The Republicans have a secret plan for eliminating poverty. The basis of this plan is that if you eliminate the unfit you will not have any more poverty. This strategy derives from theories first formulated in the middle of the nineteenth century. These theories were subsequently labeled as “Social Darwinism.” The online encyclopedia Britannica gives the following definition of Social Darwinism:
“Social Darwinism, the theory that human groups and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin had perceived in plants and animals in nature. According to the theory, which was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the weak were diminished and their cultures delimited while the strong grew in power and in cultural influence over the weak. Social Darwinists held that the life of humans in society was a struggle for existence ruled by “survival of the fittest,” a phrase proposed by the British philosopher and scientist Herbert Spencer.”
There have been many theories proposed for the policies held by Trump and his Republican supporters. They include “Greed Theory.” The Republicans are held to be greedier than most people and only want to accumulate as much money as they can. Another is “Hate Theory.” This theory holds that since most Republicans are White European in ancestry, they loath and detest any people who are different then they are. This includes Asians, Blacks, Indians, Latinos and any immigrants not from Europe.
The final theory proposed is what I call “Fear Theory.” This theory holds that the motivation behind Republican policies stem from their innate fear that everything they have will be taken away by those who are less privileged. Thus, we find Republicans building big houses behind big walls and in gated communities protected by private security police. In addition, with the help of their friends in the NRA, they stockpile vast array of weapons in case of home invasion or an all-out assault by the underclass of America.
The above theories assume a very pejorative and negative rationale for the actions of Trump and his allies in Congress. I have come to a different conclusion. Why is my conclusion and theory important? Most of all because it does not ascribe any negative motivations to the Republicans. My theory assumes that current Republican theory is derived from a set of basic assumptions first formulated in the late 1800’s. Thus, Republicans are not greedy or hateful or fearful as much as they are misguided and misinformed. I came to realize this fact through the intersection of two quite different events. Here is how it happened.
Four or five times per week, I go for a run. Down here in Arizona, I have been running in the Casa Grande mountains. I usually get up in the mountains about the time of sunrise. My runs are over hilly, twisty, rocky, mountainous and desert terrain. My only companions this early are the cacti and numerous birds that populate the desert. Occasionally, I see a coyote, javelina or long eared jack rabbit but mostly it is peaceful and quiet. As the sun rises over the mountains, the blue sky is colored with red and yellow hues that create a pastiche of colors which are simply breathtaking. It is hard not to think that I am in heaven when I am running in the mountains in the morning.
I was on such a run about two weeks ago when I was struck with an inspiration. I suddenly realized that everything the Republicans have been doing is based on one simple idea. They want to create a system whereby the “elite” have the benefits of their status as superior beings. Thus, healthcare should be for the elite and the poor can go to the emergency ward because they will not be able to afford insurance. More of the poor will die but that is consistent with Social Darwinism.
“Their disappearance from the human family would be no great loss to the world.”
― Henry Clay
Education will become an elite system. The poor will go to inner city public schools deprived of money and resources where they will be treated more like prisoners than learners and security guards will make sure they behave. The rich will go to well-funded private academies where they will learn to take high paying jobs as captains of industry.
Social Security will be replaced by an elite system of stocks and bonds whereby the rich can use financial advisers to double and triple their contributions. The poor with little knowledge or skills in the stock market will lose what they have contributed and soon find they have no retirement money. More prisons will be built (and ironically will be government funded) to protect the rich and lock up any dissidents who dare to complain or who become public nuisances.
“The forces which are working out the great scheme of perfect happiness, taking no account of incidental suffering, exterminate such sections of mankind as stand in their way, with the same sternness that they exterminate beasts of prey and herds of useless ruminants.” ― Herbert Spencer,
As much as I liked the above scenario, since it seemed to provide a good fit for the current Trump and Republican policies, there was still something missing. I could not quite put my hand on it, but it still cast the Republicans as “bad guys” with evil motives. Why should the Republicans be any more evil than the Democrats? My theory did not explain this.
About a week later, I was substitute teaching in a Casa Grande High School. I drew an eleventh-grade social studies class. The teacher had left an assignment wherein the students had to find certain terms and concepts associated with the second industrial revolution and write definitions for each of them. Included among such terms as: robber barons, corporations, patents and trusts was the term “Social Darwinism.” One of the students asked me to explain it beyond the simple definition she found on line. I tried to recall my ideas relating to this concept from many years ago. I gave her my explanation and then later I looked up the definition at Wikipedia. I was struck at how well my memory had served me. It was at that point that the proverbial light bulb or blinding light of inspiration hit me. I suddenly realized that the Republican Party was not just trying to create elite systems but they were also trying to build on the theories of Herbert Spencer. The following excerpt explains this theory very well as it applies to many current concepts such as: trickle down theory, privatization, corporate welfare and tax reform.
“Social Darwinists took up the language of evolution to frame an understanding of the growing gulf between the rich and the poor as well as the many differences between cultures all over the world. The explanation they arrived at was that businessmen and others who were economically and socially successful were so because they were biologically and socially “naturally” the fittest. Conversely, they reasoned that the poor were “naturally” weak and unfit and it would be an error to allow the weak of the species to continue to breed. They believed that the dictum “survival of the fittest” (a term coined not by Charles Darwin but by sociologist Herbert Spencer) meant that only the fittest should survive.” – Social Darwinism in the Gilded Age
So, there you have it. Trump and the Republican Party are not greedy, hateful or fearful of others, they simply do not believe that you have a right to anything unless you are also rich and successful and White like they are. Based on the concepts of Social Darwinism, they have the right to whatever you have if they can find a way to take it away from you. If you cannot keep it, that means you are inferior. If you are inferior, you have no right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. According to Social Darwinism, the elite will eventually Trump the poor because they are stronger, smarter and more fit. This will eventually result in a society wherein everyone is fit, and everyone is trying to screw everyone else.
“Truly, this earth is a trophy cup for the industrious man. And this rightly so, in the service of natural selection. He who does not possess the force to secure his Lebensraum in this world, and, if necessary, to enlarge it, does not deserve to possess the necessities of life. He must step aside and allow stronger peoples to pass him by.”
― Adolf Hitler
Today we have a Fake President, Fake News, Fake Christians and a divide in this country that rivals the divide that we had prior to the civil war. We have a nation that has forgotten its roots and that has succumbed to the vilest theory to ever afflict humanity.
Time for Questions:
Do you think it would be better if the poor would just die and save us all the trouble of taking care of them? What do you think we should do with the disabled and mentally challenged? Should we start a eugenics program to get rid of them? Who should help the poor, refugees, immigrants, hungry, sick? What would Jesus do?
Life is just beginning.
“They said ‘specialist children’s wards,’
But they meant children-killing centers.
They said ‘final medical assistance’
But they meant murder.” ― Ann Clare LeZotte, T4
ays every American citizen has Freedom of Expression. Thus, we are just expressing our free rights as American citizens to beat up on people we don’t like.”
“Look, said Tattoo Guy, we voted for Donald Trump and he respects our Freedom of Expression rights. We are sick and tired of the PC shit you pussies and commies have been spreading in this country for years. We are tired of watching what we say and do because we might be called rednecks or bigots or even racists. It’s a new day for America. We are going to make our country great again.”
“You are more or less on the right track” says Tattoo Guy. “Used to be you could tell some nigger jokes, put up pinups of nude girls, even grab a few pussies once in a while and no one bothered you. Then, all this PC stuff started and before you knew it, you had to watch what you said and did. A White person’s Freedom of Expression went down the drain. Well, no more PC now. So can we please get back to beating the shit out of this nigger?”
“Well, what if I told you that I had a Glock Model 40 10mm in my pocket and that if you hit this man one more time, I will take it and blow your fucking brains out. What would you think of that” I replied indignantly.
I was only twenty-five when I met Irene. It was my first job out of college. I had just finished my RN program at Regina Nursing School. It took me three years going to school days and working part-time evenings to complete my degree. After finishing school, I applied at several nursing homes since I wanted to work with the elderly. In three weeks, I was hired by the River Birch nursing home in New Prague Minnesota.
My first day on the job was the high point and perhaps also the low point of my life. It was the day I met Irene. My supervisor Michelle started my job orientation by introducing me to the staff I would be working with. She then gave me a brief summary of my work duties. She explained that I would be assigned a wing of the nursing home and within that wing, I would be in charge of a specific number of residents. We were not to call them patients. Each day, my job would be to take care of the residents that I was assigned and to ensure that they received food, care and compassion.
Over time, I began to wonder what she was looking at. After looking out the window myself, all I could see was a large grassy field surrounded by numerous oak, maple and birch trees. On any given day, there might some grackles or robins out in the field but very little else to view. It was a pleasant enough scene but nothing that I thought could keep anyone’s attention for more than a few minutes never mind several hours of staring out the window
a very pretty view that she could look out at. I thought she would enjoy the variety and the change of scenery. As I started to push Irene’s wheel chair away from her chosen window, she became very agitated and started pointing wildly and in a raised voice saying “window, window.” I moved her back to the old window and left her for the day.
Next morning, I came to work and started my rounds. I did not see Irene and I wondered where she was. I checked her room but the bed was made up and there was no sign of Irene. I went into see my supervisor and ask about her. “I am sorry” Michele said “She passed away last night and was taken to the funeral home. There will be no services for her as she had no surviving relatives.” I went home and cried for her passing. I had never understood her or made a connection with her that I thought was the least bit meaningful.
It is sixty-five years later and I finally understand Irene. I am sitting here looking out a window from the nursing home where I am now a resident. Each day I look out the same window and I see a different event from my life. I have been amazed at the events that I have witnessed. I have seen my mother giving birth to me. I have seen the birth of each of my sisters and brothers. I witnessed my first communion and my first day in school. I watched my wedding and the birth of each of my children. I was at my husband’s funeral again. During the past few months, I have seen all the major events of my life one after the other in perfect chronological order. I am almost at the end of my journey. There is only one final event. The last event will be when they come for me. They are getting close. My mom and dad are coming for me. They are coming to take me home. I must keep looking out the window or I will miss them.
The idea of sex in our minds easily overrode any caution or concern about getting caught by her father. We arrived at her house. She lived out of town somewhat in Scituate which was a more rural area of R.I. in the sixties. When we arrived, Bob said “I will go in first and check things out. If it is okay, you guys can come in. Bob went inside the small average looking New England Colonial house with two upper dormer windows and came out a few minutes later. “OK guys” Bob said, “She is willing.” We all trotted inside the house to the first room which was a kitchen with a small table and four chairs. Dave, Tommy and I sat on the chairs and Bob headed up a small staircase. “I will go first” said Bob “and Dave is next. You and Tommy can decide who goes after Dave.” “Oh”, said Bob, “her name is Barbara and she likes to be called Barb.” No one challenged this order of affairs as it was taken for granted that since Bob had set this up, he had first dibs.
Aging Capriciously 