Washington Monument

March On Washington #2–1963, And Now 2021: Why Is This Necessary?

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On August 28, 1963, the March On Washington took place in Washington, DC, with the speech of Martin Luther King Jr. being the most memorable speech–“I have a dream” reverberating between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.—an appeal for civil and economic rights, and the end of racism.

At least a quarter of a million people of all backgrounds were there for that memorable event, and it was covered live on television and radio.

In the next two years, we saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other landmark legislation and actions, and we thought the issue was settled.

But now, half a century later, we have a right wing Supreme Court, Republicans in Congress, and many state legislatures negating all of the progress made in the 1960s and after.

So we are in a spiritual crisis where right wing Republican conservatism promoting racism and denial of civil rights has become the norm once again!

Today, there will be marches across the nation, not only in Washington, DC, that will call for the end of the loss of the right to vote, as is occurring in so many southern and western states, and the promotion of the restoration of the progress that was made six decades ago.

This is a struggle for peaceful restoration of basic human and civil rights, and the suppression of the ugliness of bigotry that has once again become endemic!

Domestic Terrorism At Its Peak As Inauguration Of Joe Biden Occurs Eight Days From Today

Ronald 10 Comments

America is living through a literal nightmare, after the right wing Trumpist Fascist attack on the US Capitol Building on January 6!

Nearly a generation after the September 11, 2001 Attacks by Al Qaeda, we now have domestic terrorism at its peak as the inauguration of Joe Biden occurs eight days from today.

There are reported threats not just on Washington, DC, but also on all fifty state capitals in the next week, with plans revealed for a major threat on this coming weekend, and increasing as January 20 comes upon us!

And we have a unhinged, mentally deranged President now facing a second impeachment, which is justified, but will incite ever more reaction by lunatic seditionists and traitors.

That is why this author and blogger advocates that the inaugural ceremonies be held inside a fortified US Capitol building, not outside, as is customary!

In 1985, Ronald Reagan, then the oldest President at an inauguration, now to be surpassed by Joe Biden, had his second inauguration inside the US Capitol due to the coldest Inauguration Day in American history, with the temperature being 7 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are reports that a multitude of right wing, white supremacist, and neo Nazi groups are targeting not just the inauguration but other locations, and already, the Washington Monument has been shut down, and a high unscalable fence has been built around the US Capitol site, and also the Supreme Court across the street.

Washington DC is becoming a place where security and protection is forever changing due to a multitude of plots by extremists even before this disastrous January 6, 2021 event, and this is a sad, depressing time for American democracy!

But our constitutional system of government is worth fighting for, to protect the republic that has survived Civil War, the Great Depression, and two World Wars!

Smithsonian National Museum Of African American History And Culture Opens: A Treasure For The Nation!

Ronald 2 Comments

The day has finally arrived when America can celebrate the history and culture of African Americans, with the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

This event comes at a time of increased racial tensions and open racism in America, despite the election and two term Presidency of the first African American President, Barack Obama.

The museum exposes the true history of slavery, Jim Crow segregation. lynching, the civil rights movement, and the massive contributions of African Americans in all areas of public life over the past 397 years since slavery first came to America at Jamestown, Virginia.

This author thinks back to when he was young, and the discussion of African American history was ignored in high school, and how far we have come in understanding and dealing with the history, all of it both good and much of it evil, which had been covered up for so long.

So despite the problems we face today, this is truly a development to celebrate, and this author looks forward to visiting this new museum next summer, and for many times in the future, as the exhibits will constantly be evolving, as they are at any museum, and particularly one associated with the Smithsonian Museum, our national group of fantastic and tax supported museums that are a blessing to American culture and history!

Political Correctness Gone Mad: The Attack On Historical Figures’ Monuments And Statues Because Of Their Racism And Bigotry!

Ronald 9 Comments

Face the facts, racism and bigotry is part of human history, whether we like it or not!

Many great leaders in government were racists, bigots, and should be denounced for that part of their historical record!

But to say that Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, and innumerable others who have been important figures in American history should, therefore, be wiped out of history–have all statues removed, all monuments destroyed, all buildings renamed, all streets and schools no longer reflect their historical significance, much of it good,— is CRAZY and distorting history!

We can condemn the fact that many Presidents were slave owners; that Lincoln had a mixed record on racial matters; that Confederate leaders were out to defend slavery; that many 20th century Presidents had a prejudice toward various religious, racial and ethnic groups in American society; and recognize there is much to do to overcome racism and bigotry.

But all of the people mentioned are an important part of history in ways and on issues other than negative ones!  They had positive contributions that affected the long run of history!

So should the effect of Woodrow Wilson on Princeton University be wiped out; and should the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and Washington Monument; and should Stone Mountain in Georgia and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; and endless other monuments and sites named after imperfect people— be destroyed because some people are affronted about our past?

The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT, and instead use the truth of the past as a teaching moment, and strive to make America a better place now and in the future!

What The Virginia-Atlantic Coast Earthquake Reminds Us Of: Emergency Expenditures And Need For Infrastructure Investment, Meaning Higher Taxes!

Ronald 1 Comment

We live in a time when many Americans like to dream that taxes will NEVER go up, and that somehow, we can live within the national budget, even though most Americans are finding if difficult to live within their own family budgets in the present economic crisis.

The Tea Party Movement has co-opted the Republican Party to such an extent that the campaign pitch for the GOP Presidential field and Congressional Republican leaders is that NEVER will they agree to ANY tax increases under any circumstances, a totally insane proposition!

But the events of yesterday, the Virginia-Atlantic Coast earthquake, 5.8 on the Richter scale, the greatest in about a century on the East Coast of the United States, demonstrated that such a proposition will have to be abandoned, whether one likes it or not!

The earthquake affected people from New England down to Atlanta and as far west as Chicago and as far North as Toronto, and it did noticeable damage to the National Cathedral, the Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC.

Obviously, money will have to be spent to fix these sites in the nation’s capital, and anywhere else where there was damage, at public expense!

But also, nuclear power plants along the Atlantic Coast are seen as in great danger, as they are outdated and need to be modernized. Also, the earthquake reminds us of the poor state of much of the entire nation’s infrastructure–harbors, canals, bridges, tunnels, highways, rail lines–much of it built long ago and in desperate need of major repairs, and often new building requirements to deal with natural disasters besides earthquakes, including tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, drought, volcanoes, rock slides, avalanches, and even tsunami threats!

This means we need to spend money on all kinds of public works projects, as we had done in the past, some of it with private investment included, but still with the absolute need for more public spending, which means more taxes, although it also allows for more employment, which could help to revive the American economy while dealing with real emergency situations!

Now the growing threat of Hurricane Irene, which is judged possibly to be the worst hurricane to hit the Northeast in many decades later this week, will add to the emergency spending crisis, and the need for infrastructure investment, but with the realization that MORE public spending will be unavoidable, no matter what the people of this country wish for!