THIS IS THE MOMENT

          Is it? Dr. Jekyll sang this at the moment when he believed all his work had brought about success and hope for a better future. He was triumphant, at the high point of his life which then began a tremendous downturn into disaster. So the question before us, now, today, when federal agents supposedly from the DHS, unmarked, unidentified, garbed in death patrol squad clothing, ripping people off the street and questioning them for hours - illegally, immorally - and beating the shit out of one and all - is this the moment?
     Quite frankly, and I so hope I am so off here, I believe this is indeed the moment. It is that moment in time when we get not a reward, but a booby prize, a disastrous one, a history changing one. It is a terrible moment for us all and certainly for the future, for it just about cancels that future in any positive manner or form.
     John Bolton maintains that Trump has no historical knowledge, no long range planning and it seems so obvious how correct he is, yet I began to think again. Trump has little to none of the factual knowledge of history, takes no note of disasters awaiting us under his regime, yes - regime - in all its pejorative connotations. He has no understanding of the long term, now drastically shortened, time that we have to deal with the failing environment. He could care less, as long as money rolls in and toadying behavior continues and grows.
     However, he has the instincts of a natural predator, one who believes in his right to rule the forest, to dictate to others and to enforce his vision of life upon all others. Thus, he understands history in that one particularly important theme. Power makes all things right in a Trumpian world. For Trumpian substitute any dictator's name from history and then understand where this poor impersonation of a natural man is coming from.
     His goal, from the beginning, has been the destruction and the takeover of this country. Obvious in hindsight, many of us have long seen this coming and shouted out the Cassandra like warnings before. Troy is falling, she shouted, and so is America. Oh, the name could remain the same, but the innards, that which makes America truly America? That will be trashed, and  not in an environmental turnaround pile, no reusing, recycling, refreshing, reforming. Nope, the country will be gone and that evil, sneaky and sly, yet demented man, devoid of all morality, lacking in every sense of any human empathy for others, concern or care for others, will be the man with raised arms in a victory signal.
     How could a demented insane person do this? Easy. Hitler was insane, mad to his last inch and brain cell. So was Stalin. So was Nero. So was any dictator throughout history, and yet, in that brutal tunnel vision they thrived and succeeded. A main reason for that success was the stubborn and foolish, dangerously so, attitude of the public. Satisfied with their bread and circus. Downtrodden and beaten down by fear and 3 AM raids, nacht und nebel arrests, they gave in, looked away, until it was too late.
     But the moment has arrived, here, now, in our country and this is the moment. Either we understand the truth or we look away, too late to  allow it to enter our understanding. Troops are running riot in Portland. Opponents from the Democratic Party are being threatened with troops entering those cities and states to get "the evil anarchists". Truly? I believe the anarchists here are the members of the Trumpian universe who go along with him, sniveling, groveling, salivating, at the thought of wealth and power. They do not see, or ignore, the dangers to all, including themselves, for the madmen throw all under the grinding wheels of that bus should they lose their use, or heaven forbid,  seem to lack loyalty to the dictator.
     It can't happen here? So goes the refrain. It couldn't happen in Germany either, that land of culture of music, of art, of polite society. Oh, no. But oh, yes. It happened there and found willing adherents. And these same adherents are here as well. Think we cannot find the brutes to beat people, to torture people, to round them up, to separate children and family, to beat them unto death, to enforce cruelty and beastly behavior?
       Well, who are those people in unidentified getups, smacking people with batons, spraying them with pepper spray, throwing them into vans, questioning them, and what comes next? No more releases, but the disappearances, perhaps, our own desparacidos? Who are those people who throw children and adults alike into freezing cages, no food, no water, no sanitary facilities. Who are those who refuse water and medical aid to desperate immigrants seeking  a new life in America, the same as the ancestors of these same brutes did and not so long ago?
     This is the moment, but I am not sure about which path the moment will take. Will it be the continued pushing of Trump, the further growth of occupying forces in  our streets until one morning we wake up to troops lining these very streets, announcing lineups, exiles, arrests, forced relocations, and death. Death of life. Death of our country. Death of hope. Or will it choose the path that meets resistance, a public that shoves back, that refuses to allow the end of democracy here, the end of the American Era?
     I am not advocating civil war, but I have mentioned its chances of occurring here. I have mentioned the possibilities of fighting in our streets, of blood running, in a new Civil War, one which must not be lost. Others also have been saying this more and more. The only way to prevent this right now is to push back. Protest. Protest. Protest. Challenge your representatives to speak out, to defy this would be dictator, this demented specimen of civilization gone wrong. Threaten them with loss of their positions if they do not heed their constituents. Challenge the brutes we now find live right next door. 
     And for G-d's sake, our sakes, our lives, resist, and VOTE! Refuse to give in. Refuse to allow these evil people to deny your right to vote, your right to live in a free and decent country. Support the dreams of your ancestors, of your parents, of yourself, why they and you came here to this country. Why tears ran down the faces of the immigrants crowding the decks.
     With hard work, fierce commitment, we can defeat this insane caricature of a man, but we must get together now, put aside our ridiculous spats, Republicans must choose between right ad wrong, and keep America as she strives to be - ever improving, ever a leader to the world, a model for others to follow, with the courage to admit wrong doing and the willingness to apologize and do better.
     This is no longer a matter of avoiding the plague or of being safe. This is now an existential issue that threatens our very survival. Portland is a portent of a future we need to avoid. Only we can see to that. Only we. You and I. Together. As Americans.