10 Hard Truths About American Life In The 21st Century
By Robert Kimball Shinkosky Photos: Wikimedia Commons Here are ten hard truths about the direction we are headed in America. 1. There’s dark money in elections and then there’s trillionaire “light of day” money. In 2025 Elon Musk paid open bribes to voters in Wisconsin who would help install his preferred candidate for the state Supreme Court. In 2026 he is buying up candidates who will exhibit undying loyalty to his personal priorities and the new 1% aristocracy in Washington D.C. See what a trillion can do in the hands of a Robber Baron? 2. Legalized sports gambling is one of the worst things that can happen to a democracy, yet American business promotes it like it’s the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but glamorous celebrities have jumped on board to do the advertising for all the betting. Today we are pinning our hopes on luck, not education. 3. $88,000 for a photo op with President Trump at the upcoming midterm Republican Convention tells us all we need to know about our glorious #47. Personal enrichment ranks a whole lot higher than service to the wishes of the country. 4. America is too obsessed with women’s NBA basketball to participate in civic affairs. Fandom soaks up a lot of time and money, leaving little of either left over for vigorous participation in democracy. Women are making the same mistake men have made for 250 years . . . obsessing over their ascension to money glory and power rather than settling down to teach history, civics, and constitutional law to the rising generations. Power corrupts whether you have testicles or ovaries. There are plenty of female communists and female fascists running around the world today. Good women should not be rocking fashion. They should be rocking the boat. 5. President Trump says, “They don’t pay us to defend Canada.” When was Canada attacked and when did we defend our neighbor? Oh . . . wait . . . he is talking about a Mafia-style protection racket MAGA is currently installing in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Americas and in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The motto of the new global politician: United we fall, divided I stand. 6. Stealing away names of neutral waterways like the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario and calling them the Gulf of America and Lake America is imperialism on the cheap. No lives lost, no money spent. Just new international greatness on a dime. Posting AI images of yourself alongside famous American presidents is domestic imperialism on the cheap. MAGA only spends money on hot war and AI, not on diplomatic negotiation or stupid names of places. 7. There was a day when American democracy refused to honor communist leaders by allowing them a friendly pow-wow with a U.S. leader because such a meeting would clearly enhance continuing tyrannical power back in those far-away communist homelands. Doing business with them would have the same effect. Today America allows Chinese communists to purchase American farmland and our President calls Xi “a great leader.” 8. Do you think the midterms are going to fix republican government in America, or just switch the party in charge of sexual assault and gold-digging? The prophets of old saw things more clearly in their day. They called the capitol city led by politicians of all stripes a “harlot.” 9. America doesn’t rely on a written democratic Constitution any longer. We rely on AR-15s, political lies, and economic monopolies. Wrongly educated young people hatch a dim-witted plot to raid the President’s birthday party with drones and bombs. Not the way to make change. 10. American media reporters and commentators are like ostriches. In the midst of the biggest usurpation of constitutional law ever in America, the media focuses on gas prices, affordable housing, and professional sports like they are the only things worth talking about. Robert Kimball Shinkosky is the author of books and editorials on democracy, religion, and the American presidency.
Black News 
By Robert Kimball Shinkosky
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
Here are ten hard truths about the direction we are headed in America.
1. There’s dark money in elections and then there’s trillionaire “light of day” money. In 2025 Elon Musk paid open bribes to voters in Wisconsin who would help install his preferred candidate for the state Supreme Court. In 2026 he is buying up candidates who will exhibit undying loyalty to his personal priorities and the new 1% aristocracy in Washington D.C. See what a trillion can do in the hands of a Robber Baron?
2. Legalized sports gambling is one of the worst things that can happen to a democracy, yet American business promotes it like it’s the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but glamorous celebrities have jumped on board to do the advertising for all the betting. Today we are pinning our hopes on luck, not education.
3. $88,000 for a photo op with President Trump at the upcoming midterm Republican Convention tells us all we need to know about our glorious #47. Personal enrichment ranks a whole lot higher than service to the wishes of the country.
4. America is too obsessed with women’s NBA basketball to participate in civic affairs. Fandom soaks up a lot of time and money, leaving little of either left over for vigorous participation in democracy. Women are making the same mistake men have made for 250 years . . . obsessing over their ascension to money glory and power rather than settling down to teach history, civics, and constitutional law to the rising generations. Power corrupts whether you have testicles or ovaries. There are plenty of female communists and female fascists running around the world today. Good women should not be rocking fashion. They should be rocking the boat.
5. President Trump says, “They don’t pay us to defend Canada.” When was Canada attacked and when did we defend our neighbor? Oh . . . wait . . . he is talking about a Mafia-style protection racket MAGA is currently installing in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Americas and in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The motto of the new global politician: United we fall, divided I stand.
6. Stealing away names of neutral waterways like the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario and calling them the Gulf of America and Lake America is imperialism on the cheap. No lives lost, no money spent. Just new international greatness on a dime. Posting AI images of yourself alongside famous American presidents is domestic imperialism on the cheap. MAGA only spends money on hot war and AI, not on diplomatic negotiation or stupid names of places.
7. There was a day when American democracy refused to honor communist leaders by allowing them a friendly pow-wow with a U.S. leader because such a meeting would clearly enhance continuing tyrannical power back in those far-away communist homelands. Doing business with them would have the same effect. Today America allows Chinese communists to purchase American farmland and our President calls Xi “a great leader.”
8. Do you think the midterms are going to fix republican government in America, or just switch the party in charge of sexual assault and gold-digging? The prophets of old saw things more clearly in their day. They called the capitol city led by politicians of all stripes a “harlot.”
9. America doesn’t rely on a written democratic Constitution any longer. We rely on AR-15s, political lies, and economic monopolies. Wrongly educated young people hatch a dim-witted plot to raid the President’s birthday party with drones and bombs. Not the way to make change.
10. American media reporters and commentators are like ostriches. In the midst of the biggest usurpation of constitutional law ever in America, the media focuses on gas prices, affordable housing, and professional sports like they are the only things worth talking about.
Robert Kimball Shinkosky is the author of books and editorials on democracy, religion, and the American presidency.
