Some thoughts growing from the funeral of an American hero.
Donald Trump's hatred and fearmongering are as American as apple pie. Hatred, fear, xenophobia, homophobia, racism, bigotry, intolerance and the propensity to violence, as in lynchings - are the dark underbelly of this nation. The sad truth is that America was built on genocide and slavery, and until we confront these gut-wrenchingly sad truths and shore up this half-rotten foundation, we can never really be the light on the hill.
Obama was as near-perfect as a US president could be. Moral, just, intelligent, a master of the big picture, and a long-term thinker that put policies in place that really did some good. Without drama, he saved us from a worldwide depression, worked with Congress to pass the ACA, got Bin Laden, and through his cabinet implemented some truly good policies. But...he did all this while (gasp!) being black!
So...enter Trump. A white guy. As unintelligent, inept, incompetent, corrupt and treasonous as a president can be - in fact, we really haven't even touched the surface of how bad Trump really is, and how dangerous he is to the entire human race. But he's white. A sort of pale and rotten counterpart to the noble nature of his predecessor.
We really COULD be great, you know. A light on the hill. Even now, people aspire to come here because for many it is the land of opportunity. But we have to get to the bottom of this capitalist cancer that was born at the death of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, became tumescent with the growth of Fox 'news,' and metastasized through hundreds of hate-talk radio shows and alt-right websites. The problem is that these propaganda organs are funded by, and promote a capitalist message of rugged individualism, hooray for me and to heck with you, pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
That message is underpinned by a constant hatred for the government, a transformation of government from 'of, by and for' the people to some 'deep-state enemy of the people.' Something wasteful and stupid that people like Grover Norquist want to shrink to the point where we can 'drown it in the bathtub,' because then oligarchs can reign supreme with the help of an alt-right nationalist theocracy.
That is the plan.
Why? Because it is the best interests of the capitalists to have us make our very own government the enemy. If we are worried about government overreach and the 'deep state' somehow betraying those who cheated to be elected into office in the first place, through gerrymandering and voter-suppression measures, then we don't have time to understand who is really picking our pockets, and who is systematically raping the treasury and routing as much money as possible to corporate profits and billionaires while we are left with an aging infrastructure, a healthcare program so sabotaged by Republicans that it is once again profoundly broken, the sacred trust of Social Security starving for funds, and virtually every program that actually helps Americans in danger of folding for lack of money.
But, hey, we've got PLENTY to route to 'defense' spending, including a brand-new, shiny Space Force!
It will take us years, decades, to wise up the American people, engage them in democracy at the local, state and national level, and create a system where people actually DO have a say in policies that affect them.
The biggest danger to humanity? To the world itself?
The Republican Party of Donald Trump.
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Thank you, Patrick! 
