GRACE OF COMMUNITY

     So remarked Stacy Abrams in her response to the State of the Union Address recited by Trump, accompanied with his stupid smirks and grimaces, exaggerated statements and downright lies. No one is killing babies and post 24 week abortions are for non viability and woman's health. We should be long past the imposition of the Catholic truism that babies lives come before women's lives. A religious belief is one thing, but to include this in government for the masses, then no, no go.
      However, as I have stated before, abortion is no woman's dream, but rather a nightmare she would love to pass up on. But life hands us different hands and they must be allowed to be handled in the proper way for the people involved.
     That being said, I have never before seen such stupidity. Trump stands there with his demented smirk congratulating himself as if he achieved this - the record numbers of women in Congress. Uh, excuse me, but did anyone notice that this was on the Democratic side and the numbers were less, fewer on the Republican side of the aisle. Though a few of the women in white were not exactly to my taste, the facts are the facts and the Democratic Party appears to be the welcoming party of change and truth, for the most part. No crazy statements about illegals  for most are trying to come in legally, but you know who seems to block that path and then whines about the consequences!
     Abrams spoke of unity, of the grace of community that has always been part of America, knowing that we can step forward, dare to grow, because there would always be people watching our back, stepping forward with us, remembering that we are all Americans together and the sooner and the deeper we understand that, the better off we will all be. Grace of community.
      On the other hand, we had a man still ranting and raving over investigations which he called partisan and divisive. Yes, partisan if one bases that on the fact that the investigations are standing on the facts as they come out - the nastiness, the dirtiness, the corruption of the Republicans and this administration. From top to bottom, there has been such a selfishness amongst them that this has not been seen since the days of Harding. Let the chips fall where they may, this poison must be cleared and cleaned up for poison left in the body politic creates even more sepsis, to the point of death of the founding values of our country.
     Time and again, Abrams returned to the founding values. Democracy. Attempt made, mistakes made, return efforts and steps forward. Voting rights and for heaven's sake, why are we still arguing about this. It is a basic right for any citizen of America to vote. Period. Why are we still arguing this point a century and a half after the Civil War, a hundred years after the Women's Voting Rights Amendment? Has the time not come already, and have we not fallen too back into the past with some of the arguments of those who would wrest this right from those who have it.
     Grace of community should have us standing together, in bipartisan manner, to clean out the poison, sweep the floor clean, and return to the grace of community that should be so prominent a part of our country. Abrams says she loves her country, and I believe her, but pride in it as it stands right now is hard. Very hard. I would love to be proud to be an American if only we all behaved with that proper pride and take our proper places as leaders in all that is positive, in attempts to always improve.
      "For I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free..."  So goes the song, but ask yourself if that sentence is still true for all, if the community of Americans all share in the grace of that feeling, knowing they are free. Grace of Community. I love that term. Love that thought. Love the dream it represents and the best that we can be.