It’s a common practice that when things have gone wrong for too long, the ailing system requires a complete reset. It’s an opportunity to reassess the current process and incorporate changes to address deficiencies or rectify problems. However, when the system is so corrupt and focused on divisive elements rather than its intended goal, it’s time to start over.

That’s a direction we haven’t taken for a very long time as a country; not since 1776, as a matter of fact. Merka seems to prefer the band-aid and cobble approach to everything, but there are only so many patches you can make before the underlying fabric will no longer support them, and the patches hold other patches in place, rendering the original indistinguishable from the changes. You can’t tell where the repairs end and the original begins.

How many times do you repair a garment before deciding to discard it and purchase a new one? Merka’s not a garment, but the patches are straining to hold it together. Even spandex has limits… I refer to several corpulent people I’ve seen wearing stretch pants that are nearly transparent and approaching their respectability and tensile limits.

Our tendency in Merka is to deny or ignore the problem, expecting someone else to fix it. But you see, that’s why we’re in this sorry state to begin with. We let the loudest voices take control, just like we usually do. We let them shout us down. And… when they fix the problem, it’s never to our satisfaction, giving us something else to kvetch about… But, at least when the loudest voices prevail and take control, we know who to blame.

Merkans kvetch too much. Kvetch is a Yiddish term for complaining excessively. Funny, we always have choices, but rarely, if ever, exercise them, leading to more kvetching. The two options are: first, take action, and second, do nothing and let someone else fix it, which is our default choice. If you doubt my opinion, open any ‘not-so-social media’ platform and count the complaints and praises. AI tells me that the negative posts outnumber the positive posts by a ratio of 2 to 1.

I’ll begin with a rhetorical question: Have we lost control of this republic – have things gone so far wrong that they’re beyond repair?

Where are we right now in this republic, in Merka? I know everyone has their opinions about our present conditions and our standings in the world. Some are optimistic, others are pessimistic, and some, like me, wonder if it’s worth the effort to recover, knowing full well that there’s some ‘hole-of-an-ass’ waiting to undo everything we fix, and we’re going to let them do it all again. Is that pessimistic or pragmatic?

More to the point, can the divisions in our republic be repaired? Is the partisan political estrangement in Merka fixable, or should we consider an alternative? Regardless, the choice must be democratically preferred, which presents a real problem in Merka as it exists today. Powerful polarized partisan political positions ensure that this will be an epochal battle. Lucky for us, we have front-row seats.

Wash… Rinse… Repeat… Only the actors change, but the song remains the same. Congress, the opposite of progress, sets the example for Merkan’s to follow. Nothing is accomplished without a pitched battle. The only missing components are physical weapons like guns and knives, but look at the deep-rooted damage from their verbal assaults. It may not impact the baboons (congress is the name given to a troupe of baboons) individually, but the public’s trust erodes with each and every skirmish. The result is near-total disillusionment with the system.

I appreciate that public sentiment is significantly influenced by the source of the information you consume. Rabbit-hole alert! I’m not going in.

Let me summarize: you have a choice of who you trust for your information. Personally, I don’t trust anyone to interpret anything for me. I don’t even trust my doctors blindly. I always get another opinion, but most Merkans trust a partisanly aligned source, rather than investigating objective views, we receive the subjective interpretation from the Corporate Media Complex (CMC).

“My doctor told me I was fat, so I asked for a second opinion… He said… Alright, you’re ugly, too.” ~ Rodney Dangerfield

These traitors in congress, the opposite of progress, and other bureaucratic positions are nothing more than political tourists. In this context, I use tourist as a visitor to a beautiful place, who falls in love with it and decides to make it their own, taking ownership of the area. This marks the beginning of the transformation and conversion into what they have just left behind.

Arizona is suffering the effects of California’s Tourist Migration. I call it Californication. These tourists made tens of thousands of dollars during the real estate boom in the early 2000s, brought that money to Arizona and other states, purchased property, and began transforming their new home into the privy-pit they just left. Californication!

The accepted term is “touristification,” which essentially replaces the local culture; however, I prefer my term, a portmanteau (definition #2), Californication, because of how they “F” things up wherever they colonize. It’s not just the Californians; European colonization corrupted the world as well – review your world history for the list.

But… that’s another story…

What these tourists fail to realize is that we don’t want that crap in our homes. We liked it just the way it was, and we didn’t ask them to come here and “FIX IT”.

What gives you or anyone else the right to decide how we should live? You’re arrogant and rude, and we don’t like your politics or your ideas. There’s the ‘hole’ in democracy. It’s based on the number who show up to vote. It’s, after all, a majority, so if the locals don’t vote, they lose, providing another reason to complain.

Yes, that’s precisely my point. If you don’t participate, you’ve relinquished your voice; therefore, your license to kvetch.

Move to the Marxist country of your choice and take your anti-American ideology with you. Why would you even move to a place that doesn’t manifest your political ideologies and that doesn’t want you, anyway? Would you move to Australia expecting them to adopt your philosophy? That probably wouldn’t happen, because the Aussies have some pretty strict standards for emigration.

Ask Ireland how they feel about Rosie O’Donnell…

I think I’ve arrived at part of the problem. Merkan’s don’t think, they react. Action requires thought and decision. Reaction is a reflex based on Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). There it is again… FUD is everywhere…

Arizona was a politically conservative state. It’s now Eastern California, and as liberal as the mother ship. Our Governor, Katie Hobbs, vetoed a bill prohibiting the sale of property adjacent to Arizona’s military bases and other critical security assets to China. Oh yes, Katie is a Democrat with a degree in Social Work from NAU, and although she has not disavowed the socialist ethos, her tendencies and track record lean in that direction. She’s vetoed over 100 similar bills in her first term, which is more than any governor in our history.

Several other states are suffering similar shifts. The entire West Coast is a liberal enclave just like California. Montana and Idaho are also victims of this liberal scourge. Touristification by the Left is a malignant cancer, and as many oncologists will tell you, cancer eventually kills the patient, and the cure is often worse than the disease itself. Regardless, the choices seem limited.

If any of these premises are true, is Merka waiting to die?

I am an assertive patriot and advocate for this republic. I’ve tried to keep an open mind about our possibilities and our prospects. I’ve viewed proposed administrative changes with an open mind, hoping for the best, only to be sorely disappointed. I’ve offered countless suggested solutions and ideas regarding these issues. I’ve even provided references for where my proposed solutions and those of others can be found.

I’m bewildered that a simple, classically educated, autodidactic polymath like me can find these solutions while others miss them. After all, they are all written down, chronicled in numerous historical records, and available to anyone with the desire to find them. Perhaps this is another point… they don’t want solutions; they only wish to control.

But WE may be out of TIME!

In my not-so-humble opinion, the election of #47 represents an opportunity to get it right this time. Yet, forces within this republic are fighting ferociously to stop any progress. It’s as though their primary focus is opposition to everything the other partisan political party proposes or any possible or potential progress; but then this is the definition of Congress, isn’t it… And since any implemented changes are subject to consensus within the partisan political pastiche (definition #2) in Congress, the opposite of progress, these changes will be short-lived.

I keep asking, “Who do these people serve?” Sadly, it does not appear to be us – the republic!

I am a pragmatist, being realistic when I say that part of this republic is fighting to destroy it and everything we advocate by fighting to kill it. This is a powerful group of traitors. I’m using traitors as the opposite of patriots; in much the same way, I use Congress as the opposite of progress.

A traitor is a person who betrays their country, committing treason and thereby contributing to its demise. Treason is the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign; a betrayal of trust or confidence; breach of faith, treachery. I’ll remind everyone again that these people, our elected or appointed officials, took an oath to serve and protect this republic and its constitution. By the way, there are legal consequences for breaking an oath.

I asked the all-knowing AI if anyone in the history of this republic has ever had an elected official refuse to take the oath of office… The only response was on a site called Quora – a self-moderated and self-validated (fact-checked) Question & Answer (Q&A) website, which stated that this has never been recorded; however, there may have been situations where errors occurred in delivery, and the oath was readministered. Why don’t I feel reassured?

All of this leads me to wonder why anyone would bother with an oath if they didn’t intend to keep it, unless… this oath is all about theater, and at that point, the law becomes a toothless dog if it’s not enforced, and worse yet, the republic’s demise accelerates from the law’s selective application.

What else can I call the people who want to destroy this country, this republic, and force their politics on the rest of Americans?

Why would a person swear allegiance to a country, then work from within it to destroy it, if they were not a traitor? Or was their intent to kill the republic surreptitiously? Regardless… This is the precise definition of the word traitor; see the preceding paragraph.

Doesn’t this highlight the effects of selectively applying legal statutes?

Perhaps it is all about the theater.

Maybe McCarthy was right… [LINK]

Or did I miss something?

I believe in the intent of the US Constitution. I also firmly believe in the democratic process, where the majority of the people make the decisions. However, it appears that this group of powerful political tourists has co-opted the will of the majority. The Traitors, who happened to be a minority of Americans, are now telling the citizens what, when, and how things will be.

Citizens – and I use this word specifically and precisely – have the right to voice their opinions – freedom of speech – and to gather ‘peacefully’ – freedom of assembly – to express, promote, pursue, and defend their ideas and beliefs. The operative word in this statement and fundamental right is ‘peacefully’. What I see from the Corporate Media Complex is anything but peaceful… in fact, these gatherings, these protests, are anarchy!

Regardless, this is all treason, but we’re so afraid to speak up. Our silence emboldens these bad actors. They take our silence as approval. But it’s apathy; isn’t that what it really is, indifference? We don’t care as long as it doesn’t directly impact us. It’s happening in LA, or Seattle, or some other place, nowhere near us, so that it won’t affect us. However, you see… it affects us in more ways than you can ever imagine. [LINK] The Collapse of Our Civilization

Why do we bother to define these terms and ideas, write them into our laws, then forego their use? We have the most powerful tools within our grasp, but we convince people to rely on the government for everything. The State is our provider, our god, from whom everything flows. And if this is the case, we have lost the republic to the Marxists already.

I read something this morning that made me think. It made me wonder if this republic is truly worth saving, if only a few citizens are willing to stand up for it. It’s one thing to sit safely at home and rail against the storm outside. But that changes nothing; it fixes nothing. The storm rages on unimpeded. The problems in our country worsen and proceed unabated.

Who’s the idiot who put these people in control? I think you know the answer…

“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” ~ George Carlin

Yes… I just called every American an idiot.

The founders of America gave us the precious gift of this republic, and look at what we’ve done with it!

I’ll close with this final question…

Are we that far gone?

I believe that only the Creator of this world can answer that question, but according to a story in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God decided to destroy it utterly. The world was so corrupt that He decided to start again.

He chose a 600-year-old man to save a selection of life when the floodwaters came upon the earth. Refer to Genesis, Chapters 6:19 through 9:17 for the complete account. [LINK]

God gave us a rainbow as a promise never to destroy the planet again, but perhaps it’s time to rethink that promise.

I am an adamant believer in a Higher Power, and what we decide to call that power is a personal decision and something we’ll reconcile at the end of our lives. I view the Bible as a masterful compilation of ancient knowledge and wisdom, presented in the form of stories called parables, which is undoubtedly one of the finest methods ever devised to teach moral and ethical precepts.

Many other written accounts, religious texts, are biased toward specific belief systems and their tenets; yet the wisdom they offer is universal. It wasn’t until greedy and egotistical clerics began corrupting these insights to wrest control over congregations that the depth and intent of this insight were lost.

Is Merka, America worth saving?

That depends greatly on what we’re willing to do and how much we’re eager to invest in the change.

I’ll leave you with this final thought.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Personally, I’d let it rain…

Candidly…

For the Amalgamated Heavy,

 

o Here’s a key to the meaning of this exit music’s lyrics. It’s about the rejection of past certainty, reflecting the shift in perspective that comes with gaining experience and wisdom.

July 9, 2025

~ The Author ~
Charles R. Dickens was born in 1951, is a veteran of the Vietnam war, for which he volunteered, and the great-great grandson of the noted author, whose name he shares.

He is a fiercely proud American, who still believes this is the greatest country on the planet, with which we’ve lost control and certainly our direction. He grew up in moderate financial surrounding; we’re not rich by any stretch, but didn’t go hungry – his incredibly hard working father saw to that. As most from that era, he learned about life from his father, whose story would take too long to tell, other than to say that, he is also a fiercely proud American; a WWII and Korean war, veteran Marine.

Charlie was educated in the parochial system which, demanded that you actually learn something, and have capability to retain it before you advance. He attended several universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and chased the goose further to a master’s, and has retained some very definite ideas about education in this country.

In addition, Charlie is a retired blues guitar and vocalist – a musician. This was his therapy career. Nothing brings him as much joy as playing music, and he wishes that he could make a living at it… but alas… life goes on!