It has been a while since I have written about our political climate in America, mainly because I have been so thoroughly put off by our election, both the candidates and the news coverage. No issues just mud slinging, no substance just name-calling, and no important topics just nasty tweets. No contest in my opinion.

One America wants:

• tax breaks for the rich

• corporate taxes lowered

• a huge military complex

• women’s rights restricted

• a balanced budget, which can only be accomplished by…

• cutting back on social programs like Medicaid, social security, Medicare, food stamps, and the like

• to step backwards to “make America Great Again”.

The other America wants the Bernie plan:

• curtail income inequality

• equal pay for women

• free college for those that want an education

• a single payer health care system (similar to every industrialized country in the world except the US)

• increase in social security pay outs to seniors

• legalized marijuana

• raising the taxes on those in higher income brackets and,

• less burden on an already burdened disappearing middle class and infrastructure improvements.

These are only little snippets of their ideology and the direction they wish to take our country. Which do you prefer? Which do you see benefitting the majority of the American people? Or do you care about the majority of the American people? Do people of color count in your opinion? Do immigrants deserve a chance to work live and prosper among us or should they be barred from entering our country?

One America believes our earth’s climate is not changing and we, the people on our planet, have nothing to do with this phenomena by burning fossil fuels and other activities. This America is for exploiting the earth’s fossil fuel riches, digging deeper, going to extremes to pump out the liquid gold from pristine places like Alaska, fracking (injecting we-don’t-know-what in the earth to force her to give up this valuable resource), piping their valuable oils all across this country, and risking pipe ruptures and oil spills, all for the almighty $$$$$$$$$s.

The other America sees danger in “business as usual.” They see alternative ways to stay warm and electrify the world. They pay heed to the scientific research that tracks the changes and looks for reasons and answers to what they perceive as major problems. This America wants to leave a world better then they found it. This America wants a world that their heirs can enjoy and thrive in.

This election has made it very clear that the two Americas are having a difficult time accepting the other America. Bigoted, homophobic, anti everyone that’s not like me; America can’t stand the “open the door to all” America. And the “open the door to all America” can’t understand the stance of the other. So we continue with the same no compromise, no working with, no trying to understand, no getting along with, that has been the GOPs handling of the Obama administration. And the Dems are threatening the DT administration with the same no, no, no, relationship. In the mean time the working class, middle class, lower class, the damn vast majority of Americans suffer the consequences.

This my-or-the-highway nonsense has got to go and the betterment of all Americans has to be the top priority, you know, like it should be. President Obama reached out to the GOP, tried to work with them, and didn’t force things on them at first but there were situations beyond his control that prevented them from working with him. First of all he was a Democrat, second he was and is smarter than them, and third he has more class. These issues can be acceptable to some degree but most importantly and the one thing that they could not overcome is the color of his skin. Even though he is half white, he is perceived as black and they just could not over come or accept.

The two Americas are and perhaps have always been black and white sprinkled with Italians, Irish, Mexicans, Muslims, Orientals, and a host of other “not like me” types. And if one thought about it; why are the black people here? They were transported here by the whites as slaves to do the white man’s work. Why are the Orientals here? Some one had to build the railroads and work the California mines so they were transported here. (An interesting side note …I bought some acreage in Colorado along a rail line and the canyon adjacent to my property was called “Jap Canyon” for the Japanese coal mine workers camped there after a day’s work.)

If the white boys didn’t want these ‘perceived as lessor people’ in the all-white boys’ country, all they had to do was their own work, labor for themselves. But “no” they didn’t want to work that hard, they wanted others to do their hard work, they just don’t want to live near or with these “lessor peoples.” They don’t want to accept them or help them, or feed them. They keep them in harsh slums and then say, well if they wanted to they could climb out. Not as easy as all that.

Educators and psychologists will tell you about the effects environment, surroundings, early childhood experiences, and educational opportunities have on an impressionable child. It seems so obvious to me the fixes we need in this country, and I think most people do as well; we just don’t have the will. These children are like little pieces of clay that can be molded and sculpted. We all are limited by certain physical and mental capacities, but we can all be the best we can be, what more can one ask of another? But it starts early on. They are all little sponges soaking up their world, it’s just which world are they living; one that knows hunger or one that knows plenty, one that knows love and nurturing or one that knows neglect and mistreatment, one that knows happiness or one that only knows sorry, one that knows caring or one that knows violence.

Yes there are two Americas. Which one do you live in? Which one do you want? Which one will prevail?