Some days are discouraging
Tonight we brightened the endof the day with an open-faced roast beef sandwich with mayo/horseradish sauce,blue cheese, good peppery watercress, diced beets, and a bit of vinaigrette.Jordan added avocado. It was pretty and delicious, and the day neededbrightening, because I thought overall it was a discouraging day.
Some days I read the newsonline and hear it on TV, and I think the good guys are winning. Today was notone of those days. As we all know, this summer climate change has becomeuncomfortably real, and we read daily of heat domes and heat records set notjust in our Southwest but across the globe. It has made people more aware, butwill it have any effect on the politicians who cling to their profits fromfossil fuels?
I read today of somethingcalled legal vigilantism. Basically, if I understand it correctly, it empowersordinary citizens to enforce laws. The precedent is the Texas bill which allowscitizens to collect a reward for turning in people who have had or try to haveor arrange an abortion. It echoes the nineteenth century fugitive slave law,when citizens were rewarded for returning runaway slaves. Authoritarian leadersuse legal vigilantism to sow distrust and to use citizens against each other toenforce laws. Think Nazi Germany.
The Republican Party, once thedefenders of law and order and, above all, the military, are now attacking themilitary, the Department of Justice, and the FBI. Senator Tommy Turberville ofAlabama has put a hold on all military promotions until the military rescindsits policy of granting paid leave and providing transportation for travel, whentravel is necessary for an abortion. The result is crucial leadership posts areleft vacant, many officers are serving at the rank and pay below what they’veearned, morale is down, and some are leaving the military. Way to defend yourcountry, senator!
Much of this—the attacks onthe DOJ and FBI, etc.—is done with the unspoken goal of protecting trump whofaces ever-increasing legal woes, as well he should. None of it is done withthe idea of advancing or supporting America or its international position. MAGARepublicans, for instance, want to stop aid to Ukraine and may make that abargaining chip when the debt ceiling rolls around again. President Biden haswisely said that Ukraine should not be admitted to NATO until the current waris over, because such admission would put America at war with Russia. But hesends weapon and support to fight what could turn into Russia’s march acrossmuch of Europe. Do Republicans care? Apparently not many of them.
A couple of things baffle meabout this. I am reluctant to elieve that these people care nothing about theircountry. I understand that they don’t care about us as individuals. They aremore interested in their own greed and power than in equal opportunity,individual rights, and the like. They have made it plain with laws thatsuppress individual rights, from voting to abortion. But can they really wantto betray their country for the sake of one man who most believe is a crookwithout conscience, probably a traitor, certainly an unsavory, unreliableperson?
The other thing that puzzlesme is how many of these extremists who support trump are there? Some reliablearticles call if a fringe, but others point out that his rallies draw largecrowds and he is by a good margin the top-running candidate for the Republicannomination for president. Is it all blind, loyal followers or are there stillpoliticians who are afraid of his power, afraid to cross him?
So I got to thinking todayabout what my ideal for our country and the world would look like. If I couldwave a magic wand today trump would be in prison, Abbott would no longer begovernor of Texas, and Biden would be a shoo-in for the presidency—yes, hemakes gaffes but overall his political wisdom and maneuverings amaze me. Russiawould be defeated, Ukraine would be rebuilding (Putin might even fall out of awindow). There would be no stockpile of lethal weapons in the world. Peoplewould drive electric cars recharged by solar and/or wind power. The EPA wouldhave limitless power to enforce laws to ensure clean air and water, ban foreverchemicals, and ensure the safety of our environment. That all surely won’thappen in my lifetime, but I welcome the small steps toward progress that Isee.
Today I read of two groupsthat give me a bit of hope—one, called Win It Back, is running anti-trump ads.The group is tied to the Koch network and is ultra-right. I probably wouldn’tlike many if any of them, but I applaud the ads. Much more to my liking is MamaBears, a group with international chapters, founded by a Christian Evangelisthousewife with the intent and purpose of supporting the LGBTQ community andseeing that LGBTQ citizens have all the rights and opportunities of everyoneelse. That lone woman demonstrates to me the power of one person’s voice andencourages all of us to be active citizens.
Okay, lecture over. Tomorrowmaybe a lighter subject—and a light dinner again. Tis summer after all, and tomorrow the news may be all good.
