I feel change.
Change in our country, change in our people. Change in our neighbors, and in ourselves. Change which will be hard to overcome. Change which may never BE overcome. Perhaps permanent change. It have come to us in the guise of politics, and for the sake of politics. It has come because instead of having an attitude of “we the Americans” in this country, it is now instead “us versus them” Just saw a political commercial on TV that had that line in it: “it comes down to US versus THEM” We are no longer a country of “we the people” instead a country of deep divisions over so many different issues, that I am not sure that “we the people” will survive this year. That’s correct. I am not sure if this country will be able to survive as it has been since it’s inception over the next couple of months.
The partisanship that has developed, especially since 2008 has dug ditches in our democracy which I don’t believe can have bridges built to span them. Time will tell, and I may be wrong. I hope that I am, but I don’t think so.
I fear that this year, more than any other year in our country since the end of the Civil war, has fundamentally changed the character of our country. Our leaders argue over the election. One group wants to change the rules as they have always been in this country to suit themselves. They want the Supreme court to take the unprecedented step of overturning the will of the voters in four states. If they are successful, then our country will no longer be a country that is run by the will of the people. It shall become a country which is run by the will of the minority of the people who voted. An Autocracy.
Even if the participants of this new type of politicization are not successful in this attempt, the acrimony which has been created, and which will remain indefinitely, will continue to foster an “Us versus Them” mentality. The ditches will grow to be the Grand Canyon.
All of this is going on, while the people of this country are in the middle of an existential crisis of sickness and disease, of which I have never witnessed in my lifetime, and hope never to see again. Yet our leaders in Congress and the Senate argue over the mundanities of assistance bills, to the point of redundancy beyond belief. They cannot even agree on how to disagree. Their daily exercises in selfishness and the lust for personal enrichment, sicken me. People are hungry, but are not able to buy food. People are our of jobs, but cannot get the additional help they need to survive. People are dying every day now, by the thousands from the dread disease which accosts us, but I hear no empathy from the highest halls of government in this country. No empathy. I have heard it said that “it’s a good thing so many people are getting Covid, it’s better than a vaccine” That’s beyond belief to me. Beyond belief. People need help, and it is the primary responsibility of government in a democracy to protect the lives and safety of it’s citizens. A government that cannot or does not protect the lives and safety of it’s citizens is no government at all. It’s anarchy. What we have now feels like anarchy.
I write, even this op-ed with trepidation, because of the atmosphere of hatred which pervades our country. You cannot express opinions such as these anymore, without coming under fire for their expression. If people cannot recognize the changes which are taking place however, and cannot realize that they represent a grave threat to the way our country operates, and to our basic freedoms, then I feel compelled to “say” something. There will be many who disagree. That’s ok with me, if somebody disagrees. As long as it is “we” who can discuss the disagreements and perhaps come to a compromise….which is how things are supposed to work, not only in our country but in our own personal lives….as long as it’s “we” who can come together to try and solve our problems and work out the differences, “we” have a chance.
I’m not sure, however, that “we” still have a chance, when it’s considered that an “Us versus Them” mentality is the right way to live.
Writing for Sanity's Sake 