ON THE EDGE

      First thing when I woke up was to check the news. Who won? Found out we were on an edge again, Warnock a winner and Ossoff too close to call. That in itself is a victory against a powerful Georgia machine, especially for a quite new kid on the block. Even should we be disappointed, we still have acquired a tie in the Senate and a tie breaker in the person of our VP elect, Kamala Harris. And herein is the edge upon which we are standing, ground crumbling beneath our feet, and the only thing to do is to stabilize it and then take new measures to fix the mess. But stabilize first.

That, my friends, is a difficult row to hoe. The United States of America is no longer looked upon by the world as a stable nation. A Democrat in the WH and a majority in both branches of Congress is not necessarily a stabilization on a permanent basis. There are too many splits and cracks in the party itself and its members from right to left must join  together, all giving a bit, compromise - a word long lost from the lexicon lo these past four nasty years.

Can they? Will they? Or will power run through crazed and impatient minds needing so badly to set things right - to pick up the chairs, put them by the tables, and put food on that table and breadwinners around it, with children happily chatting as they eat their fill and ramble on about school that day. The temptation to cram through all sorts of hasty bills is strong, but thought must be involved and lots and lots of care. Preparation of defense from crazed extremists on both sides of the political aisle will be urgent but have we the energy to do this. This four year battle has sapped the energies of the nation. 

Nor are we done with immediate issues. DC is filling up with crazed fanatics urged on by a demented toddler who knows he has lost, denied the reality and acceptance of it, whispers and shouts and throws tantrums re coups, military takeovers, shredding the Constitution, treasonous behavior and on and on. Grown men and women - who definitely know better - turned into sniveling craven cowards with no moral spine or compass, losing true north, and the mess they have created is leaving an impermeable mark on the soul of the nation.

So we are on the edge. We need to look deep within ourselves, turn ourselves inside out. Measure our values, those that are left anyway. We must dig through our memories for a time when at least some politicos remembered their oaths to serve and protect, to honor and obey the Constitution, to put country before Party. Dim memories, but nevertheless, still there. Some of us have gone over the edge already, but there are enough remaining to pack down that crumbling edge and rebuild better, stronger, upon it.

Many of us have changed individually along with the changed nature of our country. Good and bad, depending really on the changes, but some of these changes are permanent. Will the Proud Boys fade back into the sewers, the crevices from which they came? Will the anti-fas of violence return to calmer, more reasonable and reasoned ways? Will we discard the good changes along with the bad?

I, myself, have changed. I became far more enmeshed in politics, paying intense attention to its ups and downs, to its changes, to the impending destruction of democracy in this land unless we did something to stop that decline. I found that I had to find other things to do to keep sane during these stressful times during which there were fewer options. Social life was curtailed, movies and theaters, a love in my life, were shut down. Even libraries were shut and then limited and eek! books! Families were kept apart, children fearful of infecting and even causing the death of their older parents and grandparents. These same parents and grandparents longing to hug the physical form of these kids, not only their Zoom images.

We found ways to make do, to even meet on a limited basis with friends and family. It demanded extraordinary measures, but was possible to achieve, safely. And we dug deep within and found new interests and abilities, new hobbies and took pride in what we accomplished.

 Personally, for some strange reason, never before encountered in my life, I had an urge to take up wood crafting, furniture refurbishing and renewal, on a small basis. I have now completed several projects, my work going around the country to family members who asked for them, and my 'workshop' - i.e. living room and dining room table, lanai, and second bedroom, are now filled with projects in progress, those completed and on walls, or awaiting shipping, and the materials and needs of this hobby or more than a hobby? 

I have gained enormous pleasure and pride from it. This is the same pride and pleasure, along with the hard work, the willingness to spend on what we truly need to move forward - this is what we need. But first, clean up the mess from before, keep motives as pure as possible, the surroundings and motivations as pure as possible, and let us all put on American hats, wave American flags, sing American songs, be Americans, one and all, as we move back and off the edge, even as we fix it, extend that edge into more room, more thought and care in our doings and desires.  

Edges can be changed. We need to change it positively, with true patriotism and rational differences of opinion and behavior. Simply put, Mr. Rogers said it all as he sang and removed his outside shoes and put on clean inside shoes and zipped up his sweater, keeping warmth inside. That same warmth, that same attempt to keep things clean - along with the question asked with a hopeful tone, a smile and extended hand - "Won't you be my neighbor?"