"...be vigilant—when the light on the mountains gives the sign—arise and go...as long as blood turns in the breast ...your dark star..."
A truly haunting poem, Greg. Thank you for offering it. I've been trying not to acknowledge a sense of dread growing in me for the past year. Although I'm no historian, I've read my share of war history wikipedia pages with a particular curiosity for how different conflicts & wars began. This evil "othering" that has insidiously infiltrated our society was also a precursor in most (if not all) other wars - - the Bosnian conflict, Rwanda genocide, Armenian genocide, WW2, of course... It seems surreal to me that this country elected a potus who encourages this discriminatory labeling, plus hints that his supporters should wage violence against his detractors. And it's been demoralizing to see how the co-equal branch that could've reined him in, GOP senators, have buckled under, thereby enabling his brazen agenda. (Not to mention how stultifying that our fellow citizens keep voting those ReTHUGlikkkan toadies back in, cycle after cycle.)
A latecomer to politics & civics in general, I was shocked to learn that "one person, one vote" applies to every election in the U.S. EXCEPT the presidential one, and that the Electoral College, with its blatant racist origin, is still a fuKKKin' THING...
If we succeed in voting this diseased administration out, including the GOP Senate cabal, big changes must be made immediately: Repeal the Electoral College & Citizens United; pass a law prohibiting the exchange of goods, services, money, or positions in our lobbying system; put term limits of 10 years on all congressional seats in both chambers, plus a bunch of other things I can't think of right now (feel free to weigh in & grow the list). We cluck our tongues over the intense government corruption in other countries, but there's so much baked-in corruption & hidden pay-to-play in our own system. How does a putz like Paul Ryan enter the House worth $400k and emerge 10 years later worth $11M? Not on a $275k/yr salary and, boy, that would be a ton of special guest honorarium fees. Yes, the same can be said for lots of Democrat Congressional members, as well, but my understanding is that, in general, Democrats are a lot less venal collectively than Republicans.
Public service as a politician was intended by the founders to be a temp-gig, 4-8 years, then one steps down, goes back to their before-career & allows someone else step in and serve. Instead, we've got a set of career politicians who'll say anything to get elected & then say anything to stay in office with heavy reliance on the average American's short memory (or, in the case of Fox "News" viewers, their near-total unawareness of what's really going down plus a short memory).
K, sorry for the rant. Some positive things are happening, too. Losing THE Notorious RBG on Friday is a heartbreak and a gut-punch, but maybe 4 GOP senators will step forward (for whatever reasons) & call a halt to Fake45's & #MoscowMitch's beyond-belief hypocritical SCOTUS-pick battering-ram. Hopefully, the feckless Collins & Murkowski duo will vote "no" on a fast SCOTUS pick if for no other reason than to mollify their furious progressive constituents just in time for election day. I think we can count on Mitt Romney, who righteously sees Fake45 as a serious threat to our Constitutional Republic, 'though I'm still furious with him for Citizens United. We need just one more "no" vote... "RGB, you're our spiritual Athena now...Our country is STILL in your able hands..." ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊✊🏻💙🇺🇸🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Our clarion call for 11/3/20:
"...be vigilant—when the light on the mountains gives the sign—arise and go...as long as blood turns in the breast ...your dark star..."
A truly haunting poem, Greg. Thank you for offering it. I've been trying not to acknowledge a sense of dread growing in me for the past year. Although I'm no historian, I've read my share of war history wikipedia pages with a particular curiosity for how different conflicts & wars began. This evil "othering" that has insidiously infiltrated our society was also a precursor in most (if not all) other wars - - the Bosnian conflict, Rwanda genocide, Armenian genocide, WW2, of course... It seems surreal to me that this country elected a potus who encourages this discriminatory labeling, plus hints that his supporters should wage violence against his detractors. And it's been demoralizing to see how the co-equal branch that could've reined him in, GOP senators, have buckled under, thereby enabling his brazen agenda. (Not to mention how stultifying that our fellow citizens keep voting those ReTHUGlikkkan toadies back in, cycle after cycle.)
A latecomer to politics & civics in general, I was shocked to learn that "one person, one vote" applies to every election in the U.S. EXCEPT the presidential one, and that the Electoral College, with its blatant racist origin, is still a fuKKKin' THING...
If we succeed in voting this diseased administration out, including the GOP Senate cabal, big changes must be made immediately: Repeal the Electoral College & Citizens United; pass a law prohibiting the exchange of goods, services, money, or positions in our lobbying system; put term limits of 10 years on all congressional seats in both chambers, plus a bunch of other things I can't think of right now (feel free to weigh in & grow the list). We cluck our tongues over the intense government corruption in other countries, but there's so much baked-in corruption & hidden pay-to-play in our own system. How does a putz like Paul Ryan enter the House worth $400k and emerge 10 years later worth $11M? Not on a $275k/yr salary and, boy, that would be a ton of special guest honorarium fees. Yes, the same can be said for lots of Democrat Congressional members, as well, but my understanding is that, in general, Democrats are a lot less venal collectively than Republicans.
Public service as a politician was intended by the founders to be a temp-gig, 4-8 years, then one steps down, goes back to their before-career & allows someone else step in and serve. Instead, we've got a set of career politicians who'll say anything to get elected & then say anything to stay in office with heavy reliance on the average American's short memory (or, in the case of Fox "News" viewers, their near-total unawareness of what's really going down plus a short memory).
K, sorry for the rant. Some positive things are happening, too. Losing THE Notorious RBG on Friday is a heartbreak and a gut-punch, but maybe 4 GOP senators will step forward (for whatever reasons) & call a halt to Fake45's & #MoscowMitch's beyond-belief hypocritical SCOTUS-pick battering-ram. Hopefully, the feckless Collins & Murkowski duo will vote "no" on a fast SCOTUS pick if for no other reason than to mollify their furious progressive constituents just in time for election day. I think we can count on Mitt Romney, who righteously sees Fake45 as a serious threat to our Constitutional Republic, 'though I'm still furious with him for Citizens United. We need just one more "no" vote... "RGB, you're our spiritual Athena now...Our country is STILL in your able hands..." ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊✊🏻💙🇺🇸🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊