Venezuela Takeover – The Good and Bad

I’m feeling conflicted. I don’t really know how to feel about the seeming shit storm in the last 24 hours. I’m angry but also can appreciate the idea that an authoritarian government has been overhauled. Then again, doesn’t the hypocrisy make this a bit worse here? Is it okay that a wanna be authoritarian government invaded another?  I’m frustrated because the issue is more complex now.

My Venezuelan Uber Driver

Several years ago, I found myself in Newark, NJ. After visiting my client for training and sales strategy meetings, I took an Uber to the airport to catch my flight home.  I sat in the front seat, which is probably unusual for Uber drivers – it was my very first Uber, so I didn’t know how things worked.  My Uber driver was so amazing.  Not too chatty, but not silent.  

We chatted about why I was there, where I was from, and if I liked living there.  He told me he wasn’t from here, but from Venezuela.  He also told me that he was forced to flee Venezuela because its economy was so bad. Him and his family couldn’t find food there. I didn’t know that, so I asked him if he missed anything about his home country.  Of course he did, but knew he’d made the right decision.

“My country used to be like the US.  Rich and free.  We had so many natural resources, and we had nice things, lots of food, and then our president was elected,” he said.  He continued on and explained that their president had run the country into the ground.  It made me angry – another fake democratic country where the leader had made promises and then took power for themselves.  I felt grateful to be here.  And of course, I was grateful to have met this person, too.  I snapped a selfie with him before I left for my terminal with my luggage.

That Venezuelan president isn’t this Venezuelan president – technically.

The president that he said ran the country into the ground was Chavez. The president of our country, just illegally invaded and kidnapped, is Nicolas Maduro.  Technically, not Chavez, but he was Chavez’s VP.  Just like we’ve elected VPs to our country’s Presidency in the past. It would be like JD Vance getting elected next election, or if Kamala had gotten elected last election.

So, if I’m being honest, I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to Venezuelan politics. I can only assume that their parties run like ours – Chávez’s policies probably continued and may have even gotten worse under Maduro. But if I’m being honest, I don’t know, and this isn’t a news article – I wouldn’t even know what news articles to trust right now if I’m being honest.   (That’s a whole other blog post, isn’t it?)

Venezuelans Celebrate?

However, 10 hours ago, 229 news outlets, many of them less biased than biased… reported that Venezuelans around the world are celebrating Maduro being removed.  Seeing this brings a bit of joy to my heart.  Maybe something good came out of this… because if I’m being honest, when I saw the news about the attack and then removal.. I was pissed.  I called two of my three representatives, and I’ll explain why in a bit… but maybe… somewhere my Uber driver was celebrating… and then thinking about the amount of Venezuelans who had fled their homes… who had left the country due to violence or famine… maybe they could go home.  Maybe we can stop deporting Venezuelan natives to Ecuador now…  (Putting aside the fact that we’re deporting people without due process….)

I will call out, though, that several of the “celebrations” from Venezuelans that far-right leaders are sharing are NOT, in fact, Venezuelans in Venezuela. And tonight, my fiancé said that the VP is going to be arresting anyone who helped America invade as traitors (and wouldn’t we do the same if someone came to our country?)

The rules are there for a reason – Venezuela or America?

Pause the positivity for a moment.  I want you to close your eyes for a minute and then come back.

There are people in other parts of the world who are noticing that America is slowly slipping into authoritarian rule.  Our president seems to be doing things largely unchecked by our congressional bodies (the people’s representatives). We’ve had the largest protests in history since he took office, he’s threatening political opponents with death, and he’s gutting government programs that are supposed to help the American people.  He’s also been sending military and federal agents into cities, unrequested, to arrest people (and not just illegal immigrants, but US citizens too). Our government is harassing our own people…  

Imagine for a minute that China or the EU decided to conduct a military attack on the White House… They broke in, killed the Secret Service agents, and kidnapped the president.  

Like it or not, there are Americans who would celebrate – Many Americans who have left the country would celebrate… would that make it okay?

American Actions in Countries Other than Venezuela

Listen, we don’t have a great track record… but these are unsanctioned attacks on another country where our military killed other civilians and other military and then KIDNAPPED another president.   What is the world to do with this?  There are laws and international courts for a reason… What are our ALLIES supposed to think right now?   You don’t like our presidents, and this is how you’ll act?   What is the UN supposed to do?  This was an attack… You can’t extradite someone for crimes in another country unless that country agrees… Carrying out an attack on someone else’s soil is an act of war…

Our President, to my knowledge, does not have congressional approval to carry out an act of war.  When I called my representatives, I asked them to confirm one way or another… because honestly, I could be wrong.   And maybe this really was what our government is saying… but they LIE SO MUCH, how do we know for sure?  Even if it’s what they say, does it warrant what they did?  Does it warrant military action and war crimes to arrest someone for drug trafficking?   If the Venezuelan president was carrying out attacks on America, or one of our allies… this type of action – swift and definite would have been something I could get behind… But nope…

Why Venezuela?

And speaking of… WHAT THE ACTUAL – if this is how you’re comfortable behaving, why is Hamas still operating – why haven’t we taken out Netanyahu too? And why is Ukraine still at war with Russia… Why haven’t we kidnapped Putin after Ukraine?

The President has said as much,  he’s stealing natural resources… and of course, I’m sure there are other reasons.  You probably have a few yourself, and I’m not blind, so I can see the many reasons that could also be the reason for why Venezuela and why right now, BUT – the point is, we’ve never done this before – not even when another country was killing millions of people… So why this action and why now?

Where is Congress?

Meanwhile, where is Congress?   Why are we not immediately taking action to stop this? According to the Library of Congress https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C11-1/ALDE_00013587/, Congress is the only one that can declare war.

HOWEVER – There is precedent for Presidents to do literally whatever the fuck they want to other countries – According to the National Constitution Center https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-i/clauses/753

“In modern times, however, Presidents have used military force without formal declarations or express consent from Congress on multiple occasions. For example, President Truman ordered U.S. forces into combat in Korea; President Reagan ordered the use of military force in, among other places, Libya, Grenada and Lebanon; President George H.W. Bush directed an invasion of Panama to topple the government of Manual Noriega; and President Obama used air strikes to support the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. Some commentators argue that, whatever the original meaning of the Declare War Clause, these episodes (among others) establish a modern practice that allows the President considerable independent power to use military force.”

But regardless – where is Congress right now? Do they not see the pot of danger we are stirring?  Where were they before?  Hell if I know, it seems to me that they’re all pretty scared.  But where are they now?  How far do we allow this repeatedly unchecked power to test and test and test?

Our Representatives don’t work for us anymore

Our country has been so self-absorbed and obsessed that, despite the obvious flaws and issues we’ve had in our constitution from the start, we’ve never fixed it. If you bought a house and the foundation was crumbly, the supporting joists were rotting… would you try to fix it before you fixed the foundation? I’ve seen enough Holmes on Homes to know that some people definitely would… and that’s what we’ve been doing – we’ve built patchwork systems upon patchwork systems, kicking the issues down the road for the next generations to solve.  

But for a few generations now, our representatives have stopped working for the people… they’ve stopped patching the holes in the ways we’ve needed them to and started knocking down walls, or putting paint over broken pipes to cover their leaky budgets and departments, and then they started adding secret rooms where they could do the shady shit and get away with it… (the laws that allow PAC funds to donate more than an individual, for instance.)

It’s all a mess – not just Venezuela.

I don’t have the answers to many of my questions – hence why I feel conflicted… but, I will share what i do understand – this isn’t political – it’s more spiritual.

America has been a country for 250 years THIS YEAR. Historically, there is always turmoil around this time (I could dig so deep into this to show you the fact that Pluto is moving into Aquarius (the rebel) and it hasn’t been there since the last time the world had revolutions around the world, but I won’t dive so deep here… maybe in another post.) When transformations happen on a large scale, there is typically destruction. Even the forests burn sometimes… controlled burns that humans start to protect them, or fire created by nature herself. The transformation after the chaos and fire of volcanoes is gorgeous, nutrient-rich soil that is so fertile that new species can take root and flourish. So let’s be honest for a hot minute here… Our system was NOT the greatest in the world.

This administration is serving a purpose.

This administration is tearing down the systems – they may be nasty and cruel and gross and nothing of who I’d ever have elected, but they ARE serving a purpose – they’re tearing it ALL down.  They’re exposing the flaws and the loopholes.  And that’s what Trump openly admitted he was good at.  “I don’t pay taxes because why would I… there are so many loopholes you don’t have to pay taxes… You just have to know how to exploit them.” We’re all aghast and acting like we didn’t know – and maybe the average American didn’t know or understand that this kind of thing was there…  But it was there – and Congress DID know.  

So as this administration continues to strip this country down to the barest of the constitution… and the supreme court continues to rule on what’s constitutional and what’s not – we’re seeing the absurdity.. the shitty foundation.. the fact that for all the prior planning by those old guys 250 years ago… they didn’t plan for it all.   White people are finally faced with admitting that we knew the system was screwing people all along, and we did nothing to fix it.

After Grief comes Rebuilding

But… in the acceptance of that (after we get through the grief – see the next blog post), we will see what we have to do to fix it.  If our representatives don’t currently see that, it’s only a matter of time before more people like me run.  The people who see that we need an overhaul.  That work, though, that remodel of our country… it can’t start till the rest is stripped bare.  And so for now,  for as scary and crazy and terrifying as this shit show is… It’s serving the purpose that it was designed to. Whether the design is cosmically, God gifted, or maybe just the way the mathematical probabilities have been designed.

What can Congress do now?

Well, they can stop the bleeding – they can stop the loss of the little bit of structural integrity we do have.  They can stand for the checks and balances that are foundational to the Constitution as a democratic document.  They can fix the leaks in the pipes so the basement stops flooding – revise the manipulatory practices with updated laws.  They can write into law things that the Supreme Court has said they can’t protect because it’s not written in the Constitution (things like the right to privacy – the right for an individual to have their own decisions about their own healthcare… the fact that humans are entitled to the same rights as citizens. Congress could just come together and stop serving the PARTIES – and remember that they’re elected to serve the people and do so.

I don’t know why it’s so hard… it shouldn’t be this difficult.

Quick Update

The Next Podcast Episodes will arrive as soon as they arrive.  I have been a bit slow in getting them uploaded. I will work on that soon. Click here to listen to the latest episode.