However the story began, the main question remaining is how does it end and is there any way in which we can halt the story in mid plot? And where does that elusive anwer or set of answers reside? Right in our hearts, minds, souls, and mouths. Right in our perceptions, recognitions, acceptances and actions. It is all on us, you and me. All of us.
In an excellent novel, The Things We Cannot Say, by Kelly Rimmer, some characters are having a conversation and two refugees who have undergone horrors are told in answer to a question about the safety of Jews in America, the naive answer is given: "There have been some issues...But, of course, nothing like what you saw in your homeland. America is a peaceful place, I assure you." The reaction: "I knew with certainty that small problems ...can become immense tragedies when left unchecked....It started small in Germany. It even started small in Poland. It started with a small group of people harassing and vandalizing and desecrating, and it ended with trainloads of my countrymen shipped to furnaces and dumped into a river."
A country and its reputation, its forecast for the future, is built upon and judged by how it treats the weakest members of its society. My lord, but we have failed that test in large and ugly looming red letter grading. We have refused to recognze truths, about ourselves and our country and its leadership. And it is frightening.
Oh, we have tried to hide the ugliness of the refugee detention camps and again, refugees is what they are. Call it honestly, folks, refugees, like we and our ancestors who came here were. A Latino group of pastors was even recruited to say how wondeful the detention situations were and will we never learn? Will we ever learn that acquiescing in our brethern's destruction and maltreatment will not save the acquiescer? I guess not. Sadly so, terribly so, for the future.
So, the true pictures, taken despite all attempts to hide the truth. There are the cramped conditions, there are the children held in cages, there are the barbaric food and water situations and this is how we are to be judged in the future - and now - by how we treat our most vulnerable.
And our esteemed leader, The Demented Toddler, what does he do? He plans a "military salute" on July 4th, a day traditionally marked in DC with a great concert, a cheery patriotism and family and friends groups. Now, we will have a sea of red hats as Trump desecrates the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with his warmongering, political rally speech, with his hate inducing words, and one visitor says, " "Let’s show America who we are. Let's show the world who we are." But G-d help us if that is who we are after all this time. $2.5 million dollars to be diverted to pay for this crap while the National Parks go begging for money to fix damages caused by climate driven natural disasters - but then again, there is no climate change, right, so obviously these damages never happened and so our taxpayer monies go to warm the cockles of The Demented Toddler's ice cold heart, his pathological megalomaniacal behavior and temperament.
Is this who we are? Is this how we let it begin and I, for one, am wondering why it was so necessary to schlep tanks and reroute jets and troops and separate military families on this special birthday celebration of our country? Is this how the story begins or rather turns into Chapter Two, with a military display, even a stretch of a military coup from the one who wishes to be Ruler for Life?? The one who thinks he is establishing a family dynasty, a new royalty here in America? Extreme but not unthinkable. I do not trust this man and his gang of corrupted, selfish, incompetent,uncaring thugs, not one whit. None!
"The Pentagon & our great Military Leaders are thrilled to be doing this & showing to the American people, among other things, the strongest and most advanced Military anywhere in the World," Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. "Incredible Flyovers & biggest ever Fireworks!" Perhaps it is just the spoiled rantings of a spoiled child who can get his way and bulls his way through to the detriment of the rest of the family, but his good old jollies about it are actually a salute to himself! Personally, the Trump balloon is far more apt and it, too, will be flying on July 4th in DC. What a shame that it has come to this.
We are fighting in the courts, in the media, in political rallies, but we are a divided nation, with divisions growing, even among allies. We are fighting and make no mistake about it - we are fighting for the very existence of our country as it was meant to be and as it should be and as it should attempt to grow and progress down the right road.
And so it begins, or rather, so it continues, for the Trumpian perversion of America has begun years ago and grown rapidly. But how does this story end? How? That is the frightening part and make no mistake about it - our very existence is up for grabs.
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