How bizarre that a man might begin his presidency presenting an idea he called American Carnage, connecting that idea to what he said was the horror of America’s “inner-cities.” What a weird speech.
Then to spend four years seemingly going out of his way to personally create the most bizarre carnage anyone could ever come up with. The guy was super proud that he was screwing up the country.
The American carnage stops right here, right now. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first. America first.
Donald J. Trump, January 20, 2017
Apparently, a whole bunch of other people were proud of his carnage as well — fine people, flag loving, patriotic people. Very fine Republicans. Mostly Republicans. Perhaps racist people too in general who don’t exactly claim to be Republican but understood without question what was going on. A weird speech. And a weird bunch of very fine Republicans.
We learned definitively that there are at least 74 million of these people in America. They claim to be about freedom and liberty, law and order, patriotism, Christian values, and old-time American common sense. They also seem to have no problem with the person who represents them bastardizing everything they claim to believe in.
We now know so much more about evangelical Christians. We also got a taste of what Republicans mean when they say “all lives matter,” and, most recently, what they think of “the rule of law,” our Constitution, and, obviously, the wonderful little trope, “blue lives matter.”
Hypocrisy and limited understanding are not prerequisites for making this country even marginally kind of good. We’ve lost nearly half a million citizens mostly because of unprecedented incompetence on numerous levels of government, all starting at the top, coupled with the acquiescing halls of Congress.
I agree with his polices, I just wish he’d stop tweeting like that.
What we heard from so many very fine Americans
As I write, we are in the second day of a Senate impeachment trial that arises due to con-man manipulation of American citizens lusting to be lied to, hoping to be egged on, goosed towards that weirdly promised carnage. Good American citizens turned into chumps willing to run amok in the People’s House, chant that they wanted to hang the Vice President of the United States, capture the Speaker of the House, and gas elected officials and their staffs hiding in the basement tunnels of the Capitol Building.
Was it just joking around and having a good time, or were we all watching evil unfold, unable to fully recognize itself? And a press on all sides and on all levels making money hand-over-fist through it all, unable to understand the depth of their own complicity.
Forgive me. Let me stop this predictable tirade. For just a moment, forget all the violence and death and the fear and loathing and anger and hostility … on all sides. Here’s what we really need to know more than anything these days:
How many of us still wake up in the morning with love in our hearts?
How many of us understand the simple need to search for beauty — especially in small and simple things like a child asking us a riddle, a cold glass of chocolate milk, or a blazing sunset after a day of snow?
How many of us wake up aware that the one single Reality everyone lives in can only be felt if one is aware of the importance of Love and Beauty?
There are real answers to those questions. They are not asked rhetorically or in jest. However, I admit one thing: the best in life is not just defined by our ability to see Love and Beauty. There is something else. Joy. Love, Beauty, and Joy. These are things we used to create on a daily basis. Somehow we need to remember that and get back to work creating them — for our children and our grandchildren and each other. Especially for each other. Here. Now.