Goodbye, America

Ronald always carries a paper towel in his pocket due to his allergies. Every once in a while, he forgets to remove it when he puts his pants in the wash. That happened this morning, and I’ve spent a good part of the day removing paper towel bits from the washing machine, the dryer, and the clothing, sheets and towels I washed.  Because of the static, it is even more difficult to locate every little piece stuck to a sock or a pair of underwear. I’ve found a little joy picking up all those pieces of paper towel. They are a mundane distraction from a weekend filled with terrifying news.

America, as we know it, grand, a world power, the melting pot, and wholly imperfect, is gone. In its place is a country created through the dire lies of an ego maniacal, self-absorbed, ignorant, bigoted, misogynistic, rich, reality TV star posing as president. He used those lies to sign one executive order after another, appoint completely unqualified individuals to important cabinet positions and posts, and surround himself with advisors who are white supremacists and greedy businessmen. Then he spends his time distracting us by talking about the size of the inaugural crowd and the millions who, he is sure, voted fraudulently.

And America is left with the fallout and the consequences of his words, actions, and orders.

America has always been imperfect. Democracies are, especially ones that open their doors to anyone who dreams of something different and better. We have a history that we are not always proud of. We have stumbled and fallen on the wrong side of history more than once. We still have a race problem that a good part of America refuses to address. There is an economic division that is ripping the middle class to shreds and leaving the poor with no paths out while making the rich even richer. There is too much corporate intercession in our laws, causing the government of the people to be more about the government of the corporations and their wealth. And while we continue to struggle for equality and quality of life for all our citizens, some people are still left on the fringes.

In spite of all of that, we are still a great country. The struggle is part of who we are and, more often than not, our moral compass guides us to the right side of history.

But that is not true right now. Because of an individual who is unfit to hold office, we are a country in crisis. The impact of this man’s erratic and uninformed leadership affects not just our country, but global stability.

I am still waiting for the GOP to speak out against the things that are going on: White supremacists in key positions, Russian influence on the election, ill-conceived and unconstitutional executive orders flying out the door as quickly as they can be written, attacks on the free press, and, now, attacks on immigrants, even ones who are now citizens. The Muslim ban Trump promised his supporters was rolled out Friday by executive order, only White House staff is trying to spin it differently, using those alternate facts Kellyann Conway was quick to offer up when Trump was caught lying.

Where is the GOP? Why haven’t any of the GOP Congress or Senate appeared before the press to weigh in on what’s happening in our country? Senator Chuck Schumer did, with tears in his eyes and his voice breaking, because the very foundation of our country has been pulled out from under us.

The ACLU stood up to the executive order to detain Muslims. So did thousands of citizens who protested at airports. Others are emailing or calling their representatives.

Will any of this stop this train wreck? I don’t think it will unless the GOP stands with us. They are the ones in power. When will they decide the country is more important than their elected positions and ideology and do the right thing?

Are we going to repeat a terrible world history, the one that caused the world to go to war a second time in one century and that caused us to say over and over, “Never forget?” Have we forgotten that terrible history so soon, the memory of which Trump trampled on as he wrote his Muslim ban executive order on the remembrance day of the Holocaust?

Where is the GOP?

In the meantime, besides doing one thing every single day to resist, like writing to my representatives and donating money to groups who are standing up to this oligarchy, I will continue to pick the paper towel bits out of the laundry and yearn for our imperfect America where we can fight the good fight through discourse and votes, hopefully ending up on the right side of history, and where our president, even when we don’t agree with him or her, is still serving the best interests of the country and not his own self interests and those of his inner circle.

#resist #unite #impeach #holdtheGOPaccountable

Inaugural Revelation

"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth."

~ President Barack Hussein Obama, January 21, 2013

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was so discouraged by the news prior to this great day in our country, a day that celebrates the 2^nd inauguration of our first mixed race president and a day that honors the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I couldn’t write for weeks: my brain hardened to stone, my emotions dove deep inside, and my creativity passed out cold. But yesterday the dam broke as I anticipated this day and what it means to all of us. I started writing again, and I had a seven-page rant about the ills I witnessed in the news. I won’t burden you with it. I realized, as I watched President Obama’s inauguration speech today, it only adds to the cacophony. Instead I share this with you.

America is a great country. The majority of Americans denounced inequality and support equality. Even though there are those who want to keep the status quo where white Americans have an advantage over people of color and men have an advantage over women and heterosexuals have an advantage over LGBT people, most Americans see how that hurts all of us. They understand that inclusion is better, that we are all created equal, and we are all in this together. They want change, just as they did four years ago, only now, stronger than ever, we will press forward in a progressive direction while honoring the original ideas that formed this country.

We are not a country of makers and takers; we are not a country of only white people or only rich people. We are a country that is made up of diverse people and ideas, and we must look to the strengths each of us can contribute toward a better life for all of us, not just the elite or the few.

Though there are people who still seek to protect the old way of life where oppression, prejudice, and power imbalance ruled, they are the minority, a loud minority, certainly, but definitely a minority. The rest of us have spoken in unison and maybe, for the first time since the Civil Rights movement, just as loudly. President Obama has spoken, as our highest leader, most eloquently, about our country, where we have been, and where we are headed, because he listened to us.

There is still a lot of bad out there: people who violently disagree with equality, people who want to benefit at the expense of others, and natural and manmade catastrophes and disasters. There is a lot of work yet to be done, hard work, but we must keep moving forward. I was discouraged, but not now. I was cynical, but now I have hope and belief that we can do it.

I believe that when everyone feels a part of our country, where not one person feels disenfranchised by an uncaring system, and when we can all have a seat at the table of progress, some of the hatred and violence will go away. The playing field will be level, and all people will have the opportunity to find the best position to play in their lives. People will have safety nets that ensure, if life knocks them down, they have the resources to stand back up and get back in the game, and if they can't get back in the game, they will not be left behind. Finally, fifty years after Dr. King spoke of his dream, we are close to being judged by the content of our characters rather than our gender, race, or who we choose to share our lives with.

Thank you, President Obama, and all those who came before you, people like President Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who saw a clear way forward and sacrificed their lives to point us in the right direction.

I admit that I get discouraged. I feel sad when I see injustice, inequality, and elitism. But then I remember that things can be different.

Change is not easy, but, together, we can get there. Let’s hope that some of the 47% of America who chose not to reelect President Obama, who feel their concerns are not being heard, will be willing to sit with us, engage in civil discourse, and find a way. Together we can do it.

(ABC News)

Ghosts 'N Guns

My girlfriends and I sat in a circle in the finished basement family room at my friend Gail’s house on a summer day just weeks before ninth grade began.  Each one of us outdid the one before in relating a scary tale. Gail began her story, and suddenly in mid-sentence she stopped, took a sharp breath, and her eyes grew round as she stared over my left shoulder. Her sudden silence and wide eyes caused me to scream and jump right out of my chair. Her fabrication made my fear no less real.

That is what it feels like this week, another week of ghost stories, another week of shooting, this time near Texas A&M University. Five people were shot and three killed, including the gunman and a constable, who had knocked on the door to serve an eviction notice. What are we so afraid of?

How many more shootings will occur before we cannot tolerate the violence? When will we rise together instead of pushing apart to find a peaceful solution? When will we replace rhetoric and politics with compassion and safety for everyone? When will we ban assault weapons for civilian use? When will we finally say that the collateral damage rendered in the push to support the right to bear arms, the thousands of people who die each year by gunshot, is more precious and more important than the personal freedom to bear arms?

I’d rather deal with ghosts than the specter of human hatred and fear that drives people to want to kill others. And it isn’t just psychotic people, though maybe believing that makes it easier to swallow. There is something growing like a weed in our society. It grows unwieldy and strong on hatred, divisiveness, the quest for individual freedoms, and survivalist instinct. Instead of calling for everyone to disarm and preserve human life, more people are arming up and declaring their intentions to shoot and kill.

I feel like our whole sense of community and the greater good has been replaced by individual freedoms and the desire to do whatever anyone wants to do, no matter that it might harm others. Text while driving? Why not? Shoot someone just for walking through a neighborhood? Why not? Plan and execute a mass shooting to show utter disregard for humanity? Why not? Decide ignorance of another culture is reason enough to shoot and kill others to show one’s hatred and fear? Why not? Can’t pay your rent and take it out on the people who happen to be in your way when you decide to express your anger and frustration with a gun? Why not?

I am so saddened by the tragedies of the past few weeks.  But I know it is the ghost stories that are fueling this particular brand of fear.  The fear that whites will lose their position of power and wealth, as if we all had it to begin with and are more deserving and entitled than the rest of the world; the fear that America will grow more diverse as more people from different cultures and religions move here; the fear that gay unions and independent, self-actualized women will ruin marriage as we know it; and the fear that middle class Americans are quickly losing economic ground.

I was afraid of more than just ghosts as a child. I was also terrified of the dark; spiders; strangers; fire; cigarettes (Ma smoked); certain foods like condiments, beer (Ma drank), and seafood; and new situations. These were all manifestations of the real situation that was the basis of my fears – living in an unstable home with an alcoholic mother.

That’s how it is today. People’s fear is manifested in the form of minorities, terrorists, criminals, and gay couples. What everyone is really afraid of is that we are all losing ground and our lives don’t feel stable or safe.  Who do we blame?

The truth is that corporations, people in the eyes of some politicians, are telling ghost stories while sending jobs overseas and pocketing profits and bonuses. The truth is we were always diverse, and we need to acknowledge that fact and stop pretending some people are better and more deserving than others. The truth is that minorities in America, whether they are black, Sikh, Muslim, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, women, or gay, want the same things that the majority (meaning those wielding power and position in our society) wants – the pursuit of happiness, the right to live their lives, and the right to embrace cultural aspects of their heredity, for example, the way Irish-Americans celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, in relative safety. The truth is the institution of marriage is fast becoming irrelevant in this society where women are sexually objectified and men are just “baby daddy.” We’ve lost the sense of love and family that grows between two people who face the world as one and who help each other weather the storms life brings us.  We fail to recognize that gay couples are trying to preserve and participate in this institution, not destroy it. They may be its best hope.

Politicians tell ghost stories, too, or they repeat ones they’ve heard. They make people feel desperate and scared, and they like it that way. If you are afraid of ghosts, you won’t have time to look at what they are really doing, like the Republicans (I’m a proud liberal) who hope to take away your stable retirement income and the health care that you have paid into since you started working. They pretend you won’t be part of the group losing these entitlements, but you will be, and they hope you won’t notice because they’ve made you afraid of the “others,” the ghosts who are unknown and unseen but that you begin to surmise who they are based on who looks or acts differently than you.

There are reasons to be afraid. Life is hard and bad things happen to good and bad people. Not many people live a life without sadness and struggle. But we need to be afraid of the right things, the things that can really hurt us, and take the right action, the one that does least harm.

As a child I had ways of dealing with my imagined fears – I sprayed spiders with hairspray or ran screaming from the room. I slept with the covers over my head. I avoided strangers and strange places. I repeatedly washed my hands if I came in contact with the foods or cigarettes to which I had such a strong aversion. I had panic attacks that stole my breath and dizzied me.  I paced the floor and imagined different and better times. But none of those things fixed the thing that really frightened me – Ma’s alcoholism and all the bad things that came with it: the arguments between my parents; Ma threatening to leave or to commit suicide; and my sense that I was not worthy of a mother who loved me enough to want to stay. I was but a child and couldn’t have fixed it anyway nor did I understand that Ma had her own fears that overwhelmed.

And that’s what we need to understand about everyone today. We each have our own fears, real or imagined, that we must contend with. How can we do that without harming others? How can we do that with respect and recognition that we are individuals in this collective we call America, and we all have a right to be here, no matter how we got here in the first place or where we came from or how we identify ethnically, religiously, and culturally.

We held a pretend séance when I was around ten. I led the parents and younger siblings into the neighbor’s basement and offered them chairs. Then I stood in the back, my face stern, and my arms crossed over my chest. When no one was looking, I pulled the fishing lines attached to objects to make them levitate. My neighbor David was the medium, and he sported a golden turban as he summoned the ghosts. My brother Rocco hid under a tarp and spoke through a length of garden hose to make his voice sound otherworldly. In our imaginative play we exorcised the spirits with an audience applauding our effort.

I wish we could exorcise the ghosts that plague us today and be rid of some of our imaginary fears, the ones that motivate some people to arm up with the intent to shoot and kill. Maybe then we could face the things we really need to be afraid of and find a way for everyone to live in safety.