MORTAL WOUNDS

 Are we truly fixed in place, a place of damage to souls, of stricken hearts, of existential harm that has moved far away from the potentiality of it all to the reality of it all? How did this happen, this blistering campaign meant to turn the world over and down, a possibility turning into a probability, almost a reality? So close, so very close, and yet here we are, running around like the proverbial chicken without a head, not seeing what is right there in front of us, behind us, all around us.

What was once unthinkable has not only gone possible, a goal dearly sought by some, but it has also moved from one side of the paper - the negative, the impossible - to the other side, a much desired, now possible goal, attainable with just a bit more effort, a few more outrageous acts. Even as the dirt spews forth, its ugliness, the awful truths, continuing to batter us daily, hourly. Many of us appear to be helpless in this new blitzkrieg effort of those wishing - and moving quickly toward success- to achieve their dastardly, bastardly, goal  of killing democracy as the ruling system right here in the good old USA.

True, more and more political analysts are speaking out loud what was only whispered about before. It was unthinkable, was it not? Americans would not turn on their country, would they? Not en masse? Certainly? Well, the extremists have won this battle, hopefully not the war. Not yet. There is some time remaining before those of us wounded in hearts and souls are overrun, consigned to what? Concentration camps? Reeducation schools? Resettled? Resourced? All misnomers for dreadful mass murders, oppression, an ugliness that we should seek to eradicate from the face of this earth, yet we humans appear to be embracing it more and more.

Hutu and Tutsi. White on Black right here in America. Non-Jews vs. Jews. Islamophobia. Asian bias. Myanmar and the Rohingya. The Uighur in China. The gall, the disappointment of Americans - Americans- going there as "tourists" to tout the beauty of China and all its humanity and generosity! Omitting the source of their support, all to gain 'followers'. The list of slaughters that continue, that grow, continues almost unabated, unstoppable, for if not them, then why not us? In either capacity - as oppressors or oppressed. And as usual, caught in the middle, are the women and the children, looked upon as spoils of war, to be used and abused, as slaves, sold on the block, tossed aside like used tissues.

This horror has reached us here, in our once thought safe cocoon of living in America. We have forgotten our hard-won battles, the battles yet to be won, forgotten the truths about ourselves. We are all immigrants. No one has a halo around their heads or emits golden glows of sainthood. Did all their ancestors, our ancestors, reach here in pristine legal conditions? Absolutely not. How often have I heard stories of ship jumping, border crossing, of shenanigans in the desperation of getting out of Europe after WWII by all. Should we now go backwards, investigate all and toss generations out, right past the sullied statue of the Lady of the Harbor? Right past Ellis Island, Castle Clinton, the ports along the seacoasts of America? Who is left? The indigenous, yet even they came from elsewhere and often migrated to other areas through need, through conquest. No one is pure oil of humanity. No one.

We have tended to tar the 'other' side, focusing on the negative. We throw the baby out with the bathwater when we emphasize the clay feet, the imperfections in our ancestors, in Founders. We lose our sense of pride. Why not emphasize the good, the attempts to atone, to change the status quo? Why not be grateful that those who have come before have striven so hard, so long, so as to enable us, their descendants to live in an improved and improvable world?

We are now at the unthinkable, now definitely possible.  "It has gone too far and gotten out of hand." Yet another statement re Jan. 6, mind shattering.

 "Yesterday was a terrible day. We tried everything we could in our objection to the six states. I'm sorry nothing worked," ...  several House lawmakers had participated in "dozens" of meetings about rallies and other events designed to whip up support for overturning the election, including the rally that preceded the January 6 attack." 

That our supposed to be loyal leaders of America could be guilty, implicit, complicit in the attempted coup - blows the mind, shattering it, as our souls are blistered by the evil of these people, our hearts shattering at the treason of presumed supporters of our democracy. How? How can this be? How have we allowed proclaimed, boasting, Fascists to be elected to our most august and powerful positions? How have we allowed the Supreme Court to become a shill for rabid right wingers, interested only in overturning precedents that narrow the rights of the individual? How? How? Why?

As I stood talking to people yesterday, I watched who passed by. We were two Jews, a Black man, and a lovely young lady with some imperfections, deemed by many as unworthy of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". I saw Latinos go by, gay couples, cis, binary, non-binary, whatever terms people are using today, as we specialize in finding differences rather than similarities. We should celebrate what makes us one, together, a partner in the human efforts round the world to bring peace and harmony, rather than bloodshed and war.  All are at risk in an oppressive country. See, there is always something there, used as proof of pudding to justify oppression.

Are we immune to all this? Will we be able to stem the tide of authoritarianism in this beloved country? Will we be able to shake the people back to sanity, away from the once unthinkable behavior they have supported, taken part of, all to destroy us - and them too - little as they understand that.

We are America. Proud. Strong. A leader of the world. Imperfect, but trying.

We are America. Say that again and again We are America. WE ARE AMERICA.

No humor in today's post, folks. Cannot find one whit of it in the oncoming tragedy awaiting us if we do not step up and do something, be it getting out the vote, writing to your representatives in all levels of government, threatening the removal of your vote. Donate. March. Protest. Speak up. Speak out. Learn to separate the chaff from the wheat, ignoring the patently false, inciting statements put out by traitors. Cowering will not do the trick.

THIS IS AMERICA. WE ARE AMERICANS. 

LET US REMEMBER THAT AND BEHAVE ACCORDINGLY.

THIS IS AMERICA. LET US NOT LOSE HER.