Fully Present Post 50

Earlier this month, my husband returned home from a visit to our longtime mechanic with a frown on his face. He explained his disappointment and frustration over encountering a life-sized cut out of Donald Trump and the absence of masks on the faces of the owner, our trusted mechanic, and his employees. Without a word, he said he turned around and left. I was surprised by the news and then had to stop myself from stereotyping all older white males like our former mechanic as members of the Trump cult.

It is undeniable, however, that many of the insurrectionists caught on camera were clearly older white males and females. Then, the people making their way to Cpac this weekend were those same older white people. Again, I remind myself that not all older white people are Trump cult members. But if someone is a Trump cult member, are they are likely to be an older white person? It could be that older white people are the ones we see on television because they have the financial means and free time to attend these events. No matter the actual demographic of Trump loyalist, I’m baffled by how otherwise decent people fell prey to the Trump cult. And by definition, it is a cult.

A cult is broadly defined as misplaced excessive devotion directed to a particular person or object. Those who continue to swear allegiance to Donald Trump in place of our Constitution and the value of common decency are members of a cult. And that cult has taken over the Republican Party. There are a few old school Republican holdouts, but they are vastly outnumbered and they have targets on their backs. In my view, they have already lost their party and its traditional values.

The Republican Party no longer represents policies around fiscal responsibility, small government, low taxes, law and order, family values, and individual freedoms. Instead it has become a Trump Cult rooted in xenophobia, white supremacy, voter suppression, anti-science, anti-intellect, and targeted discrimination, with lying, corruption, arrogance, mean-spiritedness, scapegoating, and selfishness as a acceptable norms. We got a taste of what happens when these people are in power: 500,000 Americans dead, innocent children in cages and separated from their parents, setbacks in clean water and clean air, a rise in hate crimes, and of course an insurrection over lies about a “stolen” election.

It is not surprising that people who know Trump cultist have reported on their personality changes. Many have abandoned their Christian values altogether in favor of a selfish and unhinged kind of arrogance that means they refuse to wear masks, they openly ridicule minorities, and they choose to accept obvious lies instead of the truth. It’s as though their constant consumption of conspiracy theories about evil democrats and lowlife minorities have so filled them with fear and hatred that they unwittingly fell prey to the Trump con game, believing that he will protect them from these imaginary enemies. He convinced them that he alone can save them and the country from those who are hellbent on destroying “their” country. They are paying his legal bills, pumping his already over inflated ego, and paving the way for a second Trump presidential candidacy in 2024.

We must be vigilant in these dangerous times. We now know that these Trump cultist are armed and dangerous. We now know that they exist among our armed forces and our police departments. We now know that they are running for office at the city, state, and national levels. They have declared war on our democracy in misplaced loyalty to a tyrant. Imagine what our country will become if Trump cultist are fully in charge. We already had a taste! And none of it was good!

I’m glad my husband walked out of the auto-shop. Perhaps it will take acts like my husband’s along with family and friends who are courageous and loving enough to challenge loyalty to Trump when they encounter it. My real hope is that Trump is convicted and imprisoned for his years of criminal behavior and is precluded from ever running for office again. I hope the insurrectionist of January 6th are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I hope the current Congress will protect voter rights. I hope Americans will pay closer attention to whom they vote for. And I hope Americans will refuse to support media outlets who spread conspiracies and lies. Maybe then, the cult will die and the true Republicans can get their party back.

I’m still carrying the green purse I was carrying in March 2020 when the pandemic stopped us in our collective tracks. That’s highly unusual for a person who changes her purses in concert with holidays, seasons and special events. My green purse ushers in springtime. My red purse is reserved for Valentine’s month and Christmas. My pink purse is for Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. My purple purse is for the start of the new school year in September and my gold purse is for the end of the school year in May since my University colors are purple and gold. I use a navy purse for summer. But for this entire year, I have not bothered to change purses. It was as though I was emotionally stunted in some way. I realize now that not changing my purses was simply an unconscious way to acknowledge this life disruption.

Because the end of the pandemic is in sight, I decided to acknowledge my emotional escapes that made this year of hell somewhat bearable. It was hell dealing with the pandemic, my husband’s lung cancer, and this presidential election this past year. I learned that I’m not the kind of person who runs towards others to talk about my challenges, but rather I retreat to a solidary place where I can fill my soul with the sights and sounds of life that are more pleasant than my current situation.

I found those sights and sounds in the music and performance of BTS and in the emotional storytelling found in K-dramas. It’s strange that I had to escape to South Korea for a reprieve from what life had become this past year. Many of my evenings were spent watching YouTube videos of BTS live performances, music videos, behind the scenes stuff about them or various reaction videos to the group. I was watching so much YouTube that I purchased an $11.99 premium subscription to rid myself of the commercials. Because the seven members of BTS came to mean so much to me, I became a member of their fan club, called “ARMY”, even purchasing the special membership. My kids, unaware of my purchase, also purchased a membership for me. I fell in love with BT21, a cartoon representation each of the boys created of themselves. For my own birthday I gifted myself the BT21 figurines and stuffed dolls and purchased several of their albums. I highly recommend their newest album, “BE”, in which they write about their emotions during the pandemic. The title song, “Life Goes On” is a masterpiece and many have now heard the song, “Dynamite” which is their first all English track that was released with the expressed intent bring cheer to the world during the pandemic.

As for K-dramas, I watch them on Netflix and Viki. My favorites this past year were the romance dramas that included such titles as, “The King: Eternal Monarch”, “Because This is My First Life”, “Itaewon Class”, “100 Days My Prince”, “Cinderella and the Four Knights”,”1% of Something”, “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”, “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim”, “Oh My Venus”, “Halo”, “Crash Landing on You”, “While You Were Sleeping”, and “Goblin”. I just finished “Sky Castle” which isn’t a romance but an excellent critique on the competitive South Korean educational system.

I think it might be mere coincidence that I relate so strongly to South Korean culture. My mother loved South Korea and visited there seven times before she passed away. She was planning another trip there when she became ill. South Korean culture is similar to African American culture in emotional energy which might explain their musical affinity for hip hop, rap, and R&B and our affinity for their performance of it. BTS music and dancing strikes a cord with many African Americans as seen through the reaction videos that feature many black males and females across generations and countries.

Whatever the reason, I am glad that I found an emotional escape in the artistry and creativity provided by the South Korean entertainment industries. The escape from the realities of 2020 was necessary and I’m thankful for the opportunity to do so.

The closing line of our national anthem claims that the United states is the “home of the brave”. Observations of the impeachment trial this week confirm my conviction that we are instead “the home of the cowards“. While I am disgusted and disheartened by the cowardice the majority of senate Republicans demonstrated by their stubborn resistance to convicting Trump who clearly incited his followers to violence, rioting, or insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, I am also aware that these cowardly senators are a reflection of us as our representatives.

When given the opportunity in 2020 to oust Trump enablers like Senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, American voters re-elected them. American voters also elected Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Their election speaks volumes about we, the American people. It says that we lack the moral courage to stand up for truth and what is morally right. It says that we lack the courage to condemn evidence of corruption, to honestly face our historical injustices, and to do the work of pursuing the value of justice for all. It says we don’t have the courage to hold wrongdoers accountable if there is a personal cost to pay. We have been too afraid to lose friends, family, followers or tax breaks by speaking the truth. Silence in the face of wrongdoing is also cowardice. We only have ourselves to blame for the fragile state of our nation. The lack of courage we witnessed on Saturday is our collective failure. So, we are no longer the home of the brave, but the home of the cowardice.

The moral depravity that we have condoned for too long (perhaps in ourselves and now in our representatives) is evident by the outcome of this second impeachment trial. Even the lawyers for Trump boldly lied in their defense argument without consequence. The senators who took an oath to be impartial jurors, openly strategized with the Trump defense lawyers and received appallingly little criticism. And the argument that Trump shouldn’t be tried after he left office was by made possible by McConnell’s refusal to call the senate into session to try him before he left office.

As a parent, an educator, and a citizen, I take personal responsibility for not fighting harder to send the message to my children, my students, and my fellow Americans to value the courage to seek out and stand up for the truth when presented with lies and corruption. I have failed along with the rest of America to demand better of our representatives, maybe because we have demanded too little of ourselves and each other for too long. While many of us have rightly spent our energy securing women’s rights, gay rights, criminal justice, and making Black Lives Matter, we have simultaneously witnessed the deterioration of moral courage.

I looked in the mirror and decided that I have to do better. With a grandson on the way, I thought about the kind of country he will inherit if we continue to behave like cowards and to elect representatives who lack moral courage. It is important to bolster our own commitment to being courageous enough to speak out against the cowardice we are witnessing today and to vote the cowards out of office, but it is just as important to build up the capacity of future generations to be morally courageous.

I thought about what my part in this could be and decided that during my retirement, I will dedicate myself to writing children’s books that focus on the virtue of possessing courage to confront lies, adversity, danger, and corruption. That is what I can and will do. I hope that parents, grandparents, teachers, preachers, and all patriots will take up the challenge before us to reclaim our place as “the home of the brave”.

It’s time to retire. Both my mind and my body are telling me it’s time. Of course, my husband is in excited agreement since he retired four years ago. I am thankful for the years of diligent saving and investing, rather than spending, that allows us to retire in financial peace. We have done well in that regard, but neither of us can say the same for our health.

Admittedly, some of our issues are inherited, but too many others stem from poor daily lifestyle choices. Michael is addicted to sugar and I’m addicted to salt. Both of us prefer a southern diet with fried chicken, fried fish, and macaroni and cheese being our favorite comfort foods. He loves candy and ice cream while I love potato chips. Although we garden and I work out for an hour five mornings a week and he has returned to golfing once a week, we both sit too much. Nearly all of my hobbies: reading, writing, doing puzzles, watching K-dramas, painting pots, and knitting are all sitting down activities. Even my work requires long hours sitting in front of a computer. Michael has always been a couch potato at home when he isn’t working on a project. We are both overweight by a lot and neither of us sleeps as well as we should. The time for a lifestyle change is past due if we want to live and actually enjoy a substantial time in retirement.

Since the new year, I have given up potato chips altogether. In consultation with my doctor, I am eating only broth soups or salad with homemade dressing for dinner on the nights I have dinner. He has recommended intermittent fasting and so I’m skipping dinner three days a week. I’m getting up and walking around more frequently during the work day and eating considerably less, cutting down on the size of my meals and nearly eliminating rice, pasta and potatoes. I haven’t figured out how to stop Michael from bringing home his sugary treats, though. Threatening and nagging hasn’t worked.

I’ve begun my countdown to retirement by putting a preparation timeline in place. I’ve schedule a training transition for my colleagues. I’ve scheduled all my health and body maintenance checks. In fact I just had my annual mammogram last Wednesday. In addition, my car just received a clean bill of health after paying nearly $500 for maintenance at the dealership to hear the great news. With only 35,000 miles on a fully paid for 2014 Lexus 300 Hybrid, I would think it should be doing well. My only plan is to change out the floor mats. In the next house, I’ll need to park it in the garage to preserve the paint. It was well worth the money to pay for the paint sealing treatment when I purchased the car in 2014 but it is beginning to show signs of wear. I had thought of purchasing a new car at retirement or us making due with just one car, but I realize a new car it isn’t necessary and Michael didn’t like the idea of sharing one vehicle. So I will take my 2014 Lexus into retirement with me.

This month I finally paid off the last of my substantial student loans from my master’s and doctorate degrees as well as my middle daughter’s student loan. It’s crazy in retrospect that I have spent my entire working life paying off student loans. However, that means that with the exception of our mortgage, we are 100% debt free. And our house is worth a whole lot more than our mortgage, so we’re in the positive there. We refinanced from 3.25% down to 2.75% last year and now I wish we had waited because rates moved even lower. But since we plan to move to Las Vegas in a year or two, it may not be worth pursuing refinance again. I suppose I’ll have to make some calculations and find out if it’s even possible.

On Friday, I began removing a few items from my on campus office. My goal is to remove a few items each of the three times a week I go to campus. I will either bring the items home, throw them away, or gift them. My goal is to make leaving my campus office as thoughtful and relaxed as possible when the time comes. Over 23 years, I’ve collected a lot of stuff, so it is a pretty big task. I’ve also collected a lot of unused vacation time, and the payout will be a nice bonus.

The same is true for my wardrobe. I have three closets full of clothes for different occasions. However, when it comes to my clothes, I plan to leave them behind as well. Most will go to Goodwill and my professional clothes will be donated to a shelter for abused women’s shelter to help outfit women seeking work. My goal is to lose 75 pounds in the next year and with that weight loss, I plan to purchase an entirely new retirement wardrobe. It’s going to be fun figuring out my retirement style.

My greatest expense is going to be purchasing an individual healthcare plan while I wait for Medicare to kick in. Even after that, I realize that managing healthcare expenses and supplemental insurance plans will be the greatest challenge and frustration. I see it with my husband and its shameful that things are so complicated.

My last day of work will be June 30, 2021 and I’m finding that as I begin planning my transition, my excitement about what comes next is growing. I’ve already announced that I’m not up for a big party or any fanfare. As a true introvert, I will be the most content to simply slip away quietly when the day arrives.

My husband couldn’t sleep last night. When I asked him what was wrong, he explained that the despicable behavior of the Republicans had finally gotten to him. He was distraught over their dismissal of Trump’s incitement of insurrection, the continuing lies, and over the inability of law abiding Americans and Democrats to hold them accountable. The one word we could agree upon to describe the behavior of Republican leaders like Kevin McCarthy, Senator Josh Hawley, and new congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was “depravity”.

These folks (and others) are representative of human beings who have a platform despite being morally corrupt, perverted, mean-spirited, and shameless. The sad part is that we see how everyday decent human beings can be gradually brainwashed by charismatic leaders who repeatedly lie, demonize others, fear monger, and threaten the ruin of those who openly oppose them. In the Republican Party, decency was silenced for too long. There simply were not enough courageous Republicans to publicly challenge the constant barrage of conspiracy theories, perversions, and lies from the liars in their party and in their party media. And now they are losing the war between decency and depravity.

As it stands right now, a decent human being who values the Constitution, democracy, and our actual freedoms, who values the truth, who cares about the poor and justice, who values science, and who actually understands that wearing a mask in public is for the welfare of the collective, shouldn’t remain a Republican. That party has left decent human beings on the sidelines in favor of a kind of moral depravity where freedom means being a Christian, not freedom of religion to be Muslim or Jewish or atheist. It is a party that is actively working in states to strip the vote from people of color. It is a party that promotes false accusations without any actual evidence. It is a party that has no answer for health care, no remedy for the economy except to give hefty tax cuts to the wealthiest among us, demonizes immigrants, and oppresses women and minorities with its policies. At this moment in time, they meet the definition of perversion and depravity. And they are willing and able to kill innocent people based on lies and a perversion of freedom, democracy, rule of law, and the Constitution itself. Their willingness to execute lawmakers without a trial is a throwback to the southern lynching of black people. They are filled with “unrighteous” anger because it was anger fueled by lies and they are dangerous people because they have guns.

However. I slept just fine. I had vented my disgust at Congressional minority leader McCarthy over his deplorable behavior and over Congresswoman Greene in a faxed letter on Friday. I had emailed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on the need to hold liars accountable with truth hearings about the 2020 election and a host of other conspiracies. I responded to a Facebook posting that was perpetuating hate through false accusations. I’m committed to doing my part to defeat the depravity that has taken root.

There is a Bible verse that says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” I’ve made a commitment to be good and to do good. Silence in the midst of injustice and evil is not doing good. Jesus taught us this Himself when He overturned the tables of the money changers. I will wear a mask in public because that is what it means to “love my neighbor as myself”. I will treat people with dignity and respect in my words and actions. I will expose lies when I hear them. I will demand evidence from those who make accusations about others. I will vote for leaders who stand up for actual freedom, for democracy, for evidence backed truths, for science, and for social justice. That’s what I can do. I hope others who are the directly and negatively affected by lies will follow the example of Dominion (the maker of the voting machines) and sue the perpetrators for millions or billions of dollars.

In reality, the major battle will be among the Republicans themselves. The decent Republicans versus the depraved Republicans. The winners will retain the title of Republican and the losers will become independents or form a new party. I heard in the news that many have left the party and that some high profile GOP donors like Jacob Monty are exiting too. I hope that we as consumers will boycott companies like “My Pillow” that support depraved Republicans, much like Americans boycotted South African businesses over the issue of apartheid.

However this war plays out, at this moment in time there is a window of opportunity for Democrats to deal with COVID-19, the economy, immigration, healthcare, voter rights, climate change, and of course, the trial of Donald Trump. So much to do, but at least we are blessed not to have a depraved party in charge of doing it. I’m thrilled that the Senate is also in our hands.

I agree with many that 2021 got off to a rocky start with thousands ill or dying from COVID-19, an insurrection aimed to destroy our democracy, and a dismal economic outlook for many. But then January 20th happened and a new administration was inaugurated. I actually felt an emotional and mental shift as I listened to Lady Gaga sing the national anthem, and marveled at the magic of poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, and then bathed in the Biden address itself. By the end of the ceremony, I felt optimistic that our republic was on the road to recovery and that I had awakened from a terrible nightmare that lasted four long years.

There is positivity in the air. There is optimism. There is truth. There is humanity and respect. There is a sense of decency, caring, and competence from our leadership that has been absent and has been missed for too long. I feel lighter. It’s as though a weigh has been lifted from my chest.

In the midst of this relief, I realize that there are people who are afraid of Biden and the Democrats. A large segment of our society have been fed a steady diet of lies that democrats run child sex rings, are all socialist or communists who want to take away their freedom, kill babies, and destroy their heterosexual marriages. Some are just now realizing that they were duped by these conspiracy theories. I heard that many were dismayed that Biden was actually inaugurated after repeated promises that Trump would remain president. Many who stormed the Capitol are shocked that they are not being hailed as heroes, but as domestic terrorist who are not going to receive pardons from the man who sent them there. For them, the nightmare has just begun. Some have lost jobs, family, and friends and one 36 year old zealot lost her life.

The work of restoring our country to be better than we were before falls upon each of us who can see and appreciate the diversity of our nation. And it was some of those diverse individuals like secretary of states and election officials who held their ground by standing up to presidential pressures to cheat. It was people like Stacy Abrams who successfully lead voter turnout efforts in Georgia, or the Capitol policeman, Eugene Goodman, who stealthily led insurrectionists away from the senate floor who became heroes of democracy. But it falls upon us to truly value democracy by honoring the vote and ensuring that voting is widely accessible rather than restricted by voter suppression schemes. The work of “building back better” will take patriots who not only understand the constitution and the working of our government, but who demand the truth, demand justice for all, and demand liberty. We must all work together to promote the general welfare by wearing masks, being environmentally conscience in our decision making, and by getting vaccinated.

It feels great to once again have an actual adult in the White House who has the intelligence, fortitude, and character to lead our nation. I hope Trump supporters can see and feel the difference a day can make. I have hope that they will turn away from the plethora of lies they have feasted on for four years and become true patriots. As the vaccine rolls out, the economy recovers, and Trump is prosecuted for his crimes, I have hope for our nation in 2021. This will be the year we pivot towards a better version of ourselves.

The lies just keep coming. It’s appalling to hear intelligent people who are entirely bankrupt of morality use their position and communication skills to continue to spread lies about the election. And now they are lying about those who lead the insurrection at the Capitol. I’ve heard numerous pundits and individuals blame the violence at the Capitol on Black Lives Matter and Antifa, claiming that these groups dressed up as Trump supporters and stormed the Capitol to make them look bad. One woman vehemently claimed to a news reporter that she knows for a fact that Trump supporters would never cause a riot and that the trouble was caused by BLM and Antifa. Deranged supporters, absent any evidence, are still declaring that Trump won the election and that the White House is being stolen from him. Sadly, these Republicans are fed a continuous stream of lies from each other, right wing news outlets, political pundits, several lawmakers, conspiracy websites, and Trump himself. Amazingly, they don’t demand actual evidence to substantiate any of the false claims. It is enough for them that a public person makes these accusations because it feeds into what they want to believe.

It is difficult to break through the echo chamber to reach the dedicated members of the Trump cult. Many who call themselves Christians have apparently chosen a belief in Trumpism over their belief in the teachings of Christ. The love of neighbor is nowhere to be found. Others have swapped allegiance to the American flag for allegiance to Trump or to white supremacy or both. I believe there is little hope that these people will be transformed by the truth because they want and actually need to believe the lies. But most of the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump are not this radical and the truth might in fact set them free.

I think we need a public day of reckoning in this country to expose what brought us to this place. I want Congress to hold hearings on the 2020 election and to call witnesses to testify about what they did, what they saw, and what they said in the run up to the insurrection. Under oath and threat of perjury, the witnesses should include pundits, lawmakers, news casters, journalists, election officials, and everyone who had anything to do with or who spread information about the election. People like former major Rudi Giuliani, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Josh Hawley, congressmen who publicly spread rumors and lies, each secretary of state of the swing states, lawyers in the 62 court cases, the Trump children, poll watchers, poll workers, and others. The Congress should force the people to present evidence of their claims of election fraud. The American people need to hear the truth loud and clear.

To reiterate what I said in my post last week, our country needs to hold news media legally accountable to present facts based on evidence moving forward. Opinion shows need to be clearly labeled as such. Since news outlets are owned by large corporations driven by profit motives or a desire to socially engineer the society, too many news broadcasters are currently compelled to set aside ethical journalism standards. This has to stop and it is apparent that the corporations need regulations to compel them to do the right thing.

Lies are and have always been dangerous. It was shortsighted of us as a nation to think that we could allow ourselves to be subjected to a myriad of lies everyday without dire consequences. I hope we have learned our lesson and that we will publicly expose the truth. If we fail to act, then the poison of these lies will kill our democracy and many more innocent lives will be taken.

I saw it coming and so I am baffled as to how law enforcement did not realize (or willfully ignored) that Trump supporters were going to storm the Capitol. Thank God many more people were not killed or injured and I’m sad for the Capitol policeman who lost his life. I have compassion for the families of the other four who died, but not for those insurrectionists. They made their choice, albeit after being radicalized because of their own character flaws that made them receptive to Trump and right wing conspiracies. I hope every one of the insurrectionists are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Yes, I am pissed off. But I am also frustrated and sad. However, I recognize that my strong emotions must be a catalyst to pushing for systemic changes in our government and laws.

For starters, the House needs to impeach and the Senate eventually needs to convict Trump of the crime of inciting the insurrection against our government. Doing this even after he has left office ensures that he can never run again for public office. This needs to happen! I think Biden is smart to stay completely out of this decision and to concentrate on his responsibilities as president. I’m hopeful that the Senate will first confirm the Biden cabinet and then take up the impeachment hearings. By then, Trump people will have cooled down a bit and perhaps some Republicans will have the good sense and courage to objectively do what is right.

Second, I think Congress needs to pass laws limiting the pardon rights of the presidency. Pardoning friends and family who break the law in duty to the president should be illegal. And of course, self-pardon should never be a thing. I doubt the framers of the Constitution even thought these two situations were even in the realm of possibility when they wrote the pardon provisions.

Third, I think regulations need to be put in place for social media. It isn’t right nor fair to leave it to these young men and women to decide whose speech should be magnified and whose should be silenced. I’m glad they finally decided to suspend or band Trump from their platforms, but the damage of the last five years has already come to fruition. Further damage is possible, so I’m glad they finally acted. However, moving forward, Congress needs to place parameters on what can be spread on social media. Promotion of violence, insurrection, and dangerous rhetoric to public health should be illegal.

Forth, Congress needs to step in and regulate the news media, making it illegal to knowingly pollute the airways with stories blatant lies, with stories that are not based in facts nor backed by actual evidence. We need to bring journalism back! The law should require a warning ahead of opinion shows that clearly states that the views presented are not necessarily based in fact nor evidence and only represent the views of the person(s) presenting. News media should be required by law to publicly and quickly correct the record on their platform when they get facts wrong. Although these are ethical principles of good journalism, they need to become actual law. We have experienced the results of misinformation coming from what should be reliable sources. When trust is gone, democracy is imperiled.

And finally, Congress and the Senate need to deal with the members in their respective chambers who have been spreading misinformation in support of their own political ambitions and contrary to the service of the Constitution and the people of the country. At the very least they should be censured and the worst among them should be expelled. It is time to clean house. Those who have not lived up to their oath of office have no business in Congress nor the Senate. The Ethics committees should take up this situation and come down hard.

What the Trump administration has taught us is that our democracy is fragile and needs actual laws, not just the reliance on decency and norms, to ensure that it can endure. I hope you’ll join me in making these suggestions to lawmakers. And now that we have the majority in the House and Senate, maybe we can get these things accomplished.

I only allow myself a few minutes of CNN each day and an occasional few minutes of Tik Tok, Facebook and Twitter every few days. The anger and angst fomented by President Trump and his supporters frustrates me and empowers Trumpians. It makes sense that nefarious characters are behind a scheme to destroy our country using the greed of social media companies, news outlets, and politicians as vehicles to spread division and chaos. I recently re-watched the Netflix dramatized documentary, “The Social Dilemma” and realized that we are in fact under attack by actors who want to undermine our entire system of government. And so fighting over America has commenced in earnest but the underlying conflict is between a few wealthy individuals who use the rest of us a pons in their war. However, the outcome of this war will determine the kind of nation we live in.

It should come as no surprise that America, past and present, is a country where individuals can amass a great amount of wealth and power through personal ingenuity or talent mixed with connections or luck. Of course, it also helps a lot to be a white male. And attending the “right” schools is also an advantage. But sadly, history has shown the ruthless tactics employed by many who desire to preserve and increase their wealth. The system America created allows wealth to be passed on to posterity, making for a powerful upper class possibly absent any of the talent or ingenuity of their ancestors. And yet their massive amounts of money can buy or influence media companies and politicians, thereby controlling the policies and narratives we encounter. Trump is a product of this system. He has inherited both the wealth and the ruthless nature of his father along with a white supremacist mindset that was unfortunately given a very loud platform.

I’m convinced that the force standing between Trump and authoritarianism are wealthy liberals who oppose him. I feel like we as Americans are mere pons in a fight among the gods. The Trump side is fighting for continued white male dominance and the opposition is fighting to open the windows of opportunities to others, trying to end generational poverty and oppression. However, our wealthy benefactors are really only talking about crumbs compared to their wealth. For whatever reason, they are disturbed by the massive inequality and blatant discrimination they see. I suppose I should be grateful.

However, in a fight for oneself versus a fight for others, the fight for oneself seems to have the most passion and energy. At the same time it is true that the fight for others has a moral basis and can garner the support and collective energy of the masses, us pons. This is what happened in the election. More Americans showed up to vote for Biden or against Trump than showed up for Trump. Thankfully. However, the Trumpians haven’t conceded and are using their misinformation machines in the media and social media to spread lies about a stolen or fraudulent election while the truth is that they are the only ones actively trying to steal the election.

Even as Trump loses court battle after court battle and fails to provide evidence of widespread voter fraud, Trumpians are putting forth theories that judges, even the Supreme Court judges, have been threatened if they support Trump. They are prime to believe the lies because at stake is an America they cannot fathom: an America where white “Christian” heterosexual males are not on top simply because of their whiteness. Their delusion threatens us all because of the lengths they are willing to go to in order to protect what they believe is rightfully theirs. So, a number Republican senators and congressmen now feel they have to pander to this nonsense by opposing the election results on January 6th. They are cowards and should be branded as such forever. Shame on them!

On January 20th, we should have a new president. But what will January 21st look like? I couldn’t wait for 2020 to be over, but my greatest fear is that 2021 may be even worse if we don’t get a handle on how, and what, information can be spread through news outlets and on social media. We need to move back to actual journalism and newsreaders and push the pundits aside. We need to be careful in our consumption of social media and must push for regulations that limit algorithms so we don’t remain in echo chambers.

The months ahead will be tough. I believe I’ll gear up for it with a third viewing of “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix.

I live in a nation wounded by insults cheered as entertainment turned toxic yet amplified by media as newsworthy

A place where truth itself is pierced by a barrage of lying arrows reaching the targeted ears of the vulnerable ripe for distortion

My country where many exchange a mythical America for reality, a noose around the neck of the strength of who we are together

A place where justice lies bleeding internally from repeated blows to the body of laws that once guided right and wrong and where wrongdoers now go unpunished

I mourn the 300,000 American deaths from a poisoned freedom that interprets freedom as a right to expose others to a deadly virus that knows no party and thrives on mythical thinking

This nation where a thousand cuts from the sharpened knives of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, and homophobia cover the bodies of the unemployed, environmentally poisoned, and food insecure everyday

My country where democracy itself remains on the chopping block with its spinal cord severed and a court of law blocking its final end.  For now.

I live in a nation where leaders cower in silent fear of the ruthless Trump Twitter pistol firing lethal rhetorical bullets at any righteous voice that dares to oppose him

So, who will rescue my nation in this final hour?  Who will bind our collective wounds with music, art, healing words, truth, kindness, and love for ourselves and others? Who will defend our nation by all means necessary?

The answer must be we ourselves