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
