Words. They have changed the world. They have elated and tormented, disappointed and fulfilled. However, they are also the words of the title. Too many times we mistake the words that fall into the category of the title, for words of truth, even when we damn well know the truth of the situation. We make what we wish were true, actually be accepted as truth, through willful blinding and deafness or malice aforethought. We must not forget the malice. Nor can we excuse people from the evil outcomes when they say, "we didn't know that would happen." Be careful what you wish for, for it might come true.
The words of the title were used in a book detailing the life story of an Iranian Jew who remained behind when the Shah was overthrown by extremist Islamists. Hanged for the same old tired, yet dangerous, and seemingly eternal accusation, that Jews were of dual loyalty, and in this case, even of single loyalty - to Israel. Excuses, excuses, with deadly results. "Nebulous, nonsensical, and bigoted". Bigoted, nonsensical, but certainly not nebulous when they rise up from the garbage heaps, the sewers of supposed civilization of thousands of years, even right here, openly bruited about, in the United States. Today, yesterday and most frightening and shiver inducing - for the foreseeable future. Beatings, demoralizing words, open faced lies, old canards such as blood libel and worldwide conspiracies have resurfaced, growing louder each and every day that goes by.
Nor does this situation end within the boundaries of the Jewish world. Not at all. The entire constitutional and existential crisis within this country is based on nebulous accusations, most manifestly blatant lies, nonsensical statements by a deranged man that are accepted as gospel truth, his cult followers, his fellow Fascists, the deluded and dangerous members of America First, of QAnon, Proud Boys and more. Horrifyingly, there were 147 GOP Congressmen who voted against certifying the absolute, legal, election of Joe Biden, his victory in a huge rejection of Trump and his filthy politics. Most awful is hearing that they have donated over 8 million dollars to a group called the Sedition Caucus. Open, brazen and most definitely not nebulous, not nonsensical in intent and desired results. All this topped by a rotten bunch of cherries who belong to America First, a reincarnation of all the violent, hateful anti nationalist groups throughout history. Fascist through and through. Boding well for no one, even its adherents.
Worse, we have Big Business and Big Banks who donate to these open traitors, to these treasonous descendants of Benedict Arnold. Even when they know the truth, see the results. How do we combat this? Beats me, other than to continue to speak up and out, make it clear that American democracy and its believers, its proponents, will not go down without a fight. We cannot allow political fatigue and wishful thinking to play a role here. We must accept the truth as it is, not as we wish it were.
If we neither accept nor remember the past, deny the present, well, there will be no future worth anything at all. We will have condemned our kids and their kids to a miserable life, certainly not the Goldeneh Medinah, the Golden Hill, the Land of Promise and Hope that enticed our ancestors to undertake perilous journeys and work so hard to build that future.
Trump has postponed his planned rally for the Jan. 6 Anniversary Remembrance. Worse, it was planned to be held in Mar A Lago, a hop, skip, and a jump down the road from me. He promises a replacement at a planned Arizona rally on Jan. 15. Actually, it means no never mind to his true plans - the overthrowing of this government, of this country, of treason to its population, and he will never stop unless we stop him. The courts and its world must act. NOW! Too little too late will not work for us, for our survival against a tide of poisonous, decadent, selfish Fascism.
His fans, like his daughter Ivanka who traded her liberal values for fascistic ones and the POWER she would wield under her father's reign, tried to get him to call a halt to the violence at the Capitol, to the failed, though bloody, coup attempt. They all knew, one and all, of his plans, of his dementia, his determination to turn this nation upside down, and only stepped up when they saw the results.
What did they think would happen? Did they think the endangered targets would willingly climb onto a platform and put the noose over their own heads? Did they think that the outnumbered, yet heroic, Capitol Police would meekly surrender, fail in their mandates? Did they even think at all? Ever? Or were they so immersed in what they thought would be theirs under this most manifestly unsuitable being that they refused to stop this train before it went off the tracks?
An expert in the process of elections warns us that we are "uniquely open to manipulation" in our election process. How true. How frightening. With the GOP now attacking the process by violating voting rights, by turning the clock back to antebellum days, by twisting the laws of the Electoral Process, by inserting puppets of the GOP and controlling who COUNTS the votes, well, expect nothing good to come out of 2024. For that matter, even 2022, for that will make the trend clearer, the future, I believe, even murkier than it already is. Democracy can be going down for the third time and where are we? Where are the voices that should all be raised against this? Where?
In a conversation about her life and how she retains a tether to reality, Cher said,
" I don't forget where I came from, but I have to keep being reminded and I think the key is really to make sure that I remind myself."
Perhaps we should take our mapping out of our future from those words. We must remind ourselves who we are, where we came from and where we wish this country to go. These words are neither bigoted nor nonsensical, nor nebulous. Neither is the very clear line drawn between the two choices we have and the two possible futures. Very clear indeed.
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