Some days are discouraging

 

Tonight we brightened the end of the day with an open-faced roast beef sandwich with mayo/horseradish sauce, blue cheese, good peppery watercress, diced beets, and a bit of vinaigrette. Jordan added avocado. It was pretty and delicious, and the day needed brightening, because I thought overall it was a discouraging day.

Some days I read the news online and hear it on TV, and I think the good guys are winning. Today was not one of those days. As we all know, this summer climate change has become uncomfortably real, and we read daily of heat domes and heat records set not just in our Southwest but across the globe. It has made people more aware, but will it have any effect on the politicians who cling to their profits from fossil fuels?

I read today of something called legal vigilantism. Basically, if I understand it correctly, it empowers ordinary citizens to enforce laws. The precedent is the Texas bill which allows citizens to collect a reward for turning in people who have had or try to have or arrange an abortion. It echoes the nineteenth century fugitive slave law, when citizens were rewarded for returning runaway slaves. Authoritarian leaders use legal vigilantism to sow distrust and to use citizens against each other to enforce laws. Think Nazi Germany.

The Republican Party, once the defenders of law and order and, above all, the military, are now attacking the military, the Department of Justice, and the FBI. Senator Tommy Turberville of Alabama has put a hold on all military promotions until the military rescinds its policy of granting paid leave and providing transportation for travel, when travel is necessary for an abortion. The result is crucial leadership posts are left vacant, many officers are serving at the rank and pay below what they’ve earned, morale is down, and some are leaving the military. Way to defend your country, senator!

Much of this—the attacks on the DOJ and FBI, etc.—is done with the unspoken goal of protecting trump who faces ever-increasing legal woes, as well he should. None of it is done with the idea of advancing or supporting America or its international position. MAGA Republicans, for instance, want to stop aid to Ukraine and may make that a bargaining chip when the debt ceiling rolls around again. President Biden has wisely said that Ukraine should not be admitted to NATO until the current war is over, because such admission would put America at war with Russia. But he sends weapon and support to fight what could turn into Russia’s march across much of Europe. Do Republicans care? Apparently not many of them.

A couple of things baffle me about this. I am reluctant to elieve that these people care nothing about their country. I understand that they don’t care about us as individuals. They are more interested in their own greed and power than in equal opportunity, individual rights, and the like. They have made it plain with laws that suppress individual rights, from voting to abortion. But can they really want to betray their country for the sake of one man who most believe is a crook without conscience, probably a traitor, certainly an unsavory, unreliable person?

The other thing that puzzles me is how many of these extremists who support trump are there? Some reliable articles call if a fringe, but others point out that his rallies draw large crowds and he is by a good margin the top-running candidate for the Republican nomination for president. Is it all blind, loyal followers or are there still politicians who are afraid of his power, afraid to cross him? 

So I got to thinking today about what my ideal for our country and the world would look like. If I could wave a magic wand today trump would be in prison, Abbott would no longer be governor of Texas, and Biden would be a shoo-in for the presidency—yes, he makes gaffes but overall his political wisdom and maneuverings amaze me. Russia would be defeated, Ukraine would be rebuilding (Putin might even fall out of a window). There would be no stockpile of lethal weapons in the world. People would drive electric cars recharged by solar and/or wind power. The EPA would have limitless power to enforce laws to ensure clean air and water, ban forever chemicals, and ensure the safety of our environment. That all surely won’t happen in my lifetime, but I welcome the small steps toward progress that I see.

Today I read of two groups that give me a bit of hope—one, called Win It Back, is running anti-trump ads. The group is tied to the Koch network and is ultra-right. I probably wouldn’t like many if any of them, but I applaud the ads. Much more to my liking is Mama Bears, a group with international chapters, founded by a Christian Evangelist housewife with the intent and purpose of supporting the LGBTQ community and seeing that LGBTQ citizens have all the rights and opportunities of everyone else. That lone woman demonstrates to me the power of one person’s voice and encourages all of us to be active citizens.

Okay, lecture over. Tomorrow maybe a lighter subject—and a light dinner again. Tis summer after all, and tomorrow the news may be all good.