Since noon on January 20, 217, at some point daily, usually in the morning, and sometimes at several points in the day, the realization has hit me that --
• our unitary executive,
• the office previously held by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Ike, Jimmy Carter, GHW Bush, and Barack Obama,
• the nuclear football,
• the almost unlimited power of federal pardon,
were in the hands of
• a vindictive ignoramus,
• a raging narcissist,
• a demagogic megalomaniac,
• a wannabe autocrat.
When that moment came there was instantly an emptiness in the pit of my stomach, a racing of my heart, and sometimes a literal wave of nausea washed over me.
That sick feeling was multiplied several times by the realization on January 6 that he and a significant portion of his enablers were ready to shed blood to overthrow our republic.
Today is the second day in row that my heart has rejoiced with happiness and relief to know that our president is a good man. He is a man of wisdom and experience who has a huge team of patriots behind him. They took the wheel of our government at the behest of the largest vote of the people in the history of our republic. They were commissioned to right the ship of state and guide it through the stormy straits the other guy put us in.
From the first minutes after noon on Wednesday, Joe Biden's team began reversing the absurdities and atrocities of the HWMNBN years. Despite his predecessor's petty and unpatriotic efforts to overthrow the vote and then thwart the transition, our president and his team were prepared. Their competence was on display as each chore, however small, seemed to have been anticipated and a plan of action had been drawn up and staffed. From replacing the carpet in the Oval Office, to drafting a sheaf of executive orders, to putting forth a new program to deal with the pandemic and the economy.
Thank God for the 81 million Americans who turned out on November 3rd to preserve and restore our Republic, and the Georgians who turned out on January 5th to defeat two of HWMNBN's henckfolk and give us a Senate that will, at least, consider appointments and proposals of our president.
Thank God for Joe Biden, Kamala, Harris, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff and all the patriots who put themselves forward this year.
We have lots of work to do and we are facing big problems.
But we are back on the right path.
God Bless America.
Wow. You’ve been very active on this website. I’ve not visited The Limb for a while and I’m enjoying reading through your posts.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how Georgia became the center of our whole election drama — Thank you. thank you. It seemed beyond hope that Georgia would actually elect two Democratic senators. I appreciate your efforts — and Sheila’s too. Praise the Lord, because of Georgia, Mitch McConnell is no longer in charge of the Senate.
Your account of David and Hank Arron is great and I particularly appreciate your post “Daddy Warned Me About Fascism.” I’m also thinking that my Dad — regardless that he was a strong Republican — would not have been a Trump supporter. He always voter Republican, but he did not vote for Goldwater, because he felt his stands were too extreme. The ad with the little girl with the daisy flowers and the nuclear explosion helped convince him.
Trump is dangerously delusional and in the grips of mental illness. The nation is so lucky that something truly horrible didn’t happen on his watch. I can’t understand how 70 million people could have voted for him when he showed over and over the depravity of his character. His presidency has shed a light on how fragile our democracy is — that we have a huge part of our electorate that is willfully ignorant and, evidently, full of hate and anger.
It has been maddening to see people who see themselves as followers of Christ to be followers of Trump as well. The videos posted by those storming the Capitol included loud voices praising Jesus. These attackers saw themselves as Christians and patriots — Christian Nationalists. One image that says a lot is captured on the video of the man beating the Capitol policeman with the American flag! (continued)
So, now, what is the path forward? President Biden’s in inaugural speech (and thanks for posting) said: “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.” The word “unity” was used eleven times in the speech (so I’ve read). Biden said, “Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together. Uniting our people. And uniting our nation. I ask every American to join me in this cause.”
ReplyDeleteThe notion that Biden can find unity in a Congress where 147 Republicans voted to overturn the election and where Mitch McConnell, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, etc. want to be the center of attention seems unlikely. The forces of disunity are great and seem to be becoming ever greater. Maybe you’ve already read the extended essay “The American Abyss,” published in the NYT. The author, Timothy Snyder, is a Yale professor who is an expert on fascism. I am on the waiting list at my local library for his book “On Tyranny.” He shows how Trump followed the model of fascist leaders and says Republicans elected to Congress are either “gamers” or “breakers.” McConnell is the “gamer-in-chief” and the 147 who voted to overturn the election are breakers — wanting to gain power by breaking democratic norms and defiling the Constitution.
These breakers seem so goofy and obvious, but Snyder’s essay is eye-opening that this is how democracy fails. (And Hitler’s cohorts also seemed goofy.)
So, something I’ve been taking to heart is Biden’s words: “uniting our nation. I ask every American to join me in this cause.” This unity won’t happen easily and it won’t happen at all unless it is at the grassroots level. The election of Marjorie Taylor Greene could happen only because in your congressional district, the people are not united. Your district is not a community that chose a member of their community to represent them. Ditto in my district. We are sending ideologues. radicals, and corporate shills to Congress because our democracy is dysfunctional. We have no unity at the grassroots.
Building unity within the grassroots, then, should be the big priority for progressives and this is a wonderful aspiration. We have a breakdown of community. Though I live in geographic proximity with the Trumpsters who show their flags and signs in my city, we are in different realities — thank you, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc. So, what I am considering is: what should be done? I am a member of our county’s Democratic Central Committee, but I’m thinking that the organizations that should advance the building of community should be a non-partisan group, rather than a partisan one.
I like the little poem with a lovely thought — “'He drew a circle that shut me out-Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.But love and I had the wit to win:We drew a circle and took him In!’
I’m thinking that the Trump years have made us addicted to partisanship, but if the way forward, as President says, is unity, then we must think through how we can be leaders and show leadership into building community.
Anyway, I’m working on an essay and an idea and I’m glad I visited the Limb today.
Thanks t=for the thoughtful comments, Mike.
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