Once Upon a Time, We Called Them Traitors

Elon Musk, along with a gang of Republican members of Congress, is following Donald Trump’s lead and siding with the enemy

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin make nice despite Russia’s plans to destroy Ukraine. (Photo from Wikipedia Commons)

Back in the 1950s — the so-called good old days when (according to Donald Trump’s MAGA movement) America was great, at least we all knew the good guys from the bad guys. Average people like my father and uncle fought in WWII and were the good guys. Nazis and fascists were the bad guys.

Then came the Cold War, pitting the United States against the Soviets, who put an Iron Curtain across Eastern Europe. Communists were imagined under every kitchen table, and kids like me hid under our school desks in duck-and-cover drills meant to save us from nuclear explosions in our backyards. Anyone who thought Nikita Khrushchev, then premier of the Soviet Union, was a nice guy needed to have their head examined. And, if you sided with the Rooskies, you were branded a traitor, pure and simple.

But now, it’s not as easy. These days, it’s hard to tell who is on whose side, which people are the heroes, and which ones are the scoundrels.

Take the new American hero icon, Elon Musk, the epitome of the American dream. He’s the guy who invented the Tesla, saved Twitter with a 44 million dollar deal, and launched Starlink, the high-tech wonder that can be seen in the night skies throughout the world, bringing the internet to far-flung places.

If he’s not a good guy, who is? But, wait a minute, though. Turns out he didn't really invent Tesla. That credit goes to two engineers; Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who founded the electric car company in 2003.

Nor did he actually save Twitter, aka “X.” Following a series of infantile policy changes, people are dropping the social media disaster like a bad habit, and my stock is dropping in value along with it.

And, last but not least, Starlink’s internet is apparently not for everyone after all.

Anyone with half a brain knows that Ukrainians should get the “Good Guys of the Decade Award” for standing up to this century's ultimate bad guy … Vladimir Putin.

Everyone except our boy, Elon. Seems last year he sided with his buddy Vlad by denying satellite internet service to Ukraine, thus preventing a drone attack on a Russian naval fleet.

What an S.O.B.

If he had done that back in MAGA’s ‘good ole days’, he would have been labeled a traitor to his country.

But he’s not the only one who is cuddling up to Russia. A gang of Republican congressmen led by Representative Chip Roy of (you guessed it) Texas is leading a group of deranged far-right members of Congress to block further military aid to Ukraine.

In private talks with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky flatly stated that without the aid, Ukraine would lose the war.

But that’s not enough for amateur military tacticians geniuses like House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, former delicatessen owner whose experience in military tactics came from his days as a weekend warrior in the United States Army Reserve. He wants to know Ukraine’s plan to win the war before Republicans in the House support more aid.

He’s joined by the usual suspects; Representatives Andy Biggs of Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Eli Crane of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Matt Rosendale of Montana.

So there you have it. It’s no secret that these politicians are pandering to the Republican base. However, it does make you wonder whose side these guys are on. Especially because they’re following former President Donald Trump’s lead and cozying up to Vladimir Putin.

Their self-serving actions are putting millions of people like you and me at risk and opening the door to further aggression by the world’s latest effort at world domination — the bad guys, Russia.

Back in the day, we called them traitors. Now we just scratch our heads and order another Heineken beer …. Oh wait, that’s one of the companies that can’t pull out of Russia because of their “duty” to shareholders.

I, for one, am done with guys like Elon. I’m not drinking Heineken anymore, and I sure am not going to vote for any traitors in the 2024 elections.