Dan Beeman
4 min readJul 14, 2022

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What happened?

July 14. 2022

Hello America! Greetings from Thailand!

On May 14th, just two short months ago, I began a journey that I had been dreaming of since Before Covid. Yes. BC. BC now stands for Before Covid in my mind.

BC (before covid) we lived a normal predictable existence. Time flew by.

DC (during covid) life was not normal or predictable. Time crept. Lots of planning ceased. Stymied, I observed and wrote essay after essay. I published them in a couple of books and sold them on Amazon. I gave the proceeds to charity. I wanted to feel like I was making a difference.

AC (after covid) is just a fantasy. It is not over. It has merely abated.

Eventually vaccines became available and, unfortunately, became a political issue. Many of us got vaccinated and then boosted and boosted again. This led to an easing of travel restrictions and enabled us to begin planning again.

My plan was to travel around the world. Unplug. Drop Out. Tune out. Tune into myself. Deep Dive. Again.

So, I did. No TV. Little news and lots of hammock and scuba diving time.

That was the plan and I have honored it.

Recently, I surfaced and looked around. Here’s what I saw:

· More mass murders by white kids with semi-automatic weapons in USA

· Trump is still in the news and not in jail despite all the evidence against him

· Women lost their right to choose what happens inside their own bodies

Wait. What?

More mass murders of innocent kids in USA? Guns are stupid. Innocent people get killed. There are way too many guns in the USA (350 million+). The 2nd amendment is outdated, poorly written and just stupid. You want more dead kids? Keep supporting 2nd amendment. The idea that more guns make us safer is flat-out, stupid nonsense and proven wrong. Still, nothing substantive is being done legislatively. That gun lobby sure is powerful!

January 6th hearings? Glad I missed those. We already knew what they exposed. Trump is a dangerous, petulant, immature baby. He is a liar and cheater. He may be the opposite of Jesus — sent here to teach us how NOT to live. He is and was a self-promotional scumbag who cares only about himself, power, and money. He has done lots of illegal stuff and continues to get away with it.

Women’s rights removed? Don’t get me wrong, I am pro-life. However, I am not about tell women what to do with what is inside their bodies. Women have the responsibilities of carrying, bearing, and raising children. Men impregnate them. Men should not have the right to legislate what happens to their seed after they have given it away. You want to invade women? Okay. Then how about equal rights: Vasectomize all men until they sign a pledge of fidelity and responsibility as a parent. That will eliminate unwanted pregnancy.

Please tell me that I am wrong. Loving guns, Trump and telling women what to do with their bodies and sperm from men is just arrogant and ignorant.

Try, for one second, to imagine being on the other end of a loaded gun pointed in your face.

Try, for one second, to understand the difficulties of minorities, disabled or being a single parent before you judge them and force them to bring an unwanted child into this world. Then, please line up to adopt since you insist that these kids be brought into the world.

Try, for one second to imagine someone suggesting, encouraging a mob to lynch the VP, of the USA just so that you can stay in power no matter the will of the people, the law, or the electoral college.

How can people support and defend Gun Advocates, Women Haters, and Trump Lovers? It defies logic and reason.

What is/should be more important to you/us?

Fixing the gun murder problem in USA

Or

The right to bear arms?

The price of gas

Or

The rape of our planet to feed our addiction to oil?

The interest rate increase for mortgages

Or

The inability for minorities to get approved for loans to buy real estate?

The Johnny Depp trial

Or

The Jan 6 hearings?

The banning of abortions

Or

The right for women to make decisions about what happens inside of their bodies?

Winning and staying in power at all costs

Or

Having integrity and following the will of the electorate?

Their rights not to vaccinate?

Or

My right not to get sick from you?

Legislative power over women and their bodies

Or

Their right to what happens in their body

Their rights to guns

or

My rights to safety from gun violence

In case you are wondering, I am with safety, science, logic and reason.

When I am forced to look, I try to see the BIG picture

But when I can, I prefer to unplug.

Now, where is my Scuba mask and fins? Oh, there they are: Next to the hammock. Got it…CYA.

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Dan Beeman

Published author of Deep Dive - Existential Essays for Personal Transformation and Zeitgeist Chronicles — Essays about Issues in America. www.danbman.com