"This is America..."
Never has reference to being physically situated in the land of the free and home of the brave been so fraught with negative connotation.
And I know, as certain as night follows day, that whatever thoughts follow that opening volley, they will be filled to overflowing with sentiments I wish had never been spoken.
As the older gentleman stood at the reception desk, in animated disagreement with the requirement to complete an extensive questionnaire before being permitted to see the doctor, he added "they ask less questions at the border."
I did not witness this incident. It was merely reported to me, but my mind's eye saw it perfectly. Reference to this country being a window into a universe of prejudices and hatreds.
Like a house with far too many American flags dotting its landscape.
I am quite certain Francis Scott Key would be appalled at this distortion of who we were intended to be, at the desecration of the values he found so dear, at the hiding one's worst impulses inside a protective covering of "patriotic" fervor.
Maybe I overreact, take a leap too far to reach my conclusions. Maybe this gentleman was just having a bad morning, was just flustered in the moment, was not really the stereotype his three little words suggested. Maybe I should not judge a book by its first sentence.
And maybe Donald Trump is a moral, compassionate man.
This is America.
Indeed.
2 comments:
The NY Times article listed all the career accomplishments of Senator Carl Levin, who just passed away. There were not enough people like him in government. I was struck with the magnitude of all the corruption he tried to bring to the fore. He tried to stop the bad behavior of many of our most revered corporations. Fraud. Tax evasion. and worse.
What does that have to do with the old guy at the reception desk? Like him, the American people are having a bad day, sick of a system that turns a blind eye to jobs and a better life, with no accountability or explanation from our leaders. I would like to say that disbelief in government has been spawned by Republicans, whose only function for the last few years is to say no. But the truth is that we have all fumbled the ball. We lack leaders that can explain things clearly and who are held accountable. The shameful exhibit A in our disbelief in government is Trump instigating an attack on our capital, and the support from his party in the aftermath. My hope is that someone. answered that old guy, and justified the questions. Make him believe. It starts there.--RE
Well said as always
LB
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