"WE ARE IN SORROW."

  That statement - the title - is the best one I have heard yet. We are all in sorrow. We are confused, bewildered to a  degree most have not seen before. We are trying to deal with situations that are coming down the track with such speed, such fierceness, that handling them in an organized, orderly,  successful manner is almost impossible. And yet, we must try, do our best. The question now is do we want to do our best? Do we want to answer that man's pleas, address his sorrow, and the sorrow of so many others caught up in tragedy? The answers are not clear.

Yesterday I came across this statement from the noted writer, Joyce Carol Oates. I wonder if this answers those questions in a negative manner. It certainly presents a negative image of people and our chances to alleviate these states of sorrow.

"And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices."

How powerful a statement. How depressing. Yet also, much to our shame, how true. At least so it seems over the recent half decade plus that we have lived through. Did it not seem that all our supposed leaders had bought into such a philosophy, tempered their behaviors, their statements, using this belief as a measuring rod? Reality has been subverted as crazed individuals, seemingly sane, bought into extreme ideas, refused to stop drinking the Kool-Aide. In fact, they spike it even more, drink even deeper, and consequently, place this country in danger. Evil? I think so.

One such individual speaks of the movement to reinstall the worst, most dangerous President ever, into office. "There's always a way." So he says. So he believes. So he will act upon. So he will, along with other deluded enemies of the state, act upon. We saw it on Jan. 6 and we will see it again, as they refuse reality and take refuge in their delusionary world, a threatening world to the rest of us. Evil?

"Or there will be consequences." So the Taliban warned the US and western countries racing the clock to evacuate citizens and allies from Afghanistan. Truthfully, the entire country needs evacuation. Who among them is not in clear and present danger? Women? Check. Children? Check. Media? Check. Teachers? Check. Moderates? Check. Humanity? Check. The fear of these people waiting on lines, squooshed into planes, is palpable. so thick one can almost cut it with a knife. Consequences? For sure. They have been with us for years. Even as we refused to see them. Evil?

The Republicans and Democrats fight like cats and dogs. The Democrats fight within, much to their detriment. Someone, somewhere, somehow, is instigating this. The air reeks of plots, of destructive partisanship, of a loss of respect for our  institutions and Constitution. Evil?

Is there hope? There must be. If not, we are lost,  mired in a dire situation with no exit. All of our own making. Doctors in Florida staged a symbolic walkout, stating they are exhausted, running out of patience. What do they want? Get vaccinated. Even Trump told his base that - and got a round of boos, which gladdened my heart, as his own creation turned on him. I do wish they would get the vaccine, if only to cut the danger to others. The mob turned on Mo Brooks as well. Lesson? Be careful what you wish for, as your own monster can turn around and chomp down on you!!

37,000 evacuated. 28 flights. 10,400 people in 24 hours. Another 15 flights, in 12 hours, another 6,660 people. Yet the crowds are not diminished. The fear grows. The sorrow and the consequences merge into palpability. Evil?

Unfortunately, evil is attractive to too many humans. There is a degree of selfishness and greed that will not quit. Many, too many, welcome it into their hearts and souls. Can we overcome that? Can we take back our world, reimpose humanity, restore positive, hopeful trends and policies? Do we really have a choice? Not if we are going to negate the conditions that force one man to say he has no country. Not particularly concerned for him as he is not exactly the poster child for morality, but his words do echo. For all of us. Do we still have a country for us? At times I do not recognize America anymore. Let us hope that we can turn back the clock, refute that ominous statement of Oates. Become proud Americans once more.

Now that is not evil!