When cutting something in the kitchen, or slicing open a package, using a dull blade makes hard work of the job. It frays rather than cuts and makes a mess of the whole thing. We seem to have fallen into the use of a dull blade, a blade of hurt, rather than the sharp edge which can trim the fat, slice neatly, and open the packages that life seems to be handing us these days.
Why is that the case? Personally, I believe it is because we have a dull knife out there in the WH who attracts other dull blades, people who have forgotten what true intelligence at the head looks like, have forgotten the harm that the duller edges of stupidity, lies, name calling can create. They have forgotten that the damage of that dull knife is too often non fixable; it remains to harm and to hurt, to haunt with why didn't I or why did I, if only - woulda - coulda - shoulda, - but far too little, far too late . In any case, even when pointed out, there are those who will push against that truth, that nastiness. So there we are with that hurtful dull edge.
Take numbers. Why is it that we react to the shock of a multiple shooting more than we react to the news of millions in starvation, class warfare, ethnic hatred - or coronavirus deaths. It is because we cannot fathom in our heads the import of such large numbers. It becomes vague, a statistic that joins the ennui of other numbers. But smaller numbers are humanized, take on faces, take on comparisons that are understood better than the millions. Two attempts to humanize large numbers?
One is the shocking banner headline of the NY Times which listed, in teeny tiny print, the names and a sentence about each name, each person - a PERSON - a real live individual, killed by this virus and by our totally inadequate response and preparation for it. It is that person, that father, mother, friend, neighbor, child, teacher, doctor, nurse, that real, live person, that city of Boca empty, or South Bend, or a sports arena. But 6 million? Numbers, too much for the mind to absorb, so it pushes it away.. But the large numbers are there as well. Imagine walking into the boundaries of NY City and finding only the empty echoing streets where once there were crowds.
Oh, right. We actually did that, and not only to NY, but to Rome and Milan and Jerusalem and Venice and London and Paris and on and on. Boccelli sang a magnificent concert on Easter Sunday to an empty magnificent cathedral and then to an empty city. Imagine the emptiness as a permanent number and situation. See the 6 million plus paper clips collected by that class studying the Holocaust, its history, causes and results. That could be us, a modern day version of the Black Plague in Europe of the mid 1300's that wiped out a third of the population - and in turn, actually benefitted humanity by being the seed of a great revolution, a Renaissance. Do we want that, wish for that, use the dull edge of disease, of numbing of the senses, in the name of a weird progress? I sincerely hope not; I truly do.
And yet the dull edge keeps on with its harm, used by the dull bulb of the bunch, the bulb that brings darkness, threats, anger and hatred to the world rather than anything good. This is a dull edge of hate which sharpens itself on the bodies and ruined reputations it leaves behind. It is the anguish of a family caused by false rumors of an affair and a murder that never happened, a death that was a tragedy of health and nothing else, 'only' the sorrow of a family now tortured by the constant cutting, a sawing away, of that dull blade.
The dull blade of dull minds, of easily led minds, of minds that refuse to recognize the truth, the minds that deny the truth of Twitter's efforts to fact check the biggest liar in amount and girth, Trump. This, in order to uphold a responsibility to the world to publish the truth and nothing else, unless labeled as such, to sharpen the blades and trim the fat, the harmful, the ugly and the bad.
Constant use and presentation of a dull blade in every aspect of our lives here in America and indeed all over the world, raises further danger. It will give off sparks giving rise to a destructive fire, of explosive hatred, of ethnic cleansing, of injustice to a degree that will perhaps - perhaps - only shock some and encourage others. These knives, these dull edges of harm and hurt, of destruction, must be sharpened, turned into the positive aspects of life rather than the negatives.
How do we do that in this hostile and changed world? We remember our foundations, our values, the lessons of the past, and the teachings of our elders, our parents. We open our minds to the fact that we lost our way, many of us, and fallen under the influence of evil, yes, evil, minds. There is a concept and a reality of evil, like it or not. It threatens our democracy, our liberty. It threatens our futures, the futures of our kids. It leaves behind a legacy of shame and blood, of dullness and sharpness - the sharp edge of other blades in the hands of the dull ones, blades now used to kill, to destroy the good of society, its positive and courageous efforts and achievements.
It is almost too late when that chief dull blade realizes it has gained sharpened edges, now useful to cut society into the shape he wants. It is when Grassley wakes up and says that Trump has "failed" in his actions re the firing of independent investigators. Too little, too late. Not when Grassley and his GOP have given away the store and its entire stock, to that same blade, the one getting ever sharper, all due to our negligence, our failures. We failed to guard the Tree of Liberty, to control the baser elements of our society, to protect those who need protecting, and not allow the fatcats to rise above all, to shut down the dreams and realities of an America, the hope of the world, the land where the Lady of the Harbor holds up a torch, lighting the way for those in need of aid, of succor, lighting the dark with the flames of justice and welcome.
If we are not careful, if we do not wake up soon, almost too late already, what with a man who is setting up his refusal to concede a loss in his next race, then it will be too late. It will be the negation of our new memes today - Be Well and Stay Safe. No way to do that if we do not stand guard at the gates, if we do not keep the dull blades out of the nation's kitchens.
Fact check your beliefs. Fact check for the truth. Put aside your pride and those of you out there who realize your errors, be strong and less prideful and admit your errors. Become a sharp blade in defense of our nation and its meaning. Be a sharp blade that will undo the damage already done, wreaked upon us by the dull blades. Only then, perhaps, will we Be Well and Stay Safe. The time is short, the duties many, so let us get to work, get out the vote, stand guard against the false and destructive lies of supposed voter fraud, guard the life of our country. If we do not, our lives will mean nothing too.
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