Sometimes it's hard not to be ashamed to be an American and/or a member of the human race

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

-Nelson Mandela

To a degree, fear is understandable. Something terrible happens, and the normal human response is to want to do everything in one’s power to ensure it or something similar isn’t repeated.

That’s an abundance of caution.

When that fear leads to overreaction, hatred, and the marginalization of classes of people who look, live, think, or believe differently from the “norm,” that’s something altogether different and indicative of our collective susceptibility to manipulation, propaganda, and fear-mongering.

That’s xenophobia, racism, and religious bigotry.

Republicans in Congress- and Conservatives nationwide- have decided that playing the fear card is the perfect way to convince the American Sheeple of the righteousness of their cause and consolidate their grip on power. That their self-interested xenophobia has convinced many cowardly Democrats that the way to protect America is by fearing, hating, and excluding The Other should be cause for embarrassment.

The ignorance, reaction, and unbridled hatred, racism, xenophobia, and religious intolerance expressed over the past few days in the wake of the attacks in Paris has left me despairing for the state of humanity. When I look around and listen to the virulent hate speech that seems to be becoming our collective lingua franca, my revulsion becomes difficult to contain. At times like these, we should be standing up in collective defiance to those who would harm us. Instead, we’re cowering in fear and adopting exactly what the Neanderthals responsible for Paris undoubtedly wished to create- fear, anger, mistrust, and the willingness to sacrifice liberty and freedom for security.

It’s time like these when I look around me and find myself ashamed to be a member of the human race, much less an American. We should be better than this. Sadly, it appears we’re not. Not even close.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, those who would sacrifice liberty and freedom for security deserve neither. Nor do those who default to racism, xenophobia, and religious intolerance deserve the benefits of living in a free society…because what they’re clamoring for is anything but free.

At this moment in time, I can say without reservation that I’m ashamed to be a citizen of a country that ignores its strength and heritage and gives in to its darker angels with such ease and facility.

WE DESERVE BETTER.

America Faces Existential Threats, Yet There’s a Good Chance an Idiot Might Become President: And there’s a good chance that idiot will be elected by idiots who find it easier to react to propaganda and manipulation than think critically. Remember George W. Bush? The 2016 Republican Presidential mediocritiescandidates make Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader look like look like a Ph. D. candidate. Welcome to our new idiocracy.

Republican combat vet eviscerates ‘xenophobic’ conservatives: ISIS wins if you block refugees: That the American Sheeple are just stupid and reactionary enough to fall into ISIS/ISIL’s trap and hand the terrorists a convincing victory is proof of just how stupid and manipulable we are.

Rhode Island Republican wants Syrian refugees held in ‘centralized’ camps: ‘Our country is under attack’: Have we learned nothing from our history? Are we to return to the days when we lock up those whose only “crime” is not being White? Or is stupid and racist merely the new patriotism?

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence can’t explain why he rejected Syrian refugee family found to pose no threat: He just knows that advocating hatred and exclusion makes him WAY popular among the Far Right’s base: ignorant, knuckle-dragging Fox News addicts.

Virginia town hall meeting descends into chaos as anti-Muslim bigots scream insults: Better to be thought a fool and a bigot that to display it in front of a bank of TV cameras and remove any lingering doubt.

The Right Responds to Paris With Bible-Thumping, Scientific Illiteracy, Frat Boy Antics: Hey, it beats the Hell out of thinking critically and rationally crafting a reasoned, well-considered response.