New Beginnings: Treat Others as they Treat you

A good read from the December 28, 2008 blog entry of "shaz" of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (click on its title to read the entire entry):

New Beginnings: Treat Others as they Treat you: And never forget the lesson. Life is confusing enough. I no longer believe that it is about being good to everyone, being kind to everyone...

Divisive Discourse Must End.

Through the past decade, I have used social media to proselytize my thoughts on discourse among people with differing viewpoints and proffering my perspective of bringing people together in peace and harmony. In doing so, I also maintained an electronic file containing some of my comments as quotations (some with dates, some without dates) which I place below as a compilation serving as my commentary for this entry of Roland Hansen Commentary.

"I find it somewhat disconcerting that some people totally lack civility in their political discourse with others when there is a difference of political opinion. Sad. Why cannot people be respectful of one another in expressing opposing views? Why do some folks find it necessary to personally attack the messenger (the individual person with whom they have a difference of opinion) becoming verbally abusive in a bullying manner rather than providing an intelligent point-counterpoint dialog based on facts as opposed to hearsay." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, November 1, 2012.

"I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and that each person should be able to feel free to express his/her own opinion without fear of retaliation, reprisal, or retribution. Disagreements happen; that is part of life. In my humble opinion, friends do not have to share the same opinion in order to remain friends. The key to me is expressing differences in opinions and perspectives in a polite, courteous, intelligent, and respectful manner, and to allow true communication to take place. Communication is a two-way process. It takes all parties involved to be willing receive the message being sent as well as sending one's own message in order to be effective. I love to learn whether it be from sitting in a lecture hall, from reading, from watching a documentary, or from a good honest debate such as can be had from a respectful, intelligent verbal or written exchange of differing opinions and perspectives." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, December 3, 2013.

"The name-calling needs to stop. The personal attacks and belittling of individuals based solely on different political perspective needs to stop. All Americans need to pull together. Divisiveness will not accomplish anything positive. It is time for what I call some real D.I.R.T., i.e. Democrats, Independents, (and) Republicans (working) Together. If we, the American people, set aside the distrust, if we set aside the hostility, if we set aside the verbal tirades, if we set aside the casting of stones, if we set aside pointing out blame, if we set aside pettiness, we just might be able to work together for the mutual benefit of all Americans." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

"I am constantly amazed at the amount of negativism spewed by so many people!!! You know to whom I refer; I refer to the folks who bash others, who promote prejudice and hatred and xenophobia, who accentuate what they dislike but never propose an alternative, who dispute opinions put forth by others that are based on facts and doing that soley based on their own biased opinions rather than citing factual information that support their position, etc., etc, etc." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, June 18, 2015. (The following meme was attached with original comment.)

"Keep your thoughts on a positive path. Negative thoughts create negative energy which creates negative results. Positive thoughts create positive energy which creates positive results." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

"May the future bring everyone everywhere together as one people united in love, understanding, mutual respect, harmony, and honesty of purpose." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

A Guest Commentary: MAGA Culture Bullying Health Conscious Americans

I am placing below a copy and paste of a posting made on Facebook by an attorney/professor/author friend of mine. His comments reflect my own thinking on this topic.

Apparently the mask wars have begun in MAGA world.  No one really knows how your body is going to react to this novel virus, nor how the family, friends, and neighbors you spread it to will react. We do, however, know that over 100,000 Americans have died so far, and for those who survive it's a tough ride and there can be long-term damage to the body. It's foolish to take unnecessary chances given that reality. Nonetheless, what we are seeing on the street is MAGA inspired passive-aggressive a-hole behavior aimed at people responsibly wearing masks to protect everyone's safety. Mask-less people are refusing to keep safe distance and bullying people into moving away. From the President (who models bullying people wearing masks) to their talk radio heroes and social media peers, the MAGA cult members are being encouraged to bully and harass non-cult members, and they can spot the non-cult members because they are the ones wearing the masks. Common sense public health safeguards have become just another weapon in their petty culture wars.  Our President is dividing and endangering the nation.

The Dawning of The Age of Coronavirus: Maak It or Casket

Remember the phrase "Click it or Ticket" and the laws that have been adapted requiring seat belt use while riding in automobiles and trucks?

Opponents have hated seatbelts and the laws requiring them; but, seatbelts have saved lives.

Nowadays, with the onslaught and the worldwide spread of coronavirus, there have been public and private calls for social distancing and the wearing of facial masks when out in public among other people.

Opponents of these health safety precautions hate these infringements on their individual freedom and have selfishly and uncaringly refused to comply with social distancing and wearing masks in public.

Perhaps the phrase "Mask it or Casket" and laws requiring the use of masks while among other people in public should be adapted for the same reason as in the case of seatbelts, i.e. saving lives.

Twitler Trump Belongs In A Dump.

I have found a meme that describes my thoughts about Twitler Donald J. Trump.

Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid?

The following is a copy and paste of what I read on someone's social media page:

In a nutshell from a friend.

“An anguished question from a Trump supporter: ‘Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid?’

“The serious answer: Here’s what we really think about Trump supporters - the rich, the poor, the malignant and the innocently well-meaning, the ones who think and the ones who don't...

“That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought "Fine."

“That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, you said, "Okay."

“That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, "No problem."

“That when he made up stories about seeing muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, "Not an issue."

“That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn't care, you chirped, "He sure knows me."

“That when you heard him illustrate his own character by telling that cute story about the elderly guest bleeding on the floor at his country club, the story about how he turned his back and how it was all an imposition on him, you said, "That's cool!"

“That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw.

“That when you heard him brag that he doesn't read books, you said, "Well, who has time?"

“That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn't commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, "That makes sense."

“That when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, "Yes!"

“That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man's coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, "What a great guy!"

“That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, "Thumbs up!"

“That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, "That's the way I want my President to be."

“That you have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they're supposed to be regulating and you have said, "What a genius!"

“That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, "That's smart!"

“That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was the middle of water and you have said, "That makes sense."

“That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, "falling in love" with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, "That's statesmanship!"

“That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids. has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas - he explains that they’re just “animals” - and you say, “well, ok then.”

“That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise.

“Since you rarely give us an answer to why you can accept the behaviors listed, Trump supporters in 2019, we succumb to frustration and think of you as stupid, which may be INACCURATE and is probably UNHELPFUL, but it's also...hear me...charitable.

“Because if you're NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations for your ability to admire this man, and most of them are far worse than stupidity."

Americans who voted Trump in 2016

SOME FACTS FOR PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THAT THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS VOTED FOR  DONALD J. TRUMP IN 2016:

> Number of Americans: 327,200,000.

> Number of Americans who are eligible to vote: 250,000,000.

> Number of Americans who voted in 2016: 142,300,000.

> Number of Americans who voted for Trump in 2016: 65,600,000.

*** Percentage of Americans who voted for Trump: 20%.


Trump supporters choose to ignore these facts.

Fascism, A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing.

FascismFascism is a political ideology that seeks to organize the government and economy under one centralized authority, with strict social controls and suppression of all opposition. It advocates a single-party rule, and rejects the autonomy of any ethnic group that it does not consider to be part of the nation. Typically, this ideology supports policies of nationalism and racism and solidifies power through terror and censorship. After World War I, fascist governments rose in Italy, Germany, and Spain. Their leaders (Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco, respectively) promoted the notion that national unity, military might, and the willingness to employ violence were necessary to rescue their nations from political and economic chaos.

ref: Chegg / study / social sciences / political science / political science definitions / fascism

A wolf in sheep's clothing. A dangerous person who is pretending to be harmless; an enemy who is disguised as a friend. This idiom is a warning that you cannot necessarily trust someone simply because they appear to be kind and friendly.

ref: Bloomsbury International / Student eZone / Idiom of the Week / List of Idioms / A wolf in sheep’s clothing

Back on Friday, October 2, 2015, I posted the Roland Hansen Commentary Donald Trump. Adolf Hitler. Similar Style of Political Speech.

And more recently, on Thursday, May 16, 2019, I posted the Roland Hansen Commentary Fascism in the U.S.A.

Earlier this morning, Friday, May 31, 2019, I saw the following meme that was shared on the Facebook wall of Seth Gardner of Dalry, North Ayrshire, Scotland, who is a friend of my eldest son, Adam Hansen.
I found its message to be informative; and therefore, I am sharing it here on the Roland Hansen Commentary Fascism, A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing.

Head over thisaway for all Roland Hansen Commentaries referencing Trump.

Trumpland: The Country of Hatred.

I just found an interesting meme that I wish to share. It concerns the fear, the hate, the xenophobia, and the intolerance that is often propagated by Donald John Trump and his ardent supporters.

Fascism in the U.S.A.

As a Federal Republic, the United States of America was founded as a Representative Democracy.

The Statue of Liberty has historically been a symbol of Liberty And Freedom For All. 

However, with the ever-increasing trend of political conservatism in the United States, there has been: a rise of religious intolerance toward Islam and the imposition of the value system espoused by Conservative Christianity onto all Americans; surges of anti-Semitism sentiment and of anti-immigrant sentiment along with calls for the closing of the southern American border; a movement that stresses isolationism from the rest of the world while concurrently turning away from traditional European and South Pacific allies and moving toward political friendships with Russia, China, and North Korea; the institutionalization of a plutocracy in the Executive branch of American government as a result of the 2016 Presidential election; and with the mocking actions and words spewing intolerance, hatred, and violence by the current CEO of America's national government and his entrenched supporters, it seems as though Freedom is reserved only for selected people in the United States of America.

It is my opinion that the United States of America of today is turning away from representative democracy and is leaning more and more toward Fascism.

"Fascism is a form of radical, right-wing, authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy, which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe."

- from the Wikipedia article Fascism