Day: December 16, 2017

SoCS — Compare and Contrast

Fandango9 Comments

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For this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, Linda G. Hill wants us to use the word “contrast” in our posts.

I can remember when I was in high school and college receiving writing assignments asking me to “compare and contrast” two or more somethings, like items, opinions, beliefs, or philosophies. My first reaction to such an assignment was typically something like, “Well, which do you want me to do, compare them or contrast them?”

After all, while “compare” and “contrast” are similar in that you’re looking at and evaluating things, they are not synonymous. To contrast something is to look for differences among two or more elements, but to compare something is to do the opposite, to look for similarities.

Let me give you a quick and simple illustration of “compare and contrast” by doing so with dogs and cats.

How dogs and cats compare (or are similar): both are household pets that are furry.

How dogs and cats contrast (or are different): A dog looks at you and thinks to himself, “You feed me, you shelter me, you love me. YOU must be God!” A cat looks at you and thinks to himself, “You feed me, you shelter me, you love me. I must be God!”

I hope that helps.

The Silent Majority

Fandango10 Comments

Back in the 1960s — and yes, I was alive back then — the phrase “The Silent Majority” was coined by none other than then-POTUS, Richard M. Nixon. He used it in a speech to express his belief that the great body of Americans supported his policies and that those who demonstrated against the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War amounted to only a noisy minority.

In his speech on November 3, 1969, Nixon said, “And so tonight — to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans — I ask for your support.”

I, of course, was a member of the noisy minority.

In the 60s, there was no such thing as the internet. There was no Twitter, no Facebook, no Fox News. People got their news from newspapers, magazines, and local and national news broadcasts on TV and radio, and not from myriad talking heads on 24×7 cable news channels or from the news feed on their smartphones.

Today, for better or worse, there’s no such thing anymore as a silent majority. Majority or minority, everyone is noisy.

There’s only real news and fake news. Real news is news you agree with. Anything else is fake news. Facts and truth don’t seem to matter in an age where the leader of the free world constantly lies to the public.

Everything and everyone is partisan these days and most are not shy about expressing their opinions, especially when it can be so easily done behind the anonymity of the internet, where people somehow feel free to say things they would be reluctant to say in face-to-face conversations.

Donald Trump was not elected by a majority of Americans. He doesn’t represent the views, interests, or needs of the majority of Americans.

The actions of the Republicans in Congress also do not represent the wishes and hopes of the majority of Americans. They are puppets of the rich donors. Most polls say that around 70% of Americans are opposed to the tax bill the Republicans will likely pass next week and send over to the President to be signed into law. But large corporations and the ultra rich GOP donors are salivating.

Most Americans believe that Trump has been complicit with the Russians during last year’s campaign…and still is. Most Americans believe that Trump is guilty of obstructing the investigation into Russia’s role in the elections and his participation.

The real American majority is becoming more and more vocal. There will be a reckoning coming in 2018, where the vocal, noisy majority of Americans who oppose Trump will be heard and will drown out the minority who somehow still support their con man-in-chief.

I just hope that there will be no bloodshed when that reckoning happens.

This rant was written for today’s one-word prompt, “silent.”

Milestone

Fandango18 Comments

This post is my 500th since I started this blog seven months ago. Yes, that’s right, 500 posts!

My first post, published on May 14th, was titled “Practical Pragmatist,” and it explained what a practical and pragmatic individual I am. That post got one view and one like.

Three days later I published my second post, “Can American Democracy Survive Donald Trump?” Guess what that post was about. It got two views and one like.

Most of my posts in May and June were about politics, life, society, and philosophy. It wasn’t until late June that I started responding to prompts and writing flash fiction. Now my blog is predominantly flash fiction, which I write mostly in response to prompts. Sure, I periodically throw in posts with political themes as well as occasional posts with simple, casual, and/or humorous observations.

I’ve gravitated toward flash fiction on my blog because it offers a reprieve from the harsh reality of Donald Trump. I hate what has happened to my country over the past year and if I allow myself to focus on it, it’s just downright depressing.

Seeing an image and letting my imagination conjure up a tale can be cathartic. Using a word or a phrase as the trigger for a short story serves as an escape from the insanity that surrounds us these days.

Overall, I’m happy with my blog. My 500 posts have had more than 16,000 views by almost 5,700 visitors. My posts have generated close to 6,400 likes and nearly 5,000 comments. I have over 300 followers (although I rarely hear from more than a dozen or two who comment regularly on my posts).

So I think I’ll keep it up and continue posting as 2017 comes to an close and we start a brand new — and hopefully a better — year in a few weeks.

For those of you who read my posts, thank you for your time, your comments, and your encouragement. It means a lot to me.

And I do wish everyone in this community happy holidays for whatever it is that you celebrate around this time of the year. And, of course, a very happy new year.

Next milestone: 1,000 posts.