a worrisome time

The other day, I posted on my Facebook page, an idea that it might be good if all of us set aside politics for five minutes, and prayed for our nation. It didn’t take long. The third comment down turned to politics, and the race was on. God was ushered to the back of the church, while a slew of comments argued Trump versus Biden. That worries me.

I remember some events in our history that unified our nation … for a minute or two. The most recent was the attacks on The Word Trade Center, and The Pentagon, and the crash of an airliner in Pennsylvania when hostages fought back.

The Kennedy Assassination was a time when the whole country stopped, watched, and mourned the death of our President. You get that? I said –our president. I have received many comments that indicate Joe Biden is not your president. After a slew of failed lawsuits, and certification of the vote by The Electoral College, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Joe Biden -is- your President-elect.

One person on my FB page posted a logo that proclaimed “Impeach Joe Biden”. He’s not even in office yet!

I’m afraid that our nation, our democratic republic is about to be strained beyond recovery. I have watched our nation as political upheaval has waxed and waned. We need times when the rhetoric calms, the fingers that have been pointed join the rest of that hand in work to make our nation strong, a handshake or two across the aisle to advance our nation, and a finger on the clasped or open hands of prayer.

It is indeed a worrisome time.

Over, and over, I see desperate requests for thoughts and prayers for loved ones who are very sick, possibly dying of COVID-19 Virus, yet I also see posts denying the seriousness of the pandemic. People defy recommendations to wear a mask… a simple act that prevents your germs from flying across the air to another person’s face. If nothing else…even if you don’t believe a mask helps, why is it such an imposition on your Constitutional rights to wear one as courtesy to the rest of the people around you? I simply do not understand the denial of the seriousness of the pandemic, when as many people are dying in one day, that died in the attack on The World Trade Center and Pentagon.

I have described my experience … five days on a ventilator, following surgery and acute respiratory failure. It was horrifying. I have dealt with PTSD around hospitals and clinics since that surgery in 2008. I’ve had a lot of life experience in scary things, but being on a ventilator is far ahead as the number one experience. Over the past twelve years, the trouble has diminished, but there are times when that experience floods back into my mind. It’s not something you want for yourself, or for anybody you care about. I wear a mask for me and for you. And, with the exception of a few trips to the store, and thirty-one days in a rehab center dealing with a broken leg, I have stayed inside this house. I like to go places, I like to drive my car, but I also like to live. As my dad once said “I’m not afraid to die, but if they’re making up a load today, I would just as soon not go.”

The famous founder of a huge restaurant chain once said the most important hamburger you buy, is the next one. You might transfer that thought to the most important crisis we face, is the next challenge to our democracy. Our enemies, and we do have enemies, are watching and taking note of how we deal with crisis. They .. not might… but will exploit any weak spots they can find in our physical structure, or the structure of our emotions of fear, distrust, treachery, and disruptions. And, as Americans, we are able to talk about our thoughts in an open forum, so be sure China and Russia have hidden armies studying what we say about ourselves.

I worry about the state of our news media. CNN and Fox seem to both have lost their way from the concept of fair coverage. I watch both, and I note headlines and so-called news shows that state false information or twisted stories to fit a particular narrative. Some so-called newscasters are unfair in their coverage, and in their “one-on-one” comments with the show hosts. We often look at entertainers for our daily news.

Corporate America has abandoned one of the most effective platforms for news- radio news. I’ll address this in another post… but for now, I’ll only write this short obituary for local radio news. Newspaper and television news departments have been gutted, as the business models push for more… for less. Some of the ideas for cutting costs would be laughable in another world. But in ours, it’s dangerous.

It might be a good time to turn our political activism to local politics. These elected people control the pavement on your streets, how money is spent for schools, how our community is policed, and how we present this place we love in the best light. Local politics have more day-to-day influence on us. And, in my view, those positions need more attention by our voters.

I believe in many respects, we are as divided as we were in the 1860’s… just over different issues. This summer and fall, we watched cities where neighborhoods were gripped with rioting led, in many instances, by anarchists. Would that we be as organized as some of these groups of street thugs.

If this post has seemed you to be more negative than I usually am, you read it right. This is a worrisome time in the history of The United States Of America. We are sick…physically and emotionally. We need to heal. And it starts with me… and you