... And who's to blame? Well, look, there you are. The man in the mirror. All the men and women in the mirror. Who stood by and either implicitly or complicitly allowed for the likes of the present Barracudas to gain their place and edge and shove all else out of their paths in order to make way for their imperial selves. And for those who follow in their wayward footsteps, sell their souls to the Devil and then count themselves oh so clever in having gained the pathetic goals of their lives - wealth and power, or even just a bit of power enabling them to lord it over all else. Preferably for all else to witness the demeaning of another human being and shake in fear and admiration at 'he' who had done this.
Where and when did we go so wrong? Our grandparents and greats had struggled to get here, make a new life, raise families able to live the American Dream. Along with that was an insistent and careful inculcation of true patriotism into the hearts of their children, those who grew up to be the Greatest Generation. The "Greatest Generation" who then went out and fought the monsters who would have the Dream die.
They began to fill the ranks of steersmen, government employees, the professions, the various trades necessary to build a strong land. Dedicated their lives not only to their own success, but also to fulfill the truth of the maxim: From those to whom much has been given, much is expected in turn. And then something happened. Why? For many reasons, known and unknown.
This generation of heroes began to suffer from small fractures within their foundations. Elements of negativity wormed into the small, miniscule fissures in the framework. It is to be expected that all societies have growing pains, even retrograde pains, but not to the extent that this nation of ours has undergone this past decade. And most certainly not to the extent of the gross overblown lies tossed about as truth, where words lose their meaning and become that which they claim they oppose.
The Greatest Generation devolved into their entitled children. Who bought into the rat races. Who bought into the selfish. And who in turn raised a generation of entitled children such that we have not seen before. Retrogressive becomes progressive. Fascism in its many guises is labeled as democracy and socialism and communism raise their ugly heads once again, promising pie in the sky but delivering only the sour remains of what others have eaten. The members of society are confused and seek a leader, a strong one with strong convictions, only to find that the leader has no convictions other than those which serve his interest.
These days, more and more people are waking up to the fact that we have gotten ourselves into a fix such that there are no tools enough and knowledge enough and craftsman enough to fix it. We have ceded power to those segments of the government which then cede that power which we ceded to them and give it to the president. So that we now have an almost completely insured and protected imperial presidency.
How we get out of this is beyond me. Trump and his party have managed to install one third of the seats of the Federal bench seats available with his own people. People who had served as his personal lawyers, people who were involved in his various machinations that stink of corruption. Anyone bold enough to defy him was not bold enough to remain in office and take the abuse. They took the easy way out. Better for them, but not for their nation, and certainly not for the world at large.
Since we have become so embroiled in arguments about who is a citizen and who is not, who has the right to be a citizen and what does that entail, we should all get an assignment, including the native born and those not. Read the Declaration of Independence word by word by word. Understand what it is saying. Understand what it is not. And look around you once, twice, three times, and more. All the times you need to understand why and how those words are evaporating from the very page. The Constitution and the Declaration are becoming irrelevant in the very country in which they were born. Is it because we have lost our way. Is it because we have told lies so huge that they forbid any denial and they become incorporated within the very atoms of these documents. We actually grow to believe we are spouting the truth.
Lord knows I am not a fan of any recent President. Of any party. Because both parties have forgotten that they are Americans first and foremost. But I must give credit to where it is deserved. At times, as people will remind me, even the bad and the disappointing have something good within. As they try to convince me that there is something worthwhile inside our current president. So, I find that other presidents, other politicians, can become a bit more dignified the further they get from their office.
This is from Obama's speech at the opening of his presidential center. And I quote.
"... Feeding us a steady stream of distraction and outrage.... Appealing to our basest, most tribal instincts, it's tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair. To stop trying.... that the very idea of working on behalf of the common good is a sucker's bet.... I am not immune to anger or doubt.
(But I do know this:) When we lose faith in each other. When we stop believing that voting matters. That citizenship matters. That our collective voices matter. That how we treat each other no longer matters. And we give away our power to decide our own futures; we open the door to the most ruthless. or the most careless. Or the most fearful among us who see some groups and some people as more equal than others. And see government as nothing more than a way to divvy up the spoils. And punish enemies. And keep those who are different in their place."
Yesterday.
Today.
Tomorrow.
Will we ever allow ourselves to see the truth? To see right through all of the confusing shadows?
Only we can decide that.
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