David (Hogg) vs. Goliath: Sanction slingshot hits its mark

Sanctions work against countries…why not domestic scofflaws?

Why shouldn’t young consumers level their brand of sanctions against corporate and celebrity targets who in many cases desperately deserve to be called to account?

David Hogg has become, at least for the moment, a symbolic firebrand of this movement. To all the Laura Ingrahams and fellow believers of Fox propaganda and Breitbart BS who want to demean or dismiss his passionate pleas for gun controls, ultimately the smart money will be on David to prevail.

He’s an important first wave in a youthful consumer movement that is fed up with business as usual in government and corporate sectors. Instead of protesting the Vietnam War as young boomers did, the current crop is protesting such causes as the NRA war on common-sense gun control.

They will vocalize it; they will vote it. Thank God for their willingness and ability to put their views on a public platform instead of grousing privately as so many of us do. Hopefully, their zeal will add power and pizazz to a growing number of “We the People” who are protesting loudly for and against a variety of important issues from immigration to an incendiary presidency.

For all of the current angst and anger, what is happening in this country will drive many better days ahead—as long as Trump doesn’t land us in a nuclear war, economic holocaust or other global cataclysm.

Fact is, the Trump presidency is driving the nation to stand up and get involved. Conspicuous presence and protest are replacing inconspicuous behaviors and passivity. The David Hoggs of the world serve as a lightning rod to generate some energy toward righting the many deficiencies in this country. As a baby boomer, I applaud their contributions and fresh, clear perspectives.

Without Trump, we likely wouldn’t have in all this much impetus for change. Hillary probably would have perpetuated the malaise at a subtler level that would have prevented many from getting fired up. But, with Trump at the helm, complacency is falling away. So, the Trump presidency—hard as it is for many to fathom—is actually a harbinger of a new, better era.

One of the first substantial consequences will be the mid-term elections. At this point, Democrats are poised to kick butt and perhaps retake both houses of Congress. As a decades-long Independent, I have been moved to re-register as a Democrat—not because I have any great affection for them because they’re just another shade of the same crap we’re enduring from the Republicans. I’m re-affiliating because of my complete, utter disgust with the Republican party and all they don’t stand up for. With such notable exceptions as John McCain, the Republicans are a party of weaklings and wimps.

And, from my reading of the tea leaves, I’m far from alone. Most of the country wants common sense and compassion from their elected leaders. This is all but extinct in the Republican party and in the Trump White House.

Sometimes, it takes a forest fire to burn away everything old and sick—and replace it with fresh, healthy growth. While the David Hoggs of the world didn’t start the fire, they’re sure fanning the flames.

It’s time for rebirth. Let young and old alike join each other in making it happen.

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Mark Lusky, aka The Happy Curmudgeon, has voted for Democrats, Republicans and a Libertarian in presidential elections going back 30 years. As the owner of a 34-year-old, Denver-based marketing communications firm, he is a political malcontent who often quips support for “Thunder the Wonder Puppy” as a presidential candidate. (Too bad George Carlin is no longer among us to make a run—although he likely would have known better.)