The cross post rant

 

First, I want to point out that my break from social media is downright awesome (Note: I am still on LinkedIn for industry news, but that vendor/company dating site is getting on my nerves as well).  With that written, I am making one more post as I think this issue requires I at least scream from the rooftops and the only rooftop I have that might reach more than one person is Facebook – unfortunately.  So, I will post this here and my brain-dump blog so that I can feel like I said – something.  I would write the editor of my local paper, but I don't think anyone actually reads the paper anymore and it isn't local.  Hell, I don't think anyone reads anymore. 

 

This will be long and if you are interested in any of the actual research links, I have them.  Please note, when I say research, I mean actual research.  You may, if you are well educated, understand what that means.  Research is not going on the internet to find a YouTube video that you agree with or that supports your point, but rather, finding actual academic papers, original writings, periodical articles, etc.  It requires reading, taking notes, setting aside personal bias, and formulating an opinions on data – not feelings.  It requires seeking out alternative opinion to validate whether you missed something.  Part of this post is about looking for that alternative opinion, but I have to be honest, I have read a lot of alternative opinion, and it has not swayed my observations. 

 

Before I continue, I have to state that I consider myself somewhat intelligent.  I spend a considerable amount of time studying topics of interest (and I mean studying) such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and all things technical.  It is the field that has contributed to a modicum of success for me and I truly enjoy learning new things and my mind is a continuously curious place.  I also have a pretty good rudimentary knowledge of how data communications work 😉 

 

So, with all that said, I also have a natural curiosity about history and what I like to refer to as the human condition.  By human condition, I mean the fact that with all the knowledge and capability we have, we can't get out of our own way and be successful and peaceful together.  We continue to think that in order to have success, someone has to lose.  Beyond that, greed and the lust for power seems to overshadow all that we achieve as humans.  Due to this, every step forward tends to result in a several steps back.  I also think that many would assume that my desire for peace and avoidance of violence is due to weakness – this assumption that those that are meek are weak, is a huge mistake.  

 

I was listening to a history podcast a while back and there was some discussion of Nuremburg Laws from Germany in 1935 and how they were influenced by the US approach to native Americans and black Americans (honestly, any persons of color).  Before you get all angry about this statement, ignoring the US's treatment of minorities throughout history does us no good moving forward.   

 

You may be asking why I am bringing up the Nuremburg Laws and Nazi Germany and I am not one to throw around Fascism and Nazi comments as I think it belittles the actual learnings from history.  However, I think it is important that we know history and are able to see the signs of evil, and I mean evil, not in the biblical sense, but in the total lack of empathy and willingness to subjugate one group for the sake of power and control (and worse, due to some misguided beliefs of racial or national superiority). 

 

Now, you don't have to believe me, but if you do the research, you will find that the US laws and actions concerning native Americans, black Americans, and immigration helped guide the legal basis for what lead to the Holocaust (read the Nazi Party Meeting Transcript [June 5, 1934] where they started the meeting with a discussion of US segregation laws and which led to the Nuremburg Laws).   

 

Why discuss Nazi Germany and the treatment of Jewish and other minorities in pre-WWII Germany?  It is because I see remnants of this in our own country.  When did we become so complacent with the laws of our country that we are willing to allow rounding up people on our streets without due process and shipping them to a foreign country?   

 

Now, you are going to say, "They are in this country illegally", "They are criminals", "They aren't citizens", any number of items to justify your complacency.  What if I told you that the constitution doesn't delineate in who the laws of our country apply to?  In this country, the constitution and our rule of law is what has kept us from becoming a nation of oligarchs and authoritarians.  In fact, the few articles of the constitution that give only rights to citizens are limited.  Once you are in the country, legally or illegally, you are subject to our laws and the protection thereof.  Yes, this may seem inconvenient, but its purpose was to avert authoritarian rule and maintain a system of laws to protect ALL PEOPLE FROM TYRANNY! 

 

If you don't think that we are on a slippery slope, YOU ARE WRONG and I don't say things like this often. I generally like to debate and I am always open to changing opinion when presented with facts, but we are not at war, we are not being invaded, the enemy that is being put in front of you is nebulous (like my writing) for a reason.  It is nebulous and undefinable so that they can play on your bias and feelings.  It is also this way so that they can use those bias and feelings to manipulate. 

 

If you don't think it is an easy step to move on to your fellow citizens, just recently our president alluded to the fact that "homegrown" individuals could be next.  In fact, he stated that his Attorney General is exploring the legal feasibility of such actions. He acknowledged uncertainty about the legality, saying, "I don't know what the law says on that."   

 

You see, you don't lose YOUR rights in a day, it is a slow eroding where you are ok with it not being you as you feel your safe, or you think that it is just those people you don't like or that the people in power have told you are the enemy, but someday you realize that you are now the enemy or that it has gone too far and before you know it, you are powerless. 

 

When the constitution becomes just a piece of paper to be ignored and the courts no longer control the will of the powerful (this has been a problem for some time now) WE ARE ON THE WRONG PATH, regardless of your political leanings. 

 

I will be honest.  I am not going to read the comments on this post as there is nothing to argue here.  I AM RIGHT AND IF YOU AGREE WITH SENDING PEOPLE FROM AMERICAN SOIL TO A FOREIGN PRISON, YOU ARE WRONG.  If you don't think we are on the wrong path, you need to re-read the constitution (all of it) and you need to retake a civics class. 
 
Also, please don't tell me about crime and immigrants.  All people commit crime, we have police, courts, and prisons for this reason.  Also, American citizens commit violent crime at a per-capita rate much higher rate than immigrants (Yes you will find skewed data – only covering federal crime in a small time period etc, but the actual data tells an entirely different story and again, we have a legal system for crime and punishment as well as a constitution that protects all people on American soil with due process regardless of your feelings on the subject). 

 

In conclusion, I am a bald hippy, I'm a peace/love person who prefers to find commonality with my fellow humans.  You will never convince me that anger, hate, and division make for a good society.  Oh, and I could write a book on this, I have that much data if you want me to share it with you.