This time next week we will be in a different world. A world that, frankly, scares the hell out of me. But, to be honest, we’ve been in this world for quite some time and many of us simply weren’t aware.
I don’t like to think of myself as naïve but, apparently, I have been. I knew there were areas of our great country that hadn’t caught up with the changes many of us hold dear. Things like equality for example. Not just between the sexes but race and religion, too.
I’m a city girl and always have been. I grew up visiting relatives in rural areas, some in the deep south, who looked at the world much differently than I. As some of my cousins grew up I watched them drop out of school with no plans for how they would survive. Pumping gas or waiting tables or working the check-out at the grocery store were their loftiest goals. I’m not denigrating those jobs or the people who work them, I’m simply saying they are limiting.
Lack of education is a frightening epidemic in our country that goes deeper than many of us ever imagined. But, what we’re learning now is how education is not always the answer or antidote to hate.
Who knew how much hate existed in our world? I certainly underestimated it, and I knew there was a racial bias toward the Obama’s but, not to the extent of wanting death to the President and sending Michelle to Africa so she could return to being male and be “let loose in Zimbabwe”. That sentiment came from Carl Paladino, former Republican nominee for Governor of NY.
Or the, now former, director of a government-funded non-profit in W.VA, who loved the idea of Melania replacing Mrs. Obama with this lovely sentiment…”It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the Whitehouse. I’m tired of seeing a (sic) Ape in heels.”
I guess she hasn’t seen any of the photos or videos of the First Lady to be. They are anything but ladylike. But then, her husband wouldn’t know a lady if one grabbed him by the….
We are entering the twilight zone, I’m afraid. Never have I seen such uncharted territory in our future. Hell, I’d take W back gladly if I had the choice between him and THE most unqualified person to ever take the oath of office.
His cabinet picks are all over the map, and I don’t mean geographically. Many of them who have testified before Congress don’t agree with him or each other. I don’t believe he ever vetted them at all. I don’t believe he knows how or even cares.
It is difficult enough to be facing a Republican majority in Congress for the next two years without having to deal with a president who acts like a petulant child. Have you ever seen a more juvenile bully than the president-elect? I’m not sure he can even read more than a tweet.
I won’t be surprised if he’s impeached before his first year is over. The idea of having Pence as his replacement doesn’t thrill me but, it doesn’t scare me nearly as much as someone who is a loose canon and wants to be bosom buddies with Putin.
Respect is earned not dictated. After the way Republicans have treated the Obama’s they have a lot of nerve to expect respect for a man who wouldn’t even be the President-elect, if not for Russian intervention in our election.
Today is Martin Luther King Day, a time for reflection. For me, it’s a time to remember what it was like in the ‘60’s and rejoice in how far we’ve come. At least that’s what I used to think.
I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. I remember the race riots in 1967 vividly. It was a hot summer and you couldn’t open your windows, much less step outside even during the day. We lived mere blocks away from some of the worst riots and fire bombings. I can still smell it.
I went to many schools in my childhood and most were interracial. I had no prejudices and still don’t. I have an uncle who was a member of the KKK in Georgia but I haven’t had any communication with him in decades. We have never had anything in common. So, I guess you could say my only prejudice is against hate.
What lies ahead for us now is giving me flashbacks and making me nervous. I know they did not win this election with a majority, no matter what delusions they may have. So, I’m asking all of you who are in the majority to be vigilant and hold them accountable for their every move. Our future depends on it.
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