Many of us wander through life, if we are lucky enough to do so, under the misapprehension that life remains the same. If it is good, then it will always be good. If children are good, they will always remain so. False positives, as the medical terms go. Nothing is forever, at least in the real world, and while there are always the Cinderella stories, much of life for most people, can change drastically, in a moment, and not for the good.
A serious disease, an unexpected death, layoffs, simple age deterioration, a child's secret life of flirtation with dangerous activities exposed, a catastrophic weather event and we can go on and on listing them. But the one we never expected, well, that one is a national disaster that affects us all in so many ways.
We all have had expectations that the USA would foil the historic truths of empires rising and falling. We were different. We are different. Or so we thought, but now, uh uh. There is a fear pervading the very air we breathe; it is real and almost palpable, so strong is it.
A leader who turns on the very country he is supposed to serve and protect. The use of national armed forces to put down protests of the citizens. People being taken away in the night, thrown into unmarked vehicles, no answers provided, peaceful protests being attacked, individuals being "kettled" all the better to beat up, and the anger rises, the national temperature rising. And the cracks in the firmament of the nation spread and widen. Chasms develop, too wide and too deep to bridge, and confusion and dismay, deep uncertainty, rule the day. The foundation of the empire trembles. The people begin to tremble as well.
"It's the economy, stupid." Such is the go to phrase, the excuse for all societal ills. Yet that is not so. The economy did not cause the pandemic. The economy did not cause us to turn on each other, as the elites of society by economic worth, became carnivorous and in their insatiable appetite for more and more, never enough, ate away at the fabric of society. They provided a truly fertile growth atmosphere for anger, for despair, for hopelessness, for new hungers, physical hunger, spiritual hunger, existential hunger. Hope began to make rare visits to our national and private lives.
Nothing is forever. We know that. We also know that there are ups and downs, but what we had, then, that is lacking today, is that hope. That beautiful emotion that triumphs over a poor reality, that can take the tatters of a nation and sew it all together. But we also know that nature abhors a vacuum, and so into that vacuum pours the replacement emotion - fear. Unrelenting, ever growing fear.
Fear of the government failing us. Fear of the government turning on us. Fear of us losing our rights and even our expectations. Fear of our very basis of country being shredded. Fear of Newspeak. Fear of censorship. Fear at us becoming leaderless, or worse, with a demented one, always the signal for a dying empire.
We remember history and think of all the failed empires, those whose lies could not stave off historical truths and consequences. We think of our own homegrown fascists and Hitler wanna be. We feel ourselves, purposely and needlessly becoming a rogue, despised, and friendless nation, bereft of all allies, a laughingstock of the world even as we endanger that very same world.
Out of that fear grows anger, a dark blot growing over our national map, subsuming our national affect. We yell, we throw things, we protest, and the anger of all strata of society comes to the fore and it ain't pretty. No! it is ugly, divisive, dangerous, and produces nothing good if that anger is not paired with productive suggestions, with a new generation of leaders who eschew violence for logic and reality, for kindness and equality.
What do we do with a DeSantis who swears to the lies of his master, Trump, at a severe cost to his Floridian constituents? What do we do with a clearly demented man who has brought this country to the very gates of hell, to its clearly seen
wrong turns? What do we do with our anger at the presumed leaders of civilian society who follow that demented, immoral, traitorous man who rules with fear, anger, and jabs, not blindly, but with intent to stay in his drag and gain advantages for themselves and screw the little people? What do we do with our anger at the stubbornly clinging stink of prejudice?
As the anger grows, so does the violence. Right wingers who trade in hate see their moment growing again. So they act. The other end extremists also see their chance at making an impression, and the eternal anarchists, historical fact, take their punch opportunities. The middle people, you and me, well, we stand aside for a while but our anger grows as well. We need to put that anger, that burning fear, that horror at the disintegration of our lives, of the world as we know it, of the new world to come, put it somewhere positive and productive.
Is that possible anymore? Or are we too far gone? Can we pull ourselves together, work as a nation united, turn back those who have lost their way and remind them of what America and Americans should stand for, should strive for. Is that possible? Is it? Or is our own self created political and societal avalanche too powerful and fast moving to turn aside?
At one and the same time, we have two pandemics. We have the coronavirus which kills, which lingers in its victims, which has changed our lives, not for the good, certainly not, as we do not hug anymore, kiss anymore, even trust anymore, and isolate ourselves to save ourselves.
We have an economic pandemic, resulting in an economically damaged world economy, which will never turn around until we realize that we have done the damage ourselves. Greed, ignoring the failing environment and canceling protective regulations and the growing divide between a tiny portion of society and the rest, have us almost on that Snowpiercer train of the near future.
Finally, we have a pandemic of the soul and the heart. We have given up and given in, surrendering to these hostile ideas and people. We have chosen to align ourselves with factions rather than with all who want the best for us, for the country, for the world. Do we really need to heat up the Cold War once again and produce hypersonic missiles? Would it not be better to use that money, those funds,, to better the lives of all people, all races, all religions, all ethnicities? Can we ever do that? Will we ever grow into that ideal?
Nothing is forever. Certainly, we do not have to treasure our anger and fear and better, channel the energies they drain from us into positive actions and words. Let us begin, as they say, forthwith! First step, look in the mirror and see the truth of you. Look in the political mirror and see the truth of our failed leaders. Then vote them out. Not in exchange for extremists who appeal to our anger, but for thoughtful people who understand the power of words, the need for cooperation rather than pervasive and destructive anger and fear.
We need to use the propulsive power of words to move forward, seal the cracks, drain that proverbial swamp, turn negativity into positive action. Can we? Well, we must, or history will speak for itself and will repeat yet one more time.
Get out there and vote. Vote to be well, to be safe, for our nation to be well and safe as well. This is the only way to avoid growth of negative forces and battles in the streets. VOTE!!
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