Why I Dislike Politicians...Especially Career Politicians

I recently read some excerpts from Mary Trump's book, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man". I'm waiting for my copy as I write this. From what I read it doesn't paint a pretty picture of Mr Trump.

Mr Trump's family drama aside, it exposes an alarming trend in what is and isn't culturally acceptable. What will we tolerate? What is acceptable truth? Does that all depend on our source of information? Are we being brainwashed, lulled into complacency by sharply contrasting opinion of the same news stories?

Is this the new and improved propaganda machine?  A confusion generator by design. Just talking heads with talking points and no real substance. In it we hear opinion as if it were truth, casting away any chance of hearing differing opinions.

Apparently, what this last few years have shown is that fundamental Christians can tolerate a hell of a lot more than previously thought.

In my opinion that makes them hypocrites. That's fine with me. After years entrenched in the charismatic church, that hydra reared its ugly head on more than one occasion. In short...it was expected. It just needed the right conditions to flourish.

The church tolerates a lot. We all do to a point. That we currently have two candidates with sexual assault charges against them proves that.

It seems greed moved the line of common decency back past debauchery, and mayhem...straight to pedophilia, and sexual assault.

And it seems ok to us as a whole. Let that sink in. We're collectively ok with that.

With any broad generalization I throw out there, I feel the need to clarify that I know it's not really all of us. I know there are individuals on the front lines, doing the work, rescuing slaves. Yes, slaves. There are people exposing pedophiles by posing as young children online to catch them before they can ruin another child's life. It is sad it is needed, but I am grateful to those doing the right thing.

As with anything that I have been writing lately, this is really personal for me. What follows may trigger some of you. It involves sexual assault. I feel its important enough to share, in not so graphic detail, the emotional toll brought on by someone's selfish perversions.

When I was fifteen years old I was drugged, and raped by two older men that I thought of as friends.

It took me almost forty years to say that out loud. It also devastated my life.

Some of you know that I live with mental Illness. I live with constant noise, occasional visits from my shadow buddy, and two voices (one of which used to be god) that have reminded me on and off for years about the details and fault of my assault. They tell me it was my fault. They had me convinced the only option was suicide. I am glad to say that through a series of events from people I didn't realize cared about me...a lot, I went to the hospital and confronted my demons.

Nowadays I fight them back. I have a tattoo on my right wrist. Its a semicolon with the words, "I'm still here fuckers" I got it the day after I was discharged from the hospital. It has served as a reminder that I am a fighter.

It is also a declaration to my rapists. You didn't kill me. I'm still here fuckers!

So, back to my lament.

And we are ok with candidates, those in office, those in leadership, with history of sexual misconduct.

I did a quick Google search the other day. It was, politicians with sexual misconduct charges. I've provided a link at the end of this. The list will blow your mind. Some are extramarital affairs, some are straight up disgusting.

From that list it would appear that any kind of deviant behavior is an accepted practice among those in office. Almost like its collateral damage for the privilage of sharing their profound political genius.

I don't believe they are totally to blame. I believe that power has corrupted our politicians, regardless of sexual crimes. All politicians are hiding something. I also believe that the same power allows for more corruption to accumulate.

Like I said, this is personal for me. Sexual predators should not be leading our country. They should be in jail. But, because of that power they are allowed a pass? Is that the message we are sending when we go to the polls?

Its time we take control of this country. Our country. I'm still a fighter. I am a voice of frustration. Frustrated with the direction a few have taken this country. Frustrated with few choices for leadership. Frustrated with politicians more worried about polls and towing the party line I stead of fixing all of this shit mess they created. They're like little kids who threw all the toys out from the toy box and are refusing to clean up. If I had my way, you all would be spanked.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_sex_scandals_in_the_United_State

s

I'm Back...

Ok, I have come back to this blog. I've had this blog, in one form or another, since the early 2000's. I leave it from time to time, but like an old friend, our relationship picks up where it let off. Its comforting. 

Since my last post so many years ago, I have had a lot happen. One significant thing that has happened centers around my mental illness. I'll save you the details for now. Cliff Notes, my mental illness got worse, which I expected, and I'm now living off grid, squatting in Slab City. 

I love it here. Its currently hot as hell, and it feels like preparation for eternity if I let my thoughts go that way. The heat doesn't bother me. I have my friends, dogs, shelter, lots of food, and most importantly, peace. I also have lots of time now to write. I had a huge breakthrough in my treatment recently that opened up my concentration. I thought I had lost the ability to hyperfocus on something like art, writing, watching a TV show, reading...oh my god, reading! 

I thought I lost that. 

I am usually into two or three books in a week. I like to have a novel in there for entertainment. Mostly though, I've been refreshing myself with prerevolutionary American papers, essays, declarations. 

So I dust this blog off once again. This time its going to be whatever comes to mind. I'm just some mental living in the desert with a lot of time and a lot of thinking. 

Its either this or drinking myself to death. Naw, fuck that. Oh yeah, I'm still pretty salty with the language. I would apologize, but why would I apologize for a set of words that give no doubt to the writers intention. They add emphasis in ways that only those special literary gems can. The perfect sentence enhancer. Fuck yeah, now that's the shit. 

Ok, I have shit to think about. Check back often, or not at all. FREEDOM! 

I am on a break..

 If you haven't noticed yet, I have taken a bit of a break from this blog. I have been focusing my efforts over at Strike Magazine, Facebook and submitting the occasional poem here and there. I will be back in due time. Until then, check out Strike Magazine...



© Charles Scott 2014

First Article at Strike Magazine

Recent piece at Strike Magazine... Check it out here.





© Charles Scott 2014

Screaming Sundays: Good Writing is at Your Fingertips

Screaming Sundays at Screaming With Brevity.

Good Writing is at Your Fingertips

Thank you to Matthew J. Hall for asking me to contribute.

Screaming Sundays: The Apathy of Our Species

 SCREAMING SUNDAYS

Fear..Healthy Fear..Common Sense

 

As a writer I am forced to research certain topics in order to have some sort of subject knowledge. I must admit that I really like that aspect of writing. It enables me to learn something new, find obscure facts that help me win a game of Trivial Pursuit, and gives me the ability to correct people when they are talking out their asses. Okay, that last part never happens. I am usually the one talking out my ass.

There is a damn good reason I stumbled upon the topic of phobias.

The actual bunny trail started on a holiday outing with the family and friends. There we were, enjoying each others company, conversation and food. These events, more often than not, involve each family bringing some sort of food contribution. Everybody loads up their plates and feasts like its the last meal any of us will ever eat. (Merica!) Afterwards, we sit around, watch the kids do what kids do, talk, drink and mosey back to the table to pick at food.

I was sitting at the table, minding my own business, munching on a bag of chips. I was content. Out of nowhere one of the rugrats sat down next to me, grabbed the bag of chips and started eating. The problem is the little fellas process in eating those chips.

Hand in bag.

Chips to mouth.

Lick the flavor off his fingers.

Hand back in bag.

He must have decided that he had his fill and handed the bag back to me, taking off to the playground of dismemberment and death.

I threw up a little in my mouth at the thought of what kind of nasty microbe was lurking in that bag. I sat it down. No sooner had I sat it down another kid grabbed it and proceeded to do the same thing. I found out days later that all of the kids there that day had gotten sick. All of them except that little Typhoid Kevin who was the first to grab that bag of chips from me.

As I recalled that fateful day I found myself wondering if I was being unreasonable. Was my concern a healthy one, or did I have a phobia...Off to the internet for free medical diagnosis I went.

Here is an interesting fact. There are a lot of phobias!

Here is another fact. Some of the names associated with some of these phobias will throw you off, and others are spot on.

An example of this would be spermophobia. At first glance, one would think that it is a fear of sperm. But no, it's not that simple. It means a fear of germs.

How about bathophobia? Fear of baths it is not. It is the fear of depth.

What the hell?

Some are down right funny and I cannot believe they are actual fears.

Macrophobia: The fear of long waits. (I suffer from this to the point of anger.)

Politicophobia: The fear of politicians.

Pogonophobia: The fear of beards. (I am slightly pogonophobic in that I only fear beards worn by hipsters.)

Hierophobia. The fear of priests. (I am not too sure if this is an unhealthy fear)

Dikephobia: The fear of justice. (Okay, that made me snicker.)

Coprophobia: The fear of feces. (I think this applies to most of us)

After reading the list of phobias, I am compelled to add one more to that list.

Boogerdigitsinmychipbagphobia: the fear of kids reaching into a bag of chips.

© Charles Scott 2014

 Screaming Sundays Coming July 6th at Screaming With Brevity.

This is My Last Political Commentary Poem (or so it seems)

To all who are concerned, those reading this, and anyone half interested:

This is my last political commentary poem.
You see, I feel I have exhausted this topic
and am growing bored with it all.
Maybe I will write a sonnet, an ode
or a beautiful poem to some backwoods retreat.
Maybe I will explore more free verse
that tells the stories of people encountered...

a voice for the voiceless.

Of course, I reserve the right to rescind this declaration
in the event another Bush is elected
to the White House, or the population
of the Rotund Rascal Riders reaches 30 percent.

If at any time the Tea Party is actually taken seriously
I will have to take up my pen.
This is a moral obligation
that negates anything else I may have said
or written.

(When the snake of stupidity rears its doltish head, one must cut said head off to save oneself from madness.)

Viva la Revolution!

So, until then I leave with this:

Our freedom is a facade
covering corruption.

True freedom is within our minds.
True freedom lies within you.

When all else fails,
fight!

Fascism is alive and well
fighting the war on
terrorism.

Slavery is present
in the quest for everyday
low prices.

Racism survived the
holocaust of
equal opportunity.


© Charles Scott 2014

Thinking About Life Choices That Didn't Revolve Around Me

 

To be a true PUNK

is to be what

your parents

were not.

To cast aside

your desires,

aspirations,

fucking dreams,

for those

you brought into

this world.

Never trust a hippie.

They will always

follow

their

libido.

Real PUNKS

are what

their parents

never

were.

PARENTS!

© Charles Scott 2014