"THESE ARE THE TIMES

 that try men's souls." And I would certainly amend that statement, (electrifying in is effect on the quest for independence by those upstart colonies,) by adding women, for certainly today women are a huge factor in the temperature and turbulence of the times. Certainly, they had a major role in the American Revolution simply by virtue of running the homes as they were left behind, served as spies, even soldiers, and influenced many a man in the right direction. Not to forget Betsy Ross who, according to legend, made that flag we now salute as it waves over the land. That flag so abused by insurrectionists, shockingly including the sitting President at that time, our times. These times, our times.

We are in as important a moment today as we were way back in 1776. Certainly, the souls of men and women of today have been tried, are being tried.  Most unfortunately, too many have been found wanting, lacking, in moral fiber and plain old good common sense. Even the basic step of loyalty to country above all else - not party, not foreign meddlers, not one's pockets greedily swallowing up funds, and certainly not to a head of a cult. A cult headed by a manifestly obviously demented man with no morals at all, no empathy, no sympathy, not an honest bone, sinew, thought, or brain cell within.

What have we done? What have we not done? What do we tell our grandchildren when they ask us where we were, as individuals and as country, during this Ukraine abomination? What do we say when we are shown mass graves, huge numbers of obvious civilians tossed in, barely covered up, shot, tortured, tongues cut out, violently raped women, and their children, tossed in as waste needing to be taken out? Where were we? Where are we? Is it    enough? Is materiel an adequate substitute for actual boots on the ground, or even the full arming of Ukraine forces so they can powerfully combat the invading Russian forces? What have we done? What are we doing? Is it enough to stand up to the scrutiny of historians?

The Ukrainians are waging yeoman efforts in defending their homeland, a mouse that roared, taking on that huge elephant that arrives at our doorsteps every morning, that bloodies our screens at night. Commentator after commentator, analyst after analyst, tell us, warn us, that what is going on here is more than the deaths of civilians, as horrid, as criminal as that is. More than an invasion, more than yet another demented, cruel man imposing his will, his greed, his lust for power upon others. For that is not all it is, though for sure, that is more than enough.

 No. What we are doing here, and coming up sorely lacking, is defending the globe, involved in a war that will determine the future of humankind. Do we support, demand, democracy, true to its definition and intent, or do we support autocracy, dictatorships, the nullification of all rights for all, in all its ugliness and repression, oppression? That includes the false democracy that so imperils the existence, the continuation, of true democracy right here in America. 

We must cease, immediately, our efforts to convince ourselves and others that our state of being, our state of the union, which is our country, is most definitely in a raging cascade of danger, of betrayal of our ethics, betrayal of the people, all in the name of a fractured man and his greedy, violent, deluded, shameful and ashamed backers. There is no justification any longer as the facts come pouring out from their mass grave, as even his own daughter reveals the truth, as the texts of the traitor, following in his father's footsteps, Junior, tell all in an ever-uglier accounting. What have we done? What are we doing? What are we not doing?

When I see those vivid pictures and videos of the uncovering of the mass graves left behind by the Russians. When I see and hear the results of their ever-present cruelty as soldiers, I shudder. My racial memories flood my brain with images of the mass graves of 80 years ago. Civilians, dead in a Holocaust of Bullets, men, women, children, young and old, dead - or buried alive - victims of a viciousness that is now being duplicated by Russian troops under the instigation of Putin and supporters.

I read of the same old terror now overwhelming Russia. Informers, turning in your neighbor, your relatives, for nonsupport of this war. Mass arrests and imprisonments under false pretenses. Early morning ominous bam! bam! on the door as it crashes open, the room, the very air, sucked out and up by these threatening, crazed masked invaders. The return to mercenaries with no control over them at all, back to the Middle Ages, in more ways than one. The shame growing in all of us, as we try to turn our eyes and minds away from those barbaric scenes. What have we done? What are we doing? What more must we do now?

I do not claim to be the final arbiter of the mess of today. I do not claim to have all the answers, even any answers. What I do claim is the moral high ground, where there are many, but not enough. We who stand there KNOW that there is much more that can be done, even if there are no boots on the ground. If we are going to have others, substitutes, fight our battles for us, a la the rich who bought stand-ins for them during the Civil War drafts, then the very least we can do is arm them properly, give them a fair chance, even an overwhelming chance to kick those invaders out, rebuild their country, mourn their material and personal losses, even if forever, and save democracy for us, even as we wimp out and shirk our responsibilities, the very real moral imperative which should lie heavy upon the shoulders of all who value democracy.

What can we do? We must clean house here in our own backyards - local, state and national. We are infested by criminals, by greedy power and money hungry critters, even, crazed individuals. Cawthorne. Greene. Hawley. Graham. Jonson. Herschel Walker. Trump. On and on. Clean house. Indict, convict and imprison. Show the world, and ourselves, that we continue to be true to our burden of history, to defend democracy here and in the world at large. That we recognize our humanitarian duty to the oppressed, to the victims of those who care naught for anything other than themselves.

At least I can tell my grandchildren that I spoke out and up. Even as little as it does, at least I did that. I cannot take a gun, carry a shoulder rocket, or navigate a tank and certainly am not a pilot. But I can speak up. That is the very least I can do. And I can vote. People, the very thought of a DeSantis as the head of the pack of howling GOP members, should send a shiver down your spine. The man is manifestly nuts, tilting way, way, too much to the side of repression. One person's loss of rights will march on, and your rights are next. If we can control one person's health decisions, then yours are also at risk. Talk of a "cold war' with a neighboring state?! The man is dangerous! A presidency under him, a GOP dominated Congress and state legislatures - dear Lord in heaven! Just think what that would mean, nationally, globally and personally. Do not delude yourself. Face the facts as they are, not as others twist them to be.

These are indeed the times that try the souls of men and women, that stress their mettle, and uncover the truth beneath. Will history find us wanting? Will these years when we have seemingly lost operational control of the country and its governing apparatus, prove to be the harbingers of a very bad future? The answers are growing ever clearer, ever more distinct.

What have we done? What must we do? What must we not do? What will be? 

That is totally up to us and whether we can hitch our pants up high enough to be and do what we must, or if we prove lacking. Connect the dots.