Passive

     We’re Fucked! I apologize if this word offends you but the bar we previously set to measure civility and decency has been dropped into the gutter, stepped on and smashed. We are accepting as normal the repugnant, offensive, distasteful.

     I love this country. I’ve always felt lucky to live here. My rock to cling to. Morals, values, support for the common good, caring for All people-every man, woman and child-regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, who you love or your financial status. Like my father, I find myself tearing up when the national anthem is played. I’m proud my father, my uncles and most of my parent’s friends served in the military, either in WWII or the Korean War. What this administration has done to this country, to our government, is demoralizing and disheartening, at best.

     I’m saddened by what has happened and what is happening. I’m discouraged by how quickly people I believed didn’t have a prejudice bone in their bodies seem to accept the horrendous treatment of those seeking asylum and may even agree with the horrific conditions those persons, especially children, find themselves in. Disappointed by those who can’t see the reasons behind “taking a knee”, instead choosing to accept other self-serving explanations it is disrespect of our country, our military.  Grownups (?) who accept bullying, name calling, belittling and inciting violence by turning their backs on it. If you turn your back on actions or rhetoric that upsets you, you aren’t seeing the truth in front of you. Next time you make an excuse for obvious bullying by governmental personnel, stop and ask yourself how you would feel if someone was saying equally mean things to your child or children. Does your child’s school have a “No Bullying” policy? Can students be suspended or expelled for bullying? Most of the school shootings happened because someone who was a victim of  bullying couldn’t take the hurt anymore and decided to put an end to their oppressor. Or worse, a child can’t take the name calling anymore and takes their own life. How can anyone look the other way? It shouldn’t only be “See something, say something.” It should also be “Hear something, speak out, speak up.”

     We were all glad when Bernie Madoff was arrested and imprisoned for fraud. We found ourselves stunned by how many people he defrauded. We were unnerved by the victimization of  so many women by men of power, wealth and fame. We called for the heads of many of those men before we knew if they were even guilty. As a woman who was assaulted and who was married to someone who cheated, the behavior won’t stop unless those who perpetrate the behavior are held to a higher morality. There shouldn’t be a “pass” for ANYONE. Wrong is wrong, no matter who they are. Think how you would feel if it happened to any woman in your life. Would it be acceptable to you if people just looked the other way? Made excuses for the bad doers? When someone commits a crime of any kind, moral people want them caught, tried and imprisoned, if applicable. To look the other way implies you condone what is happening. Is that what you want people to think about you? That you don’t care? That depending on who it is, it’s all right or at the very least, understandable in certain circumstances. And if that isn’t what you believe, stop making excuses for those who do terrible things because you need something  from them. Don’t turn a blind eye or look the other way.

     We should all be appalled by what is happening in government. None of us should have to make excuses for bad decisions, lies, shocking and disturbing behavior. Decisions that only benefit the wealthy. Alienation from long time allies. Ignorance of history. Denial of scientific fact to enrich those in the top 1%. A lack of compassion in all circumstances. Temper tantrums when things aren’t going your way. I feel if you are making excuses, you are putting party before everything. Neither party is completely right nor completely wrong. Neither party has either the worst ideas or best ideas. But when you stick to ideas or ideals you don’t agree with in the name of a political ideology to the detriment of the many in favor of the few, that is a problem. I believe we’re struggling through this time in our country’s history because we have become lazy, uninvolved and undereducated. We took the path of least resistance and elected a reality show personality. Now, we’re surprised at the outcome. It’s hard to have egg on your face. For me to believe otherwise means I have to believe people in our country have abandoned decency and virtue, dignity and honesty.

     You cannot make America great again if you don’t know the  history of this country, what made it great in the first place. It’s struggles, it’s growing pains, the diversity that continues to enrich our culture. Diversities that broaden our vision of who we can be, enhances our society, augments the progress we make. If I didn’t believe there is more than binds than divides us, I would give up ever believing there is a way out of the nightmare we find ourselves in. America has been down before and come back stronger than ever. I will continue to pray it will do so again before more  irreparable damage has been done.