government told the truth about global warming, climate change, vaccines, modern medicine, cancer treatments, pesticides, GMOs, wireless technology, EMFs, fluoride, autism, etc. and that government institutions were THE unalloyed source of trustworthy information.

I used to believe homeopathy, herbs, chiropractic, acupuncture, essential oils, midwifery, and other ancient healing modalities were unscientific quackery.

I used to believe the law was the law and did not depend on who occupied the White House or held the majority in Congress.

I used to believe judges were impartial, nonpartisan, wise researchers and interpreters of the law endeavoring to apply it in order to resolve disputes.

I used to believe judges were committed to the ideals which underpin our nation. I used to believe they were focused on defending the Constitution.

I used to believe strict gun laws would keep us safe and that guns are for criminals.

I used to believe in open borders because I didn’t think it was fair that I lived in a rich country while others, merely by virtue of their place of birth, were consigned to a life of deprivation.

I used to believe Americans all cherished the basic American ideals of free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, bodily autonomy and self-determination -basic freedoms – that underpin the fabric of our society.

I used to believe America was a force for good in the global arena and only intervened when exigencies demanded in order to aid countries and people in need.

I used to believe government was good.

I used to believe so many things, but thankfully I’m no longer so naïve.

Taxes

At some point I woke up or maybe grew up or perhaps got educated and realized that our problems are not fiscal, there is no amount of money that will satisfy government, and government is not the best vehicle to direct the flow of our resources, except in very limited circumstances and for very limited purposes.

To wit, the federal government gave tens of billions to the COVID-19 vaccine manufactures allegedly to address the crisis but the upshot was that government, media, and those vaccine makers colluded to rush a product to market, destroy the clinical trial data by unblinding the trials mere months into the trial, censor and denounce anyone who sounded the alarm or suggested a different approach, suppress therapeutic treatments, and reap extraordinary levels of profit. The federal government oversaw and directed the transfer of immense wealth to these corporations, while their putative life-saving injections likely resulted in hundreds of thousands of excess deaths and multiples more disabilities.

This government sponsored boondoggle not only gifted billions to private industry, it enabled the vaccine makers to profit without liability and profit they did.

Such an exercise is not about serving the public but lining the pockets of cronies.

I never considered that government, like any household, must live within its means or that by spending beyond our budget, government risked the wellbeing of everyone, as is the case today.

I didn’t understand that every dollar the government takes from us in taxes is a dollar out of the local economy which reduces the prospects for all.

Parties

When it came to politics, I used to quip that I was the only socialist on Wall Street and felt I was virtuous for paying a large amount in taxes. I thought I cared more about the poor, the underprivileged, minorities, immigrants and those from other countries than those mean and stingy conservatives.

I didn’t realize that conservatives and people of faith donate more time and money to help those in need than progressives.

If Democrats are good and Republicans are bad, how can this be?

Nor did I consider that private organizations, churches, and charities might be a better method of providing aid to the needy than the public sector.

But if the political parties truly represent vastly divergent agendas and the majority in Congress and occupant of the White House really matter, why have presidents of both parties in recent decades pursued virtually identical policies of globalism, corporatism, and war?

Bush dropped 70,000 bombs in 8 years, Obama dropped 100,000 in 8 years, and Trump dropped 72,000 in a mere 3 years – all on foreign countries largely populated by people of color.  Is this the change Obama spoke of?

Bush junior was roundly condemned as an isolationist with scant knowledge of international affairs. He proceeded to start war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was touted as a fiscal conservative committed to serving the Constitution but he ballooned the budget while bailing out those too big to fail and signed the anti-American Patriot Act and PREP Act condemning Americans to glaringly unconstitutional surveillance, violations of our basic rights, and gifting liability-free profits to corporate pals.

For his part, Obama promised openness but rarely met with the media. He promised change and transparency but was acknowledged as the most secretive president in US history.  He signed more Executive Orders and Executive Memoranda than any president in nearly 70 years.

While campaigning for President, he vowed to close Guantanamo Bay, exit Iraq and Afghanistan, and recognize the Armenian Genocide but did none of these things once in the Oval Office.

He repealed the 20-year moratorium on offshore drilling and the media barely noticed – an act that would have been unthinkable when Bush was in the White House.

He signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2011 removing the writ of habeas corpus and the right to a lawyer – at the mere command of the President.

While Democrats continually pay lip service to helping the indigent, those groups have only fallen further behind since welfare was implemented decades ago and have fared even worse more recently as Dems pushed lockdowns and school closures.

While many conservatives applaud Trump for withdrawing from the WHO and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he negotiated a new agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which by many measures is worse than the TPP.

And, I can’t discuss Trump without mentioning it was he who placed the military in charge of Operation Warp Speed – rushing a COVID vaccine through approval which by many measures is an unmitigated disaster, yet he still lauds his accomplishment.

Can you imagine the outrage amongst Trumpers had Obama enlisted the military to conduct an initiative like Operation Warp Speed?

From where I sit it’s pretty hard to tell these two parties apart despite all the rhetoric and fluff. While we’re listening to them promising the world and pandering to their bases, they’re busy cooking up deals in the back room to further the globalist agenda which in a nutshell means they have more, you have less, and you live in a digital prison.