"THIS DAMN COUNTRY"

 Folks do not be angry with me for the title. It comes straight from the new anthem of hate, Rich Men North of Richmond" by Oliver Anthony. It has replaced the previous anthem of hate, "Try That in a Small Town' by Jason Aldean. Yes, hate is alive and well in this "damn country" of ours, yes, the same country these hatemongers claim to love. Apparently hate is a growth industry, providing success for those who dive straight into its murky waters. Yes, they are certainly "Proud to Be an American". Indeed.

The song, that diatribe to hate and darkness of soul, is rife with tropes and memes of the extreme right even as it claims to champion the middle class. It rants against welfare, chanting of those who weigh 300 pounds and eat fudge all day. Even as it ignores the fact that the population of rural hard-pressed   areas have a full complement of heavy people on the welfare rolls, white, overweight - stuck in the same food desert as city welfare recipients, forced to eat foods that are cheaper and starchier, overweight inducing. Yup, some things we all share in this "damn country", I guess. And on goes the chant, songs and anthems replete with falsehoods and simplifications, with, of course, no ideas of repair contained within their words of hatred inducing genre. 

It is nice for the chief whiner to get ahead in life, is it not? Complain of overtime even as they complain of no work. Mind you, white collar workers get no overtime even as demand to do so, to work long    hours, rises, and no choice but to agree or take the door, please.

The constant drumbeat of accusation, baseless, of the "human trafficking", especially the one based in that nefarious pizza store, even as the Republican stalwarts of America traffic in humans, shipping them off elsewhere, or better yet, even more satisfying, beating them up at borders or mistreating them, including children, at "holding" areas. 

Such paeans to the good old American custom of greeting and welcoming new neighbors, sharing America together, sharing the same dreams, those dreams and opportunities enriched by the wonderful mix of people and cultures who live in America, who build America. Yes, build and enrich, whose children join the work force, seek higher education, do research, serve in law enforcement and the military, create art and music and design. In short, people just like us. Yes, You and Me. All in this "damn" country together. 

No one has a monopoly on good or bad people. There are rotten apples and sweet apples in every barrel and the sooner we embrace that fact and its implication, the sooner we can fix the "damn" country, addressing its faults, its lacks and capitalize on the good, effecting change as it should be. With positive overtones and a refreshing acceptance of humanity of all, of rights to and for all, for optimism and inclusiveness, rather than exclusion and pessimism, the country can go far along the path to a 'blessed' country, where to be proud to be an American rings true and clear and justified. 

To achieve that goal, to attain that status, we must work together, turn from those who would harm us even as they claim otherwise. Trump, certainly    'north of Richmond' is admired blindly, by the very ones he hurts, holds in contempt, plays like the strings on a guitar. They claim patriotism yet support an indicted traitor of violent intentions. They support his crew even as they emulate him and go even further along the road to dictatorship, to fascism. Then, certainly then, complete with censorship, abrogation of rights, of oppression and suppression of opponents, a la DeSantis, then, fellow Americans, we can indeed add the adjective 'damn' to this Country, or more correctly, "damned".  

The only way out left to us is a decision and act of loyalty to the true envisioned nature and soul of this country. To recognize that together we can ensure its ethos, remain true to the dream that is America. Not a damn dream, but a beautiful, enchanting inclusive, hope inducing dream that rewards all who contribute to it, who buy into the whole gestalt that is America. A beautiful, warm, and welcoming America, ever seeking to better itself and the world.

As soon as we realize and accept that fact, that thought, we can, together, improve our nation. Begin by tossing out the corrupt, inept, incapable, deluded, troubled power-seeking politicians in office at present. Be very selective of whom we elect, choose to run and get the people we need into power. Together, we can recreate, revive, our nation as envisioned, as it strived to be, as it corrected errors made along the way. To recreate our America, our once proud, blessed, wonderful America.

Together.

Together.

We can heal the nation.

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

 AMEN. AMEN