Monday, July 29, 2019

The Time for Waking Up is Now

We, as a people, are being beset on a daily basis by the ravings of the man that represents us here and abroad as our President. He is obviously a severely emotionally and mentally disturbed narcissist and a deranged personality driven by his own personal demons. He has so thoroughly embraced white supremacy that he distorts the reality of the human experience through that lens in spite of, and possibly because of, the wondrous diversity of the country in which he lives. He is also a man who has such a narrow intellectual grasp of complex issues that he is quite incapable of understanding them – the most startling example of this is his “position” on climate change.

To follow the lead of such a personality is to invite folly. He, however, is not to blame – he has always been quite transparent in regard to his views, and his behavior should come as no surprise. To knowingly ascend to the divisive nature of his message, is to set in motion a potential tidal wave of unfettered emotions born of fear, anxiety, uncertainly in regard to the future and hatred that could engulf us all. Through the impetus of his own beliefs, he has managed to lift the veil that effectively obscured the real nature of the divide that has inflicted this country for so long. As all civilizations that have risen and fallen in the tortuous arc of human history, we are faced with many contradictory forces that have come to shape our national character.

In my mind, the paths available to us as a nation are clear. We can either denounce the notion of white supremacy and embrace in its stead the belief that all Americans are deserving of true equality and a legitimate place at the table; or, we can abandon what we claim is our heritage as a free people and let hatred and ignorance claim us once and for all. We can either integrate clear thinking and scientific analysis in formulating national policy for the purpose of resolving deep-seated issues; or, we can choose to accept far-reaching decisions based upon an uninformed and prejudicial rationale and supported by spurious and distorted data.

We can acknowledge the darker aspects of our history – the enslavement of an entire people based upon the color of their skin; the near genocide of native Americans for the sake of national expansion and the great harm done to many peoples around the globe to preserve economic hegemony. Or, we can continue to pretend that we are an exceptional people and accept the deep divisions within our national fabric as a matter of fact.

We can either make the decision to embrace a slow but necessary healing process – true reconciliation – or embrace the irrational pronouncements of a madman; the choice is ours to make.

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