UNRULY PASSENGERS

  It appears to me that along with the COVID pandemic we have another. The pandemic of unruly passengers, those who forget the modicum of civil behavior in public. We can all recall our parents, or ourselves, saying, with a sigh of relief, that at least we, or our kids, behaved outside the home, putting a better face on us all. Well, that seems to have gone by the wayside, picked up by the trash gatherers. Along with that trash, we have unfortunately, tragically, thrown away the value of civil behavior. Hence, the impossibility of our nation engaging in civil discourse any longer. A tragedy indeed.

We do not hear each other any longer. We do not listen to our words nor the words of others. We only hear the noise of public misbehavior, the shouts, the jeers, the ranting and ravings which have too often degenerated into threats, real danger of physical harm. In fact, that took place on Jan. 6, thankfully less than what was planned for.  Hoped for by those who instigated the whole coup attempt. No, forgive me, there was a coup; it failed.

The epidemic of unruly passengers. On planes. In rage incidents on the road, in shouting matches on the streets, in obscene 'rallies', ostensibly for political support for a candidate, but in actuality, rallies of hate, of lies, by a man who has hijacked the plane, the train, he is on, much to dismay and danger. He and those cowards, misfits, deluded people who march along with him, to his dangerous tempo, are the unruly passengers on our ship of state. This once stately ship, beautiful in purpose, beautiful in values, beautiful in its attempts to do the right thing in public, is now decayed, leaks developing, rust accumulating, listing to the side, and passengers are falling overboard, as there is no longer any room for them on this ship of state.

Nero is said to have fiddled while Rome burned. Bad rap. Are our accusations re Trump and fellow criminals incorrect? Absolutely not. Read the accounts now out, the mammoth Senate report, the words of participants and instigators, their continuing egregious attempts to whitewash the whole mess, turn it into a 'patriotic' demonstration, or, amazingly, in the same breath, turning it into indeed, a coup attempt, but by the Democrats. These unruly passengers either steering or along for the ride, are truly skilled at avoiding truths, twisting them so that the original owner of those words do not even recognize them nor their original import.

See the wisps of smoke rising into the air over the entire country. See the forests burst into flames, uncontrollable, even desired by too many. "Part of something unusually evil" are the words of Grisham. Others speak the same  lingo, but where were they during this descent into hell? Wherefore and why did they not speak up? Why? Because they believed they were on the winning side, dreams of glory, wealth and power running riot in their heads. Their win would have meant permanent loss for our beloved country, our Republic, our "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave". The free and the brave are no longer welcome here. Too sad. Too horrid to contemplate, yet so we must. Else we lose it all.

 "...a man who attacked the foundations of our democracy throughout his time in office, ... Just nine months ago, he incited a violent mob to attack his own Vice President and threaten the lives of lawmakers who were simply fulfilling their constitutional duty to certify our election."

That is the man, along with his blind followers, who will destroy our country if we allow it. Yes, we. WE must demand an end to this farce, to making a mockery of our laws, of subpoenas, of paying dues where they are owed. Do the crime - do the time. Impose meaningful penalties for those who have spurned the law, thinking they are above it all. We need to find the courage within to do what must be done, like it or not. To do otherwise is to sign off on this country, to cede it to all those unruly passengers who would better have been left at the gate, or on the pier. Not along for the ride. Not on our ship of state.

Let us deny this voyage to those who would sink us along the way and deny us the lifeboats meant to save us. Let us root out the truth, hard as it might be, harsh as it indeed is proving to be. Sling them into the brig; have done with it. This is the only way, just as our parents or ourselves punished those who engaged in  public misbehavior, embarrassing all, so too we must punish those who embarrass this country in public, who undermine it, willfully, who deserve no mercy, no excuses. It is an existential threat, must be recognized as such, must be answered as such. Unruly passengers must be stopped before they get on.