COMING OUT OF THE DARK

     Correct. That is the name of a powerful song by Gloria Estefan whose show we enjoyed last night, but it is more than that. It can apply to the situation we are in right now, sitting in the dark with a benighted President whose major demand is that all go his way and if not - then tantrum away.
     Much of America is presently sitting in the dark, not knowing what is coming next. Will he declare his false 'emergency' so as to grab money that does not belong to him? Will the nation stand for it if he does declare one? And yes, he is correct - there is a national emergency, but not the one he has falsely claimed. It is instead the emergency of 800,000 federal employees going unpaid, mortgages unpaid, food and utility bills unpaid, and all the people who depend on their funds are also going broke as the money tap is shut off. This is the emergency he has ginned up, caused and created.
     Along with that go the accompanying disasters. How many will get sick and die from uninspected foods and drugs. There are so many creeps out there now reveling in the rollback of regulations that one just knows that they will take advantage of the lack of inspection and squeeze more profit when no one is looking. The national parks are being trashed. I almost cried this morning as I read that the Joshua trees of the park of the same name are being cut down. That park and its thunderous silence, its vistas and topography, its very atmosphere, are amazing, almost holy and what is being done there and in other areas is sacrilege and a disaster of unknown proportions as yet. That is an emergency. 
     This is a demented overgrown child in an adult's body. Physically he appears to be an adult, but his behavior is that of a spoiled brat, an entitled brat and the country is suffering because of it. The dark we are in right now is deepened with every revelation of more garbage from him and his minions: Ukrainians at the Inaugural Ball, meddling in the Steve Wynn casino case, BFF behavior with Putin, expressions of 'love' for Kim, moronic tweets and grossly misspelled and misworded tweets and on and on. The dark is frightening. It is that dark we must come out of and soon.
     One is encouraged and sees some light when we read of the lawyers and states challenging Trump's dangerous acts and arbitrary rulings. We have some Senators at last beginning to speak out but the question is - will they have the courage and moral stamina to keep it up or will they too fold under pressure. 
     We have a madman who accuses the press of being lackeys and partners of the Democratic Party and the "enemy of the people". That is not only ridiculous, but very dangerous to our democracy when he states that. We have cronyism, nepotism, corruption, incompetence, lies upon lies and one has to go far back in American history to find as corrupt and crooked an administration. If one can be found that was just as bad!
     We are in the dark and I am afraid the dark is deepening, becoming blacker and filled with ever growing despair. Will we be able to survive as a country for two more years? Will he even allow this country to function any more as a constitutional democracy ruled not by him, but by the Constitution? Will he induce a bloody Civil War? Will the hatred he has aroused and allowed grow even worse and will more blood be shed? Will we continue to 'grow' more people willing to manhandle children and adults in need of compassion and help? Will we waste funds on doing things the wrong way, again and again?
     Time for us to be coming out of the dark. Time for us to recognize that the 'other' is a good thing to have around, to share cultures with, to find new partnerships, to grow our country, to live good lives. Let us vanquish the darkness together and rid ourselves of those who would deprive us of our America. We must beat back the darkness enveloping the country. No choice there, friends, none at all.