Your. Life. Matters.

 "I cannot tell what you and other men, 

Think of this life; but, for my single self,

I had as lief not be as living to be

In awe of such a thing as myself"

Cassius to Brutus in Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 2


Everywhere I go now, I see them everywhere. All over in the place, in different colors, sizes, fonts: Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, and a host of others. I find, however, that most of the time they're displayed not as a show of support for a particular cause, but as a self-serving show of virtue. And I feel in that sense, they cheapen whatever message they are intended to convey.

Everybody, of course, has an opinion on the whole "Lives Matter" debate. And sometimes those differences in opinion get violent. Look to Portland, OR. Kenosha, WI. Seattle, WA. And all across the United States, in urban and suburban settings.

What if we internalized all of these "Lives Matter" movements? I don't mean keeping our mouths shut. I mean internalizing the theme and applying it to our own lives, instead of lashing out in anger against people we feel have marginalized us, or we feel are attacking people we respect/identify with, or just taking a contradictory view to the one held by people we don't like. 

What if we "flipped the script" and just told people "Your Life Matters"?

I don't have to worry about alienating and specific demographic with telling someone "Your Life Matters". I don't signal virtue about how "woke" I am. And by affirming to someone that "Your Life Matters", I personalize the discussion, I create a dialogue, and if I don't particularly agree with their position (or they don't like me), I put them in the uncomfortable position of having to argue against something that is obviously true. It's a fools errand for them, and I can go about my day. Checkmate. 

Because of course your life matters. So does mine. Our Founders even affirmed it, that everyone is endowed "by their creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". Of course, when it was written, the Declaration didn't cover all men, but you don't get to argue that the Declaration (and Constitution) is a "living document", yet still demand that certain groups in the United States don't enjoy the same rights as everyone else. You can't have it both ways.

So when faced with someone who is obviously virtue signalling, simply smile and tell them "YOUR life matters." Smile, and walk away as they overheat their brain and tie themselves into philosophical  knots trying to find an argument to prove you wrong. 

Here's the kicker: your life does matter. And you are arguing that every life is precious: black, white, brown, unborn, etc... By removing demographic qualifiers, you're affirming that every life has inherent value.

Doesn't it?

"This Above All - To Thine Own Self Be True" - Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet

So of course, CNN and the like are going to poo-poo the first night of the Republican convention. 

Because Orange Man Bad. 

But while I kind of agree with their sycophantic critique of Ambassador Nikki Haley's speech, remember this is the same media that promoted rumors of a salacious affair with a Mark Sanford staffer way back in 2010. Haley denied the rumors, of course, but that didn't stop the media from again slandering her in 2018 by suggesting an affair with the President. Haley's denials were immediately attacked as some sort of admission by reporters and pundits, because it seems that "Believe All Women" only applies to "Women the Left Believes In". 

In any event, Haley's speech was personable and relatable. Starting off with a anecdote to Jeane Kirkpatrick's 1984 RNC nomination speech was well-played. Kirkpatrick might as well have been Nostradamus: "Democrats always blame America first" seems almost like an afterthought thirty-six years later. And while Haley played to the script well, pointing out the stark contrast between the Obama foreign policy and the Trump foreign policy, she also emphasized the domestic policy accomplishments of this administration. Her personal story goes much, much deeper than what she expressed in her speech, but her line about being "a brown girl in a black and white world" after blasting Democrat assertions that America is inherently racist was masterstroke. 

See, there's an inconvenient truth that Democrats are forgetting. Not all "people of color" and especially legal (voting) immigrants buy into the "America is Racist" rhetoric. If anything, a small minority of immigrants believe that slanderous accusation. It's because they are still invested in the belief that America is a "Shining City Upon a Hill" and the hope and opportunity it represents. That's why we attract the highest quality scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, and professionals to legally immigrate to the United States. Because they see life in America as an opportunity to fulfill their potential. They wouldn't do that if they thought they'd be marginalized and discriminated against. Do you know why Elon Musk applied for citizenship in the United States? Because Tesla and SpaceX couldn't exist in South Africa. Do Wong Chang immigrated from South Korea in 1981 and worked minimum wage jobs; now he's worth more than $3 Billion and owns Forever 21. 

Of course, I'm a Hispanic, and I'm a Conservative. I will always be both. And when I tell other, younger  Hispanics that I'm voting Republican, they almost recoil in horror. 

I've been called every name in the book, from "Race Traitor" to some I'd rather not type. Because they fall into the increasingly fanatical view that if you're a person of color (I prefer just "American", but whatever), you are a drone that's part of a monolithic voting block. And that exposes who the real racists are. They assume you're too stupid to research, inform yourself, and make up your own mind. So please, let the nice white SJW Liberal who knows better than you choose your candidate for you. Like Joe Biden, who told Charlemagne Tha God that if you have a problem figuring out who to support, "you ain't black". Because, of course, the nice white SJW Liberal knows better than you and wants to take care of you. You just have to do what the nice white SJW Liberal wants you to. 

"Before the game is afoot, thou still let'st slip." - Northumberland, in Shakespeare's Henry IV

 Today is the 24th of August. Of course, 2020 being an election year, it's a pretty turbulent time in the United States. The Republican National Convention is today, and if it's anything like the Democrat National Convention, it's going to be "all virtual". 

Some things I took away from the DNC virtual huddle:

1. They don't have a plan. They REALLY don't have a plan other than to make this a referendum on the Trump Presidency. The whole game plan seems to be "Orange Man Bad". And I guess this is an "okay" strategy, but they might have made some critical errors (more on this in a bit).

2. They have a plan to defeat COVID-19... but they don't want to share it with anyone until Biden (presumably) gets elected. This seems a bit like "we're holding our plan hostage unless you vote for us". If you had a plan, and if you know how to beat this thing, then the lives we will lose between now and the (presumed) implementation of your plan are on your hands? That seems like a pretty silly gamble. 

3. "I'm gonna make sure rich people pay a lot of taxes". Again, that's pretty silly, because even if you snatched up all the combined wealth of every rich American (and you could only do it once), you aren't going to make a dent in the hole we've dug ourselves. And then what? 

4. "We want to defund the police and it's going to make lives for minorities better". This one is the most dangerous, and it's a big reason why I can never be a Democrat. If they are going to turn their backs on the police departments that put themselves on the line every single day, and they have consistently tried to either slander or gut the budgets of he US Military, then at what point will they turn their backs on everyone else? 

So now to the critical mistakes they made: Biden is going to get a slight bump in the polls. Most candidates do after their conventions. But the DNC scheduled theirs before the RNC, and that means their "bump" will soon disappear and the President will be able to capitalize on his. Second: they showed all their cards, and we're still on the Turn (a Texas Hold-Em reference). Orange Man Bad isn't a particularly effective strategy against a President with a demonstrated economic record and a clear and concise policy platform. Finally, the DNC has signaled a clear and abrupt shift to the Left. And while it's a clear nod to the Progressive Wing of the party, it's not exactly going to attract many swing voters (of which I am still convinced are a myth). Meanwhile, Trump's base is going to look at the recovery the Dow Jones Industrial Average has made since March, look at their October 401K statements, and pull the lever for Trump. 

Look, I get the fawning over Biden's acceptance speech. He set a relatively low bar for success considering his frequent gaffes and laughable responses in the past. He tried to be inspirational  and Reaganesque with his speech on Darkness and Light. But Biden is no Ronald Reagan.