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.

Lessons from Doctor Who’s “Orphan 55” – Climate Change and Beyond

As I write this, it’s the eve of the 2020 presidential election.  I’m anxious.  I’m concerned.  But most of all, I’m hopeful.  I say that with absolute sincerity.  I’m hopeful that tomorrow will yield a change of course after the last four years that have felt like fifteen.  I’m hopeful.  It’s a welcome feeling in an age when, for so many reasons, hope feels like a far rarer commodity than it did even just a few years ago.  However, I wasn’t planning on writing tonight.  I probably shouldn’t be, as I’m sure I’ll be up late watching election returns tomorrow.  But I was rewatching “Orphan 55” tonight and it felt remarkably relevant.  Seeing the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole), and Graham (Bradley Walsh) navigate this hostile planet, a post began to grow.  So what the heck?  I guess I’ll sleep Wednesday…hopefully soundly.

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 – 24 September

I can’t believe I’m writing about health care again.  I really can’t.  I feel a weariness in me each time I see the GOP’s moving again to steal people’s coverage, leaving so many to die.  But we’ve fought this fight and won before.  So we have to marshal our voices and do it again.  There’s also the DREAMERS Act of 2017, the United Nations, tensions with North Korea…  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 – Fighting Moral Decay for Health Care

Sadly speaking to the reality of our times, the twentieth post in this series comes on the heels of the Senate voting to rob millions of Americans of their health care.  In a literal matter of life and death, the GOP chose wealth for a few and feeding their pathological need to try and “fix” their loss in the presidential election of 2008 by voting to go forward with repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.  Do we know what they want to replace it with?  No.  They have no set plan.  The rough drafts we have seen rob twenty-two million people of health care, gut Medicaid, abandon those suffering from mental health problems or in recovery for addiction, and roll back any sort of protection for those with preexisting conditions (like myself).  There is no longer even the hint of pretense that the GOP at large cares for the America people.  I’m angry.  I’m sad.  I’m exhausted.

New American Resistance – 24 July

THE SENATE IS LOOKING TO VOTE ON HEALTH CARE AS EARLY AS TUESDAY!  We have to fight to protect the ACA, until we have a plan that can bring true, compassionate, universal health care to this country.  While that’s the most pressing issue at the moment, it’s far from all we have to talk about this week.  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 – 17 July

Despite the craziness with new Russian reveals (and there is a lot of it) and the ever-constant fight to protect health care, I took last week off in honor of my birthday.  But we’re back this week…and we must keep it up.  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.