We have a very huge problem that is perhaps bigger than the current administration. It is bigger than any administration, really. That problem has been amplified with the Bullhorn of a paranoid president. Fear mongering is one heck of a weapon. We all knew this. We also knew that the propaganda machine playing 24/7 is irresponsible but what I learned recently is that it has created an entire voting bloc of paranoia and a form of gas lighting some vulnerable people.
When the Vietnam Veterans returned from that unpopular war, they were very lost for the most part. They were damaged, confused and riddled with all kinds of problems. Most combat vets suffered from PTSD. Many suffered from survival guilt and almost all did not trust their government. It took years and years to get
many veterans into the VA hospitals to obtain treatment but then we had an explosion of Evangelicals such as the Pat Robertsons, Jim Bakers, evolving into the new wave of evangelical pay to pray bunch tap into the political spectrum. We also have a problem with the VA pushing pills rather than treating patients with therapy. We have no solid, effective, affordable mental health treatments in America.
Veterans were suffering from lack of sleep, nightmares, trauma and this is true for many of the Iraq war vets and Afghan soldiers returning as well BUT the right wing conspiracy Clinton spoke of was/is VERY real. Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and Pay to pray via cable was really spewing some lies around and feeding paranoia into the veteran community already suffering from their own demons. The media was totally irresponsible in feeding the veteran community suffering from all sorts of problems exactly the thing they needed to hear to confirm that government was BAD. It preyed on the fears, the insecurities and the damaged veterans not interested or had the ability to seek out some truth on what was really happening and who was to blame for some bad stuff still happening in their lives. Big Corporations and Big Pharma took advantage of the need to basically pill the fears and not treat the mental problems but to drug many veterans into a state of control. This has been my observation. Many were self medicating and others were stockpiling thanks to the NRA, because they were listening to the so called news organizations confirming that there were real death panels...real people in government out to get them.
A huge voting bloc was created to sway people to the right and make corporations bigger, and feed the insecurities of many people who sacrificed for this country afraid of progress and change and truth. Afraid of many things basically caused by the horrors of war and then passed on down to their kids. Propaganda took them backwards to a time before Vietnam. To a time before Iraq and before Afghanistan. This scene is also real for people with issues of other things other than war trauma. Many people are suffering from emotional and mental problems. It all leads back to adequate healthcare and of course when you have that, the right loses control over those suffering.
This is some real unsettling observation I have concluded on just how we got here. We had the right prop up a reality actor with big name recognition come along with money backers thanks to Citizens United and give him a bullhorn to spew the paranoia. We had been warned that the veteran community would be targets of Militia groups but no one knew we would end up with the crazy stuff we are dealing with today and any truth that emerged from well known print media would just be deemed FAKE NEWS….further adding to paranoia. We had people face economic hardships and someone had to be blamed. Blame the black guy and the people who liked his style of governing. The 1 percenters were making a ton of money off of fear and mental issues. The left has had very poor messaging and the right seized the opportunity through the Tea party and activists backed by people like the Mercers, the Koch brothers and now self medicating was an issue through the opiod crisis for regular folks. Many if studied, I would think were avid Right winged listeners. These people are not just veterans but a large chunk do have emotional concerns and are easily swayed.
They believe thanks to the NRA...they are coming for your guns. There are death panels, the left is evil, the homosexuals and Planned parenthood is out to kill a way of life and change your children. Science is going to destroy your values and all kinds of paranoia. There is a war on Christmas. This is about a thimble full of how we got here. There has been an agenda for a long time to hold America’s progress back.
Maybe all of you knew this already but I am finding out how deep it runs. The country is completely divided and we are in a fight for not just democracy but the very survival and soul of our being. All countries have problems. We have more than people actually do realize. We did not take the Tea Party serious enough. President Obama and the democrats were too nice as a party and did not stand up strong enough to fight this thing that has grasped America. While the fear and the propagandists are still going strong and opinions and hatred are mistaken as credible news facts then we will not recover from this thing because better angels and stronger minds cannot prevail in a sewer of lies and hate. We need some strong leadership and a revisit to yelling fire in a theater. If it is not news...it needs to be deemed entertainment with a huge warning. We need some Walter Cronkites back on the air.
We are no longer a nation of fearless refuge. We are a nation of fear with non stop pill pushers on our televisions, radios and social media. We are swimming in doom, gloom and confusion. The moderate republicans are seeing the destruction and they are no longer in legislative power and no one but no one knows how to stop this saga of the Twilight Zone. We better figure it out and there is no time left for head burying or playing nice with those who are marching to the tune of Fascism are relentless . We need better think tanks and planning.