Who is the we and what exactly are 'we'? We are the bystanders. We are the enablers. We are the instigators. We are those who stand aside and allow it to happen. We are the bystanders who have learned the lessons of history and reacted. We are the combination of all categories, and all share the blame, the guilt, the praise, whatever is deserved, according to our just desserts. We are the villains and the heroes. We can be whatever, whomever, we wish to be, rise or fall by our own inclinations.
A well-known experienced figure says the conditions helpful to the growth of autocracies, to the death of democracies, are present, in the here and now USA. Whoever thought this could be - here. But we are seeing this right now, right here in this country, once a standard for successful, if stumbling democracy.
"We are." And he is so right, so disturbingly correct, even as there are those who cheer on this miserable development, or those turning a blind eye to it all, dismissing it in the throes of heavy decisions such as what restaurant, what clothes to wear, and other such life altering situations. We gasp in horror as we read, hear and see, the latest 'disturbance', a most inadequate term to describe present conditions in this nation.
Disturbance is inadequate as a descriptive term when reporting on yet another shooting 'incident', so common now that we just about give it a tsk, tsk, how awful evaluation, and continue on. The sale is limited in time so we must hurry. The other stuff, nah, won't happen here, to me, as the next bullet goes whizzing by. Like it or not, we must recognize that life has changed, drastically, in an existential manner, and we must make decisions, now, and decide where we want to go, where we will allow things to go and understand that it is within our power to make that choice and to enforce it. Or oppose it. Simple, clear.
It is not so much the individual person who has to assume the blame? the credit? for whatever is transpiring these days. Yes, Trump and his ilk should be anathema in our society. The question of guilt, of complicity, of doing the nasty, is ignored. It is the child's plaint we hear now - 'He made me do it. And anyway, what about - (fill in the blanks) ----. They did (fill in the blanks) -----. So we allow the focus to shift, the emphasis to shift, and the original wrongdoings are buried under the chaff of crap words, garbage accusations, poisonous invective, and incitements to violence, and the deluded, those wishing it all away, give in to baser emotions and urges and join the mob growing so frighteningly quick and massive, right outside our doors.
You see, the threat to this country, despite all the shouting and finger pointing, the ranting and the raving, the manufactured xenophobia, is not from without, from immigrants wishing only to share in what we have - or once had - a way of life conducive to hope, a better future for kids, a life without fear of being shot, starved, homeless, hopeless and hapless. No, these are good future citizens. Our threat comes from within. From our supposed leaders, so frighteningly modeling themselves after Hitler and company. After any fascist definition of government and life.
So Gosar rages against the FBI. Rubio, the moron, calls them Marxist. Did he ever pay attention in class!? Trump spews out lies so fast that he trips on his own words. He lies and the people swear. The GOP rushes to defend him, the man clearly guilty of espionage. Deserving full consequence to the extent that the law provides. So richly deserving and yet, the GOP ignores his obvious guilt, the crimes he has allegedly committed, the civil penalties which surround him and his future. No, they scream about warrants, encourage violence, threats, and action, against law enforcement personnel. They try to shift focus back on to Hillary. What the hell!!And so, in the past few days alone, we have had several attacks and violent protests at and near FBI offices. These are the ones who shout law and order, just not when it comes to them!
People, the choice is ours. Too many have chosen the wrong way, taken the paths that violate our future, our democracy, our very survival. They have chosen Trump devotees, widening the doorway, opening more, breaking the glass, and in they come, the hordes of unthinking mob crazed horde, caught up like children in the violence of the moment, not realizing, not caring, or perhaps even anticipating the changes that have been made already, and those coming, in a hurry, down the line, right at us.
Am I worried? For sure. Am I frightened? Very much so. Am I despairing? Yes, though there is still room for hope. If we stand tall, do the right thing, prepare for tough times, even possibly, (probably), violence, know why and for what we are fighting, then that little bird of hope can continue to trill, growing stronger even as we grow stronger.
We need to follow the people of courage, the people who know the right thing to do, and do it, disregarding threats to their own lives and careers. We need to discount and even shame, in public, those like the ranking GOP member of a House committee who when pushed to answer a simple question, looked shamefaced and answered "no". Asked was this: would you take home documents? Pause. "No." End of story. Or should be.
We could be. We should be. Are we?
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