Here I find myself mourning not only the woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but the principles of democracy and a vision of the United States that she embodied and fought for, and which now seem in dire peril. However, the second mourning is not correct. Her replacement on the Supreme Court is not yet delivered, the election is not yet decided, our future is not yet sealed and doomed. We do not mourn our democracy and values because they are not dead so long as we are alive. Instead we fight for them. Surely that is what RBG would do in our situation, as surely she did throughout her life.
I (sadly, angrily) pass by all sorts of Trump yard signs in my own community and various surroundings—and be advised that I live in Massachusetts. Many of the signs proclaim the slogan of four years ago, “Make America Great Again”, which makes no sense as a pitch for re-election. But sense and sensibility mean nothing to the Trump faithful, as far as I can tell. I recall hearing Mike Pence say “Make America great again…again,” and that take seemed to go over just fine with his audience.
We are in a fight for logic and rational thought. If A implies B, which implies C, and C is a disaster that nobody wants, then let’s not do A.
At Trump rallies, the faithful are gathered together in close proximity and without face masks, which suggests that a percentage of them will be sick or dead in a month or two, and that they will spread the virus to various innocents as well. If these people do get sick and lose their jobs, they may resort to health insurance from Obamacare, which Trump and his allies have been working strenuously to repeal or declare unconstitutional. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), is on record as urging his constituents to sign up for Obamacare if need be, despite his previous (and current) support of all efforts against it. Mr. Trump is the law-and-order President who set tear gas and stun guns on lawful protesters near the White House so he could sashay across the street to have his photo taken next to a church, where he did not have permission to be.
I could also discuss global climate change.
I keep thinking about the stories we tell ourselves of heroes facing peril, especially peril that seems unrelenting and inevitable. Harry Potter against Lord Voldemort; Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader and his boss, Emperor Sarcasm; Frodo and Sam marching through the ruined realm of Sauron, who is literally an unblinking evil eye in the sky—the quests are always impossible and hopeless, yet Our Wizard/Jedi/Hobbit wins out in the end, aided by a good heart and good friends and a smidgen of luck, or perhaps the Force, or whatever.
These are stories, though. They did not really happen, and were written specifically to inspire and entertain. Nevertheless, I’ll take my cues from them, thank you very much. I breathe, I go on, I will give voice to what I think is right. I never expected or wanted a fight like this one, but it is on my doorstep–and yours, too!–so we answer the call.
And now, if you will excuse me, it’s back to writing postcards to voters. Got a batch of 30 going out this weekend to North Carolina. Lots of close races in North Carolina, and they’re all winnable for the Democrats.
Let’s do this, people. Let’s do this.
