that can gather strength from distress,
and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the
business of little minds to shrink; but
he whose heart is firm, and whose
conscience approves his conduct, will
pursue his principles unto death."
Thomas Paine
I came across this while reading yesterday and it struck me how apropos it is to the roiling times of today, just as much as it was befitting the revolutionary times of America. A person who can gather his wits, organize one's thoughts, grow with the times and the demands of the times, and who deep in his heart can approve of one's own conduct - that is the person to admire.
Unfortunately there are few of these people around. Most people lose their heads in times of trouble, panic, and grow only in despair to the elimination of all else. Yes, there are horrific times that demand that total loss of hope and optimism - the Holocaust, the bombed out country that was once Syria, the starving people of the Sudan - but in many cases, no matter how dire, there is room for at least a tad of hope, a teeny ray of light.
Our esteemed leader - so not - known as Trump is the exact opposite of the person to admire. This is a man who leads us into dark and troubled waters, who panics and rises up in panic and nastiness to all who criticize him, who truly has a total lack of morals and who views life through the prism of selfishness and self centeredness. Not good at all for a leader to have that trait. Yes, to be a leader means to believe in oneself to a strong degree, but it also means the ability and the knowledge that there are others who also have wise words and advice, perhaps even better than one's own. This man, this Trump, hears nothing but the refrain of his own nastiness and incompetence.
An important principle or truth of life is to acknowledge that the truth will out. It always does, even if delayed. But what if a person is so demented, so twisted, so degenerate that he cannot recognize the truth any longer and worse, drags along with him the people who so desperately wanted to believe in him. Now they cannot give him up for to do so means to admit their error and what it means to the country - a difficult burden.
These people need to hear the ring of truth of Paine's words. They need to hear and absorb the words of today, of James McCauley, a writer for The Washington Post who wrote yesterday against those who would "play with the truth of the past so as to alter the norms of the present." Read that again and truly feel and understand what that means, the frightfulness of it. This is our current President - though as I state, not mine, never was, never will be.
Those who act as if the past is theirs to play with are the ones who doctor a photo of Emma Gonzalez ripping up what is supposed to be a copy of the US Constitution and the horror it evokes. Well, sorry, folks, but what she was ripping up was a gun target!!! But the truth is always being played by this man and the worst of his supporters and as for the rest - well, they fall in line for the previously stated reasons. This man does not make the economy swell as it tanks badly. This man does not make America great for it always was until he came along and dragged it in the mud.
This is a man who wallows in the filth and revels in it. This is the man who wanted to be spanked, pulled down his pants to get just that. He is the man who perched there on the bed, awaiting his next delight! This is the man who after having sex with a woman outside of his marriage says that she reminds him of his daughter! Oh Yich!!!
My skin crawls almost every time this man opens his mouth or puts his Twitter finger to work. But the interesting thing is , is that he does not tweet back on this topic. He, the big mouthed tweeter is quiet about this. The truth, you see, the truth is coming out, and there is nothing he can do about it. His threats to her did not work and good for her. And perhaps he will even have to testify under oath - as if that matters to him - in a defamation suit. Ahh, the pleasures of the future.
So we can see a sliver of hope here in our terrible situation. Perhaps we can look forward to climbing down from our economic ledge. Perhaps we can look forward to a better Congress after November elections and certainly after the 2020 elections should we last that long!!! And we should certainly hope for much more from these brave kids, their seriousness and determination. Their elders should learn from them.
And by the way, just a word to the Democratic Party. Enough with the old dudes and dudettes. Put up a true contrast to the demented Trump. Not a 79 year old Sanders or a reshuffled Biden or even Elizabeth Warren. Time to find a breath of fresh air, a younger and more vibrant person, one with experience in the political world, one with a good reputation and one who understands what America is all about. Who? Perhaps the next generation of Ted Kennedy? Perhaps someone else? I am not the kingmaker here nor the one with the knowledge of all the possible hats in the arena but there are those who do know. Hope they use their brains. And soon. Let us find the true measure of a man or woman. Soon. Sooner than that!!
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