PURLOINED

     Poe wrote a famous short story called The Purloined Letter wherein a stolen letter was hidden in the open, amongst like objects. I believe it was Oscar Wilde who wrote "Where does a man hide a leaf? In the forest. Where does a man hide a body? On the battlefield." I humbly add to these hiding suggestions by asking, "Where does a man hide an egregious outrage? In the midst of so many other egregious outrages."
     And that, my friends, is exactly what Trump has done. One after the other, a slew of outrages that would have brought down any other politician, and one begins to have difficulty in separating the one from the other as the cascade is seemingly endlesss, and becomes the new norm.
     So we miss the appointments of enemies of a concept or idea as the watcher, the one who is supposed to keep watch and guard over the varied areas in the name of the people. Thus we have coal industry people watching the EPA. We have polluters guarding the waters and the air. We have exploiters watching the land. We have thieves and greedy individuals guarding our money. We have a moral pervert at the head of government who is supposed to stand as a role model for our young. And we have people who know not what justice is, watching the Department of Justice.
     The very name of the Department is now a glaring misnomer, an evil twist on it, as the people who are supposed to represent justice, instead argue that no, children held in detention do not need nor have to have a minimum standard of hygiene, of sleeping provisions, of food, clothing, heat and cooling and even breathing space. Nope, for they are subhumans according to the thinking of this administration, headed by the chief despiser of humanity, Trump. As for their parents, from whom they were ripped, well, they can also be shortchanged in food and minimum standards and in addddition, can have all their rights to due process ignored, simply pushed aside. Justice indeed!! Constitution? Say what?
     The ugliness of all this hate has now come out of hiding, for there is no more need to hide the ugliness in the minds of the formerly secret haters. Nope, now they can come out in full 'glory' and strut their nastiness, their nativism, their white supremacy hateful themes and do so openly. Look at Portland!! And yet, there are so many still blinded by the profusion of these hatreds that they stil make excuses and refuse to recognize that all have a place in the line of victims of hatred, one by one, until only the supposed elite are left!
     There is a children's book - though not childlike at all - perfect for explaining the Holocaust and other genocides in human history, written by Eva Bunting. In it, there is a shadow which falls over the forest, and every time it appears, another animal grouping or individual is gone. No one speaks up, no one organizes defense, for all make excuses. I am too small. I am too large. They do not want me. I am too afraid. I will hide. Finally, there is no one left but the little bunny and when the shadow falls again over the forest, there is no one left to help, to heed his plaintive call.
    Folks, this is us today. We all hide from the truth or are afraid to speak it anymore due to consequences, arguments, violence as tempers flare and unfortunately, because some people, too many people, actually approve of this open hatred, open destruction of the world, the land, the country that we hold dear. Realistic predictions of climate destruction, followed by food and water shortage, lack of trade and watch the human race go downhill fast!! There is a reason why more and more media and literature are themed about post apocalypse, concentrating on the aftermath, as people who survived try to somehow rebuild, even as others are reveling in the chaos. And to top it all, the fat cats are developing their survival units, complete with luxuries as they plan to survive the mess they have made. Sounds extreme? Not if you speak to the movers and shakers of the world today. And their minions and flunkies.
     Where are we hiding our equivalents of crimes? Among all the other crimes that are being committed, among all the sins against humanity that are happening, among all the egregious actions, the cascade of them that seems to be growing exponentially. We do not even know where to start anymore!
      Let us dig deeper, think better, and find all those purloined and hidden sins against humanity. Let us turn our minds to saving this planet, this country and let us make sure that we speak of it, that our media is not censored as Trump seems to be doing. If we do not do this, then we will be that little bunny rabbit, cowering and shivering under the shadow of the hunter.