Dear Diary

Die Gedanken Sind Frei

Die gedanken sind frei
My thoughts freely flower
Die gedanken sind frei
My thoughts give me power
No scholar can map them
No hunter can trap them
No man can deny
Die gedanken sind frei

I think as I please
And this gives me pleasure
My conscience decrees
This right I must treasure
My thoughts will not cater
To duke or dictator
No man can deny
Die gedanken sind frei
Tyrants can take me
And throw me in prison
My thoughts will burst forth
Like blossoms in season
Foundations may crumble
And structures may tumble
But free men shall cry
Die gedanken sind frei

As with many people these days, I fear that society is going mad.  My friends and family are horrified to learn what I truly think, and the only way to get along is to keep some thoughts to myself.  But what do I really think?  I've found that writing down my thoughts is helpful.  It forces me to organize them and thus gives me confidence in what I believe and why.

I'm conflicted as to who to vote for in the presidential election.  I've founded that suggesting I might vote for Trump is disruptive to my personal life, since family and friends then cut off all conversation with me, at least for a time until it's clear that I won't say anything more on the subject.  On the other hand, a vote is a statement to friends and family as much as it is a means of electing our national leadership.  Self-censorship is probably not good for the country, but probably is good for me personally.

So what is best for the country?  I'm convinced that the media is toxic and curing this illness is more important than getting rid of Trump.  After all, on many things Trump is right and the mainstream media is wrong:

• Russia did not have a big influence in the 2016 election in favor of Trump.
• The intelligence community was wrong in their 2017 "intelligence community assessment".
• Adam Schiff was wrong in promoting the Steele Dossier and indicating that there is proof that Trump colluded with Russia.
• Hydroxychloroquine is not dangerous.
• Trump did not seriously suggest that people drink bleach to ward off covid-19.
• The covid pandemic is overblown.  It is not anywhere near as deadly as portrayed by the conventional media.  The lockdown of society for the last 7 months has been overdone.
• The Biden family behaved in a corrupt manner in Ukraine.
• Trump's behavior with Russia (Mueller investigation, etc) and Ukraine (impeachment) has been misrepresented.  
• The woke movement and continual shouting of "racism" in a crowded theater has resulted in much harm to the country and to minority communities in particular.
• Identitarian politics are immoral and racist, and mostly stupid as in Robin De Angelo's book "White Fragility".
• Putin is not the devil.  Trump is not Hitler.
• The U.S. foreign policy (Republican and Democratic) is driven by lies and immoral double standards.  See Syria, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Iran, Bolivia, Venezuela.

In spite of all this, I love my country and my friends and family.  Without these, I am nothing.  Politics aside, I love my relationships and do not want to harm them.

I want to acknowledge the legitimate issues underlying Trump Derangement Syndrome:

• American society is deeply unfair and has been so since its racist founding.
• Trump and the Republicans deny global warming and sensible measures to prevent our civilization from destroying the planet.
• Trump and the Republicans have a long history of lying and cheating to maintain and enhance the unjust status quo.
• Trump himself is a blustering narcissist who sets a bad model for the country.

How can so many intelligent people see only one side of the story?  We seem to be witnessing mass hysteria and self-delusional groupthink.  Perhaps this was what it was like in Nazi Germany?  Or Soviet Russia where the state media came to be disbelieved, yet to openly challenge the media was treasonous?  Maybe this was what America was like at the time of its founding, with the racist patriarchy unquestioned by the conventional wisdom?  Perhaps most countries are this way most of the time as the elite control the range of acceptable thought?

If I were to publish this and someone were to read it and ridicule me publicly for thinking out loud, would that be justified?