Ah! Back to the good old days of W and Cheney

Those were the days, eh? The Patriot Act, reporters embedded with the troops in Iraq feeding us pre-approved military PR releases, no reporter, pundit, or on-air personality daring to utter one word of criticism of the war effort, Dixie Chicks CDs trampled and burned, France refusing to join the coalition of the willing (we were treated to the spectacle of Congressmen pouring bottles of French wine into the gutter; French fries were renamed Freedom fries ... take that you surrender monkeys!).

Well it seems that crappy days are here again. One line from those early W years has stuck in my craw lo these many moons: "You're either with us or you're against us." Yesterday, while scanning FB feeds, this gem popped up.

Together, let's examine this quote and see how it stacks up against what most of us believe this country is all about.

1. "It's time to take sides." No, it's not. This is not an inter-mural dodge ball game. It's not shirts vs. skins. The problems we face in this country are best addressed through frank and honest discussions using reason and logic. Swallowing a bolus of predigested ideas and philosophies then demonizing anyone who dares to critically evaluate those ideas and philosophies is not how progress is achieved.  When Obama was elected and congressional Republicans refused to work with him, stating publicly that their main goal was to make him a one-term president, were they then also against the United States? 
2. "The election is over." Yes, it is. But Trump by no means has a mandate. He was elected because an antiquated system of deciding elections has been gerrymandered into a grotesque caricature of what it once was. With a popular vote of 2.6 million more for "our side" than "your side"  people who disagree with you and your ilk are still the majority here. And that's not counting the millions who didn't bother to get out and vote. Don't pretend that this election was a glittering example of American democracy in action. Don't assume that the people have spoken in your favor. Our system of electing leaders is not the robust example of a democracy firing on all cylinders that the rest of the world should emulate. In fact, most of the rest of the world is thinking "WTF is wrong with America?"
3. "You're either with us or against us." This is a false dilemma. It's never black or white. Trump may (and this is a stretch) have some good ideas along the way that some of us over here on "our side" might agree with. "Our side" may be able to offer some constructive criticism that could make the country and the world a better place, help stave off disasters, improve the lives of everyone. You've posited an Us vs. Them mindset here that rarely ends well. You're either a Christian or you're damned to hell. You're either a Muslim or you're an infidel. You're either a staunch party member or you're a guest in Stalin's gulag. Once again, as in 2009 at the beginning of Obama's first term, "your side" is blocking any possibility of discussion or compromise. This "our way or the highway" attitude is no way to run a country. 
4. "That is, with the United States or against the United States." Again, a false dilemma. How arrogant and presumptuous is it to assume that "your side" and only "your side" embodies all that this country is and stands for? Some of us believe that the results of the election are the symptom of a sickness, a kind of cancer. We want to help fight that cancer, not encourage its further growth. You are a part of that disease. Far from being against America, we are for America. We wish to see it recover its strength, its rectitude, its charity, its compassion. Being with you, with "your side" will bring none of that to pass. You have it wrong. If we chose to be on "your side" we would be against the United State of America.