Captain America and the Redemption of the America Dream

Four years ago I wrote a piece titled, “Captain America and the Defense of the American Dream.”  I posted it on Inauguration Day and it considered how we, as a nation, should respond to Trump’s election, using Captain America as the frame for analysis.  It examined Captain America as a character, his history, and what lessons he could offer when the world we thought we knew was turned so completely upside down.  Now, four years later, Joe Biden is about to be sworn in as the 46^th President of the United States alongside Kamala Harris – the first woman, first Woman of Color, first Indian America, and the first Asian American to hold the office of Vice President.  I find myself looking to Captain America once again, to the brilliant narrative Ta-Nehisi Coates’ has been telling in Captain America since July 2018, as I try to process the last four years and consider my roll in the future.

New American Resistance – Net Neutrality

Okay, I’ll keep this short.  I don’t want you to read; I want you to act.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to end net neutrality in the coming weeks.  With Ajit Pai at the helm, the anti-neutrality votes have a 3-2 edge.  If you are reading this and you are American this will directly affect you.  It will affect you in an even more personal way if you’re a blogger.  If this passes we will all be paying for the internet and the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will bundle websites as cable companies bundle channels.  We have roughly three weeks to stop this.

WE NEED TO CALL AND KEEP CALLING!  Here’s a link to Battle for the Net which will give you all the links you need to call those you should to speak out against this.  And here’s a link to 5 Calls.org (care of The Imperial Talker) that helps you see who specifically to call on a variety of issues, including net neutrality.  Call and let those you speak to know you support net neutrality and are opposed to ending it.

New American Resistance – 20 November

Alright, it’s been a little while since I wrote a new entry for this series.  However, life certainly hasn’t been quiet.  We’ve got a needless tax cut for the über wealthy to discuss as well as an epistemological crisis in this country, the state of our checks and balances, Russian collusion, and more.  So let’s get to it!  As usual, this series aims to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice.  We must be aware.  We must be vocal.  We must be active.  We must be loving.  This is how we will triumph and how we will transform our lives, our nation, and our world.

New American Resistance – 7 August

 

It was Barack Obama’s birthday on 4 August!  To celebrate, I have a couple clips here to remind us of what a classy, intelligent leader he was.  They also bring some humor too.  However, there’s also important news we need to try and process so we can’t get lost in nostalgia.  Let’s get to it!  As usual, this series aims to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice.  We must be aware.  We must be vocal.  We must be active.  We must be loving.  This is how we will triumph and how we will transform our lives, our nation, and our world.

New American Resistance – 31 July

Okay, this post won’t be as lengthy as usual.  To be honest, I’m still a little emotionally exhausted from all the late nights with the health care vote last week.  But I didn’t want the series to drop off just because I was a little tired so here we go.  As usual, this series aims to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice.  We must be aware.  We must be vocal.  We must be active.  We must be loving.  This is how we will triumph and how we will transform our lives, our nation, and our world.

New American Resistance – To Russia, With Love

I know I posted the usual weekly New American Resistance yesterday.  I thought I was done until next week…annnnnnd then the Washington Post broke the story that Trump shared “highly classified information” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak when they visited the White House last Wednesday.  Both current and former U.S. officials have said the “disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.”  So, post yesterday or not, this merits some reflection…

New American Resistance – 15 May

This series aims to a) help us stay informed on the events unfolding in America and b) urge readers to add their voice to the chorus calling out for justice.  We must be aware.  We must be vocal.  We must be active.  We must be loving.  This is how we will triumph and how we will transform our lives, our nation, and our world.  But I’ve been struggling…especially since the House GOP voted for the AHCA.  My struggle crystallized as Kalie and I were driving home from the movies Friday night, listening to Billy Joel.  In “Great Wall Of China” (a song he wrote after he found out his longtime manager had embezzled over 90 million dollars from him) he sings, “You only beat me if you get me to hate.”  It’s getting harder and harder to not feel hate towards these power-hungry, wealth-worshipping, rich, white, men who care for nothing outside of oppression, profit, and more power.  But Billy Joel is right (and, you know, Jesus who says the same thing)!  If I hate, I’ve lost.  The struggle must go on but hate and anger devour those who hold them.  We must RESIST but always in and through LOVE. 

New America Resistance – 9 May

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about our win in stopping the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act for the American Health Care Act, a move that would’ve cost millions of Americans their coverage?  Ha, well it turns out the House GOP was still looking to formally bury any pretense of morality or compassion by passing an even worse version of the AHCA last week – with all the problems of the first version PLUS the ability to allow insurance companies to deny coverage/raise rates to unaffordable levels for people with preexisting conditions.  This week this series will focus on the now all-important healthcare battle about to begin in the Senate and the importance of those in the media who are still brave enough to speak truth to power.

What Would Superman Do?

Granted, I don’t write about DC often on this site.  Yet just because Marvel has always held my heart doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy DC’s characters in their own way.  Nor does it mean I don’t spend time thinking about them.  In fact, Superman is one of the heroes who most often rattles around in my head.  There is a story I’ve always wanted to see, a struggle that’s uniquely Superman’s.  And I think about it all the time.