Inalienable Rights

The other day, someone tagged me in an online video showing a smiling teenager with a MAGA hat and a Native American man. An article on Esquire captioned it, "Teens in MAGA Hats Harrassed a Native American Vietnam Veteran." I didn't bother watching it because it was click bait with the intention to provoke and incite negativity.

Oftentimes we humans make the false assumption that correlation is causation; or that because two things appear similar, they must be related. A common accusation is: "You voted for and support President Trump, and by extension, you're part of the 'problem'." What I want people (especially my friends) to remember is that:

1: I am an American with the constitutional right to vote.

2: It is my prerogative to vote for whomever I choose.

3: No, your choice does not supercede mine.

Almost daily, I read headlines that attempt to link every conceivable societal ill to President Trump. The video of the MAGA teenagers? Oh, that's Trump's fault. Government shutdown? Trump's fault. Global warming? Trump. Cuba missle crisis? Trump. The Great Bubonic Plague of 1347? Trump, Trump, Trump.

Yesterday, the New York Times published an article, "BuzzFeed News Faces Scrutiny After Mueller Denies a Dramatic Trump Report". Essentially BuzzFeed News released information alleging that President Trump had told his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to congress. For the next 24 hours, political pundits and gleeful liberals mused about a real possibility of impeachment. Special counsel, Robert S. Muller III, previously tight-lipped on his investigation, issued a damning denial of BuzzFeed's report. CNN's legal analyst Jeffery Toobin said, "This is a bad day for us. It reinforces every bad stereotype about the news media."

It's apparent that news reports aren't always true, networks aren't doing independent fact-checking, and political bias is a problem at even the most "reputable" organizations.

I'm reminded of a scripture: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" (Matt 7:3)

I bet some people actually believe that had Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton won presidency, we'd all be holding hands, drinking milk and honey, and singing kumbaya. Sorry, but no. America is a relatively very young country, and if we continue to engage in tit-for-tat agression, disrespect our leaders (e.g. #notmypresident), and worst of all, blame others for their politicial choices/affiliations (i.e. participating in democracy), then we won't last very long.

Government should be our guide, not our moral compass. If you ever find yourself taking politics too seriously, then you need a break. #ChillDaBEEPOut #YesISupportOurPresident #InalienableRight #FundamentalRight #ConstitutionalRight #HatersGoAway

E.T. was all about inalienable rights; he kept demanding, "E.T. phone home. E.T. phone home. E.T. phone home."