Thursday, November 7, 2024

AND NOW ...

  ...the end is near... sings Frank Sinatra, as he proudly states he "did it all my way". To be able to assess one's life as the end approaches and feel satisfied that one's mark was made, positively, and done "my way" - no kneeling in abject posturing before anyone or anything, no compromises with principles. Incidentally, this is one of my favorite songs, particularly as my end grows nearer - fact of life - as it does for us all, and hope that for the most part, I, too, did it my way and no moral principles of mine were discarded or compromised or negated. Not a perfect achievement, but mostly the best I could.

So here we are, another end. Quite near to us all here in America and in the world at large. Willingly or not, we have perforce, as the result of an election, come face to face with an era of great unknowns, magnified fears, and towering mounds of uncertainties as to what the future holds for us. For sure, it holds great unhappiness to befall millions under a regime, yes regime, of cruelty and rampant corruption and immorality. It is to be an era of threats, existential threats and quite frankly, I believe we will be at the mercy of the rulers, yes, rulers, and have little recourse to effect necessary, even dire, corrections. 

For the second time Americans have gone astray, far, far astray. They have taken upon themselves the yoke of a man whose opinion of himself knows no bounds and has a deepening dementia. He changes his opinions more frequently than people change their underwear.  Around him he has accrued a 'treasure trove' of equally distorted advisers who also know no bounds and will hold no sense of propriety in order to temper this man in his awful plans. Convicted felon. Sexual pervert. Believer in bribery. Traitor to this nation. A severe detriment to humanitarian goals. A defier of treaties and allies, turning to populism, a theory of government which never bodes well for the nation.  An admirer of murderous dictators and well imbued with their ease of slaughter of opponents. It boggles the mind of any sane person, even as one tries to justify a vote for him.  

It is amazing to me how many people voted for this man, basing their vote on one issue, even as they derided his mode of thoughts, if any, and behavior and acknowledged great concern and uncertainty as to the future under his thumb. I am extremely curious as to how parents, adults, voters of this time will be able to justify and explain to their children    as to why they voted for him. History will be the judge of him and us and it will not be kind or pretty. Rightfully so.  

 Frankly, clearly, I have no love, liking, or anything for this man other than contempt. I believe he is a public danger. I believe we have gone way, way, way in the wrong direction and we'll pay the price for that. Those who oppose Trump and even those who voted for him for whatever reason now face a long haul, a long, hard slog through the morass of hatred and evil - yes, evil. 

A noted columnist used the term despairalyzing and yes, yesterday that is what many of us were. We were paralyzed by despair. What had happened? How did we get here? Yesterday, all the talking heads of the media were out there shouting at each other. What had gone wrong? Why had it gone wrong? Refusing to understand that the opponents of Trump had also lost their way. Many sold their souls for votes even as they were uncertain as to where the vote should have been placed. Despair can be overthrown and replaced with acts and deeds leading to a better future. 

All the while we must pay close attention to his policies. You must think. Do we really want to throw 11 million undocumented immigrants over the border uncaring as to their survival emulating the Nazis and their cooperating countries? Do you really wish to do that? Do you really wish to tank the economy for most of these 11 million people are well enmeshed and entrenched in our economy. They labor, own businesses, little stores, big stores. They do physical labor that 'real Americans” will not do. Take a look at who is on the roof and clearing debris after hurricanes. Are you so ready to throw out the children raised here? This is their country. What are we doing? Why can't we pursue a commonsense policy?  Remember who we are and how we are all immigrants and children of immigrants. 

Why have we denied the truth? Why have we turned so on the meaning of America? Perhaps now we should tear down the Statue of Liberty, deny that proud Lady of the Harbor. 

Better yet, read the following Irish proverb and see its applicability to our situation.

" May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.”

May the good Lord hold our hands as we walk down this treacherous path.





1 comment:

  1. Like yourself, I am desperate to understand how this happened. I know several who voted for this man and rather than gloating, they are reluctant to talk about their decision. What I have gleaned is that for some the only issue, as Catholics, is anti-abortion. Others mention immigration, despite the fact that it was Republicans who squashed the, admittedly imperfect. immigration bill. Apparently, it seemed more important to elect a felon, traitor, narcissist.
    :O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other

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