Oppression & Hope

The conundrum I face every day is that, while the US is headed down the path of dissolution or worse, I'm doing OK. But I can clearly see that the problems of the US, and the state where I live (Florida), are slowly encroaching on my little bubble. 

In the short term, I worry for my friends. Used to be, I might've said I worry for my BIPOC friends, because of the immigration roundups, and rampant racism from the President on down. But now, with ICE killing US citizens with impunity, I worry for ALL of my friends. The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are proof that none of us are safe. And I suspect it'll only get worse. 

Next, the rule of law and common decency mean nothing to the rich & powerful in the US. Certain people may be resigning from their corporate jobs due to the Epstein scandal, but no one is being arrested. Not in the US, at least. And the people at the top? The person inexplicably mentioned so much in the Epstein files that they should be renamed the Trump files? Nothing. NOTHING will happen to him. He has stacked the deck with his sycophants in positions of power in law enforcement, so he's untouchable.

What really bothers me about all of this is the "Christians" who support him. Still. After everything. He is the antithesis or everything religion teaches, and yet they still support him. I do see the cracks beginning to show with some people, but it's not enough, and will never be enough to break his hold on his MAGA base. 

The one thing I cling to is this: When he dies, and he will, MAGA will fall apart. Sure, they will try to maintain, but no one will exert the hold on them that Trump has. Can you see anyone bending the knee to JD Vance after he sends a mean social media post? No. There isn't anyone in Trump's orbit who will command the fear necessary to run roughshod over the Republican Party or MAGA. Also, when he dies, his name will disappear from buildings, airports, etc. He won't be forgotten, but he will take his rightful place on the trash heap of history.

As far as my state is concerned, Oh, Florida... The best Democrats can put forward for Governor this year is David Jolly, a former Republican? Are you kidding me? Florida has been under Republican control for so long, I don't know what it would be like to have a Democratic Governor. We haven't had one since I moved here in 2000. The House & the Senate are also controlled by the Republican party. I happen to live in a blue dot that's being targeted because we're blue. The will of the people means nothing to these politicians in Tallahassee. 

Beyond the day to day worry of far right wing politics encroaching on our lives, I also worry about the world that we'll leave to our children & grandchildren. I see climate change in the extreme weather we're experiencing year round these days, and not only are we not trying to mitigate the effects of climate change, our current government is doing everything in it's power to make it worse. 

I know I'm suppose to "Rage, rage against the dying of the light", but I've been doing that since 2016. I'm tired, boss. Almost every headline is an affront to decency & sensibility. I know that there is good in the world. I know that there's good in the US. It's not even outnumbered. It's just out of power, and can't figure out how to attain leadership. I have to keep that in the forefront of my thoughts.

I'll cling to hope. And I'll keep raging against the machine.  For myself and everyone else. 

Keep Trudging,

Bobby