At the End of the Day

The Waning Days of a Mob Boss President

Protestors Breach Capitol Building (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

“At the end of the day…” How often have we heard that phrase? At the end of the day, justice will be served. At the end of the day, truth will prevail. Yesterday, we saw that at the end of the day, Joe Biden was certified as President-elect and will become the nation’s 46^th President.

Today we see in the waning days of America’s mob boss president that at the end of the day, Mulvaney and other White House officials have resigned, no longer able to serve such a boss. At the end of the day, Attorney General William Barr has finally denounced the actions of our mob boss president (aka Individual Number One in the legal case against his personal shady attorney, Michael Cohen). In some cases, it seems more like rats leaving the ship than conscience prevailing. 

We can take heart that at the end of the day, we saw treasonous mob action resolved and our Congress reconvened to carry out the certification of the will of the people in a free, fair, and lawful election. So often, preserving our republic comes down to the end of the day. For our republic to thrive, however, we long for that bright new day. We must not grow weary, because at the end of the day, it is a bright new day that gives us hope.

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The Virus

We have a national viral emergency, and I'm not talking about the coronavirus, though that, too, is a national problem. I'm talking about a more insidious virus.

Have you ever downloaded a virus that affected your whole computer operating system? When we elected Donald J. Trump, our nation downloaded a virus. Not only do people feel free to openly hate those who are different, but we are also seeing a dismantling of systems designed to preserve the environment and support public health. Hatred and disregard are extended even to our environment and our communities.

Moreover, just as a Trojan virus might do, Mr. Trump has consistently cast doubt upon every major governmental institution and has done his best to dismantle the government's effectiveness by appointing inexperienced cronies and donors to head those government institutions.

How can we free ourselves from this virus that affects our nation's operating system? We'll have a chance at the polls next week.

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Friday Satire - Because Sometimes You Gotta Laugh

So my satire blog, "The Vidalia Onion," which has been dormant since January, saw a little life this week. Yesterday I posted my commentary on the Republican Tax Reform Bill:

And at the beginning of the week, I shared a fun video that I found on Twitter:

Give the site a visit. Let me know what you think.



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Bearing Witness to the Times: The True Story of War

Tanks line up for the parade in Pyongyang on Saturday. (AP Photo)

"North Korea parades military might and warns US amid nuclear test fears"

(Headline from The Guardian)

"Trump lauds 'successful' bombing in Afghanistan"

(Headline from The Hill)

The True Story of War

Refugees tell the true story

Of leaders’ declarations of might.

After seeking shelter

From bombs and marauders,

They leave desolation behind

Hoping to carry on.

What hopes do they carry

With the few things gathered in their bags?

Will children play?

Will the ground be steady?

Will families reunite in foreign lands?

Or will they simply survive

To look for hope on another day?

Refugees tell the true story

Of a world where life struggles to maintain

Amid the rubble scattered

By presidents and generals

Who live in opulence and greed;

Who trade in proud speeches and intrigue.

Those who find peace

Avoid the brutal boot heels of victory,

Or find shelter and sustenance

From kind souls who do the penance

For a nation at war.

Even now

Refugees wait,
Stranded as it were,

Between desolation and hope

While egocentric heads of state

Test new bombs

That may swell the ranks

Of refugees who tell the true story of war.

                                                                             ~ CK

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Donald Trump lauded the bombing of ISIS targets
in Afghanistan on April 13 (Getty Images)

 North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un applauds during
parade in Pyongyang on  April 15 (AP Photo)

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Bearing Witness to the Times: The March of the Oligarchs

"Donald Trump is under investigation for ties to Russia.What happens now?"

(Headline from The Guardian)

"Meet the Russian Oligarch who paid Trump's former campaign manager to help Putin"

(Headline from Quartz)

The March of the Oligarchs

When I was a child

I was momentarily confused

The first time my older brother

Brought out his chess set.

The game board

Was exactly like the one we used for checkers,

But the rules were entirely different.
                         -  -  -

Growing up during the Cold War,

We thought the threat

Was coming to an end

When the Berlin Wall fell

And the Soviet Bloc collapsed.

We were giddy

With thoughts of freedom –

Oppression had been lifted;

The “Communist Threat” was fading.

That giddy moment of freedom

Was soon seized by corporations.

They flew under the banner

Of free enterprise,

Thereby flying under the radar

That scans for

Enemies of the state.

Global corporations

Have become the prime movers,

Making governments inconsequential.

Seen as good for the country,

Essential for the economy,

Creator of jobs,

Granter of benefits,

And source of political spending,

Big companies hold Congress hostage.

Legislation may soon bear no more weight

Than nice ideas

Voiced by well-meaning folks

In a Sunday School class.

In today's political arena
The playing field is familiar.

The game board looks the same.

But the rules have changed.

                                               ~ CK

*   *   *

Flynn was paid over $30K for speech
by Russian TV

Manafort worked for Russian billionaire
to advance Putin's interests

"Steve Bannon vows daily fight for 'deconstruction of the administrative state' "
(Headline from The Washington Post)

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From my introductory post:

The best thing that poets can do is to bear witness to the times – articulate what is happening in the moment; speak to the real life experiences of your people.  I am setting myself a goal to write a poem each week that reflects what I see and experience in the life of our nation... if I can write one poem a week there will be some chronicle of our sacred/tested/doubtful union.

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The Pope and the Donald

 

I happened to be at home getting some home repair work done yesterday when the news broke on CNN: “Pope Says Trump Is Not Christian.” The coverage that ensued got crazier and crazier. In fact, I haven't laughed so much at the news since John Stewart left The Daily Show.  

While the news people were talking about what Pope Francis had said about building walls instead of bridges in response to an immigration question while in Mexico, the news went live to a Trump gathering where the Donald was responding to the Pope's comments. It came across as, "Oh so the Pope it talking about ME? (swagger, swagger). Well let me tell ya, for a religious leader to question someone's faith is disgraceful!"

It's not like others have not questioned the Donald's faith, wondering if he is just pandering to the voters, since faith had never seemed to me an important issue with him before. Early on, when he said the Bible was his favorite book next to his own, some news journalists asked what particular scriptures were his favorite, he said, "I wouldn't want to get into it because to me that's very personal them all. The Bible means a lot to me, but I don't want to get into specifics." And of course there was the hilarious quoting of "Two Corinthians" when he spoke at Liberty University. 

I should add that to me, it sounded like the Pope, in responding to the question of a proposed wall along the border, was explaining that that kind of action would not be Christian. Some of the context may have been lost in translation, but it is not the first time that a pope has called out a nation’s practice as being contrary to the Christian faith (that is sort of what pope’s do in their pastoral role). John Paul II called out the US on economic policies that do not reflect Christian values and in the same vein spoke out against capital punishment.  One could also point out that Bernie Sanders has some policies that do reflect Christian values, but that does not mean he is a Christian (he in fact is Jewish). I do not see it as a matter of judging a person, but rather a matter of judging a policy.  

The Donald Does Not See Himself in the White House

Donald Trump tipped his hand by his choice of words while he was responding to the Pope's comments. He does not really expect to make it to the White House. He said that “if and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened." That sounds like someone who does not expect to be in the White House. You heard it here first. It will be just as well for Mr. Trump, though. He can continue to say things like, "That would not have happened if I had been President!" I think he will like that just fine.

Then the anchor went to Jerry Falwell, Jr. for his response. The junior is not as impressive a speaker as his dad, but he discounted the Pope remarks because Jesus said religious leaders were a bunch of hypocrites (he didn't seem to notice that he was being interviewed because he himself is a religious leader). Falwell was also quite displeased that the Pope is trying to get countries to act more Christian when Jesus, in Falwell's view, just wanted individuals to be charitable and let to just let the Romans handle all the government stuff. So suddenly, The Rev. Falwell, Jr. thinks that Christian beliefs have no place in the U.S. government? Well that should save him and his ilk lots of time formerly spent advocating for prayer in schools and ending abortion.

Between the anchor trying to explain what the Pope said, Trump's comments and Falwell's comments, I was rolling with laughter. What can I say, they were filling air time. If you wrote a screen play like this for the movies, critics would say, "That would never happen in the real world!"

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Donald Trump: "Southern Strategy" on Steroids

Donald Trump's Demagoguery Evokes Memories of Asa Carter

Trump Rally in Birmingham
Photo by Joe Songer (AL.com)

This week we have seen some frightful things in Donald Trump's political rallies that amount to sheer rabble-rousing and using fear to incite crowds. In my own city of Birmingham, Donald Trump held a rally in which some white Trump supporters actually beat up on a black protester with Black Lives Matter. Trump's response was, "Maybe he should have been roughed up." At that same rally, Trump called for surveillance of mosques speaking to, as CNN reported, "a raucous and approving crowd." That crowd loved Trump's promise to build a wall to keep Mexican immigrants out, chanting "Build that wall!" In other rallies, Trump has made the preposterous claim that he saw film footage of "thousands of New Jersey Muslims" cheering and celebrating when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11. The only purpose for such a statement would be to incite the crowds and gain support by playing upon people's fear and prejudice. 

Memories of Our Racist Past

My friend, Chervis Isom wrote a memoir, The Newspaper Boy, in which he recounted growing up in the racist climate of 1950s Birmingham, Alabama. One of the things he tells about is the White Citizens Council rallies led by Asa Carter, who really knew how to tap into people's prejudices. His public rallies served to whip up the crowds by using racism and fear to incite action. [You can read my review of his book here] Asa Carter went on to be a speechwriter for George Wallace who exhibited demagoguery par excellence.  I have often witnessed what I see as the same base tactics of fear-mongering and hate in the social media as well as in political rhetoric, but when I read about the shameful acts at the Trump rally in my own town, the similarities seemed just too great.

I decided to ask Chervis Isom himself what he thought about what we are seeing today compared to what he witnessed during our state's civil rights struggle. He told me that it does indeed remind him of the White Citizen Council meetings that he attended when he was a teen. Chervis went on to elaborate:   

 Asa "Ace" Carter would speak so knowingly about the worlds and the International Communist Party and its intention to bring us down, our government was full of Communists, the unions were led by Communists, McCarthy was right about all his theories that there's a communist or fellow traveler behind every bush. And it was that kind of motivation that caused all the civil unrest by blacks. Nothing but a Communist plot to cause a race war in America. The WCC was against the Jews, the immigrants, and of course the blacks. It was the place where crazies gathered along with normal law abiding people who were being brainwashed to distrust anyone not like us. Thankfully, I met some good, law abiding people, customers on my newspaper route, who were from up north, who showed me a better place. I wrote about my emergence from racism in my memoir, The Newspaper Boy. 

Unfortunately, I see too many parallels today to those days a half century ago. You would have thought we would have learned something but I suppose we should never be surprised about the abyss of ignorance out there. Today, we see the same xenophobia that was rampant sixty years ago. We are hearing demagogues like Ace Carter on every front. Trump is one of them, among the worst. It is not Communism today that is the enemy but an amorphous danger called "Islamic Jihad" or words to that effect. Frankly, I think Communism was the greater fear by far. Does anyone remember the concept of "Mutual Assured Destruction", an assurance that no matter who sent the rockets with the "Bombs" first, the reaction would be devastating, and all civilization would be wiped out? Now those were the days when we worried about existential problems. Yes, I see the parallels, and if we play our cars well, Russia will be our ally in this more recent problem. I would say to people to lighten up. Xenophobia and fear are not the answer. It was not the answer then nor is it now.

[See more information about Mr. Isom's book at his website:  www.thenewspaperboy.net]

A Call for Fairness, Equality, and Reason

I appreciate Chervis Isom's perspective. Today we need to especially take some time to assess the social and political climate. It is one thing to regret the hateful actions, racism, and misogyny of our past. It is another thing altogether to fail to see that same dynamic coming around again. We need to advocate for a better way. Fairness, equality, and reason should be the watchwords of the day. Anytime we let fear guide our actions, we will come to regret those actions.

Our politicians would serve us better by demonstrating some decency and statesmanship in public life rather than the hateful and fearful rabble-rousing we are seeing in the likes of Donald Trump and his ilk. Hate, racism and fear of other ethnic groups did not bring us peace and security in the past, and will serve us no better today. 

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