DISCARDED

     Most American households discard items and food that would, in other countries, be used and valued. We forget here, most of us, that there are the people here in this country, who could use those items, that food, and we need to make a better effort to get things where they need to be. Sometimes it is not easy - make the decisions, even maybe purchase extra to give away, find a pantry or a kitchen, get the items there, volunteer perhaps, but the feeling that goes along with this is good, truly good.
     I think so many of us have forgotten the feeling of 'good' in the poisonous mixture that has become the daily atmosphere of the day. We have forgotten that together, we are the people, the citizens and residents of the United States. We forget the United part. We forget in the growing hate filled miasma that passes for political life these days, that people are just that - people. When we continue to forget, people become things, objects and are shorn of their human attributes. They become targets of rage and hate and I gotta say folks, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves and I include myself in that as well.
     It is hard to resist that pull, easier to dehumanize and thus rundown people whom one opposes, but truly, it is not a good thing. Yes, we need to fight the poison, to push towards the better instincts, but somehow the paths have become entangled. I just read a beautifully written piece by a woman who said she "came out as poor". It reminds us that people are poor at times through no fault of their own and even if one made a mistake, so what? So many of us are living paycheck to paycheck, one check away from disaster, but when we look at others in the same or worse conditions ….Why is that? Do we think that poor and struggling people are just bad, sinful, deserving of their fate, deserving to be hungry, to be forced to watch their children go to bed hungry. To live with despair?
     And along with this attitude comes the vicious hatred, the dangerous words and folks, words lead to deeds and words destroy. They truly do. That nursery rhyme of sticks and stones is the worst ever. Words can hurt and cut deep and influence for decades even as a black eye heals - and no, I am not advocating physical violence. Never! But we truly need to watch oru tongues as well. We need to be careful how we influence and teach the young. Somewhere, somehow, we must stop this cycle of hatred, especially the cycle that is growing apace these days, right in our own backyard too.
     A judge ruled that neo Nazi harassment is not protected by the First Amendment. Amen! Amen to that! A Jewish real estate agent was horribly harassed by Richard Spencer, the white supremacist leader. He trumpeted words of hate and shouts daily Hail Trump! Hail our people!Words, words have encouraged this behavior, have encouraged these people to crawl out from the dirt where they belong and shout their invective to the world and worse, have it heard and listened to! And acted upon.
    The man presently serving as president of the country has encouraged this with his own  violent words. He calls ballots "infected" - want to explain that to me? He claims unfairness even as a tally seems to be coming out in favor of his candidates so now what? He will take back his words and trumpet a victory, as razor close as it is, instead of taking away the meaning of it all - people are repudiating him and his hate. People are tired of him and most of all - democracy works, especially if one shuts up and lets it do its job.
     Discarded are the means of government. We have forgotten how to be constructive rather than destructive. We have forgotten that the parties of politics are meant to be friendly adversaries working in such a way as to benefit the people and the country, the whole country and not just the super wealthy. We were past that for the most part so what are we doing returning to the faults of yesteryear.
     And we need to stop disparaging science. The flames of California, the loss of over 60 people already and the over 600 who are still missing, the losses, the horror - climate change plays a huge part in this and so do we, as we ignored it and still try to deny it in some circles. When will we learn?
     More and more I have heard people of my age, people who have raised their families, and from people who have yet to start a family express great doubt and fear. The older ones are concerned for their children and grandchildren, while the younger ones fret whether even to have them and introduce them to such a world as we live in today. People of color are still facing things which should not be faced at this time already and Jews are once more afraid, frightened that this country which allowed their families in, is now unfriendly and even downright dangerous. 11 slaughtered Jews in Pittsburgh tell us that. The hate crimes that have dramatically increased tell us that. The rise once more of "globalism and globalists" - code words for a supposed Jewish conspiracy - tell us that. The accusations against George Soros, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust of so many conspiracies that it is difficult to keep count - all this is dangerous and growing. And remember, hate does not stop at boundaries; it grows apace in a horrific garden of evil and many fall under the onslaught of hatred, murderous hatred.
     So we need to pick up and dust off that which we have discarded, that which made us humans in the image of our Creator, that which makes life worth living, that which helps us help the world and the individuals within that world. It is the only way.