WHAT'S TO SAY?

 There are times, many times, in a person's lifetime, when the words have run out. The speakers are tired, discouraged, lost all hope of getting through. The intended audience, be it one or thousands, have covered ears, closed eyes, and shut down brains. No one talks anymore with someone, but rather shouts at all opposing. The quieter voices have been drowned out, those voices becoming hoarse with efforts, failing, vain efforts.

In an inner deep examination of my thoughts, a quiet terror begins to grow. See, guess I have been a Daisy Downer: from the campaign of Trump vs. Clinton, through the presidency of Trump et al, the deterioration of the GOP as it morphed into a welcoming home for right wing extremists, to a Democratic party apparently, tragically, unable to contain its own ranks as off the wall "progressives" rip it asunder from within, aided and abetted by the dangerous and harmful egotistical antics of Manchin. That terror grew from a fear of possibility, ever growing into a more certain sense of actuality as I watched our country tear itself apart. We have surely proven the theory of those who state that the worst enemies come from within. A country whose inhabitants pour corrosive invective, commit treasonous actions, and cheer at the vision of the foundering ship of state going down for the third time. Manifestly not a third time lucky.

The fear crystallized as the nation began to actually make real my worst, out there, predictions and concerns. Time and again, fearing I had "jumped the shark" I held onto a shred of hope. Surely, we were not that stupid, that self-destructive, that unaware or even consciously denying of the truth, the lessons of history. Certainly, we would reject and defeat those monstrous sharks determined to emulate 'Jaws" one thousand times more powerfully, as they fed on, attacked and consumed not The Orca, but The United States of America.

These fears have eaten away at my heart, at my soul, consuming the last wisps of hope remaining, as, most frighteningly, there grew a closer and closer resemblance in the words of analysts to my own oft expressed concerns. No! How could this be? Surely, someone, somewhere, many someones, would, could, actually wake us up, wave a magic wand of truth, of true patriotism, conquer the nasty, ever nastier, threads and threats of populism, of nationalism, of hatred of all else, other than themselves, that group limiting those acceptable, allowed to enter their circle of haters, destroyers. 

I was wrong. Even as voices began to be raised concerning these mounting problems, the growing splits in the firmament of our nation's fabric, as the foundation began to shatter, as we ourselves shredded the Constitution in its own name of the Constitution, the situation went from bad to worse. The waters of destruction rose all around us, the lower decks awash, even under water, possible exits, or solutions, growing fewer and fewer, even purposely defied and denied. 

Possibly the proverbial final straw? Those dangerous farces of primaries, where registered voters were given GOP ballots, told their primary was yet to be held, the ignorance of those who fell for it, and the painful truth of it all. We have lost our moorings, lost the lifeboats that should have been right there. The depth and strength of the teeth of those sharks grew in direct proportion to the rise of poisonous invective, the demonizing of opposition, and a malevolent growth of a move to split this country in two, perhaps even more. We lost touch with our 'Americaness' and resorted anew to the once divisive and defeated theory of state above all else. Even as we took down the statues of generals of the Confederacy, we applauded our own modern-day versions of those Americans turning their collective backs to our besieged, massively beleaguered country.

There are no winners here. Only losers. A social liberal, I rejected the raucous voices of those who would throw our baby out, have it go down with the ship, in an insane  resistance to any compromise at all. That same behavior of bitter, self destructive opposition to bipartisanship, is magnified, personified, in and by the actions of the GOP members of both Houses of Congress. They were cutting off our own limbs, crippling us, with their blind opposition. Finally, they turned wholly into traitors, as they openly, violently, turned on their country, aided and abetted those willing to show up, to beat, to hang, to threaten, to destroy. Even as there were those of Congress who ,unbelievingly, joined this rebellion - encouraged, advised, even up to the highest levels of government, into the Oval Office itself.

Unthinkable - and yet there it was. A sitting President waging war on his own country, betraying our history, our "noble experiment". Colluding in a coup attempt on his own Presidency. Unthinkable! For sure, even the middle decks of our Ship of State were awash, aroil and aboil with the heated waters of hatred, the filth of lies contaminating all, the violent giant waves precluding even an attempt to launch rescue boats.

Racist invective and attacks. Running for offices at every level on the basis of defense of lies. Our growing isolation and the mighty attempts by Biden to halt that Trumpian path, succeeding as he united the West, growing NATO, while unable to do so here, the divisive abyss too deep, too wide to bridge. The final cement holding us together was failing to maintain integrity. It, too, was losing cohesiveness. The ability to transfer power between and from one elected leader to another, via legal elections honored by all - our strength, our weakness as well. If we fail at that, along with unfortunately, the upcoming elections of 2022, the looming black cloud of Nacht und Nebel of the 2024 election, provided courtesy of a GOP enmeshed up to and over its head in hatred, in fascism, in determination to bring down our democracy - what will be? Third time unlucky?

Ukraine. An insane plethora of demented leaders. The cowering of others before those demented ones, a la Hitler and the Nazis. The most unspeakable consequences of fascism, seen, heard, felt around the world to this day. The blind refusal  of mankind to learn the lessons of history, doomed to consequently repeat, again and again, with the same godawful results. Threats of usage of nuclear weapons. Not prepared to address that threat and a response to it in actuality. The ever growing, eternal hatred of Jews and the State of Israel, a vital part of the world, even as it maintains a safe refuge for oppressed and threatened Jews from around the world. The growing inability or even desire to build safe cities, countries, moral values. Oh, yes, we certainly do have it all.

Thomas Friedman, a very talented writer, with whom I was often of a differing opinion, has now morphed into a prophet of the same school of thought and warning to which I most unhappily belong. He castigates those running on the basis of that Big Lie, representatives of a GOP lost in the fog of its own destructive tendencies. He worries and frets, rightfully so.  The present GOP candidates are vying to outdo each other in their rabid espousing of a determination, a policy, of overturning elections unsatisfactory for them, breaking the peaceful transfer of power and what that means to our country and its future.

That peaceful transfer is the last mortar holding our country together, the last narrow footbridge over the abyss. If we go there, that bridge is destroyed. We are, in fact, almost THERE, that place of doom and chaos. THERE is not a good place. Most definitely so. Any country embroiled in warfare, round the world, has GONE THERE. Present is a glaring absence of peaceful transfer of power. The result? A torn country unable to take care of its own, unable to constructively better mankind, lost in the throes of a riven country. Our destination, our future, unless we do something right NOW. Vote. 
Speak out. Voice your opinions loud and strong. Demand a return to what was once a good place, of hopes and dreams, where now nightmares abound and people are afraid to walk the streets for fear of a madman, armed with the same weapons which should long ago have been banned, certainly controlled better. But they have not, for these same people resist that control. Even as the bullets spray from them. And hit too many targets.

No, not a good place, not a good path, not a place where we want to be - and yet, here we are. Friedman maintains that we are close to breaking, losing that valuable, union maintaining mortar, the principle of peaceful transfer. 

Lincoln said it long ago. "A house divided against itself, cannot stand."

 Thomas Friedman reinforces that belief, that truth, by warning us that once broken, always broken.

We will be the Humpty Dumpty of real life, never being able to be "put together again".

Am I frightened? Very much so. Cannot understand? Imagine a land once familiar, now strange. Dark, gray living. No joy, no freedom, no creativity, all decided and dominated by The State. Most definitely a state which has little or concern for you and your family.

THERE is not a good place to go.