The Witness Chronicles, 12/25/24
Happy holidays
‘We’re All In This Together’
An apolitical political reality
In a recent post Joyce Vance, who breaks down the crazed legality of what is going on in Trump World, offered her recipe for rugalach, those absurdly delicious little kosher pastries, and her reminder that no matter what happens we are all in this together, an apropos sentiment these days.
I once worked as a pastry chef and I made those rugalach every week, and I found fault with her family recipe which used cottage cheese. Rugalach are always made with cream cheese! Which, Joyce, if you are listening, would solve your sticky dough problem. Cottage cheese is too watery. But I disgress.
I’m writing this on Christmas Eve, which this year also corresponds with the beginning of Hanukkah. My family are ostensibly Christian though none of us have been in a church for anything other than a wedding or a funeral since childhood. I’m a Buddhist, which is a non-theistic practice, so Christmas doesn’t offer the spirit it once had for me.
But Joyce’s sentiment hit home especially hard given the extreme uncertainty and fear gripping the country right now in the wake of the election, an election which will be viewed by history as shameful, if history is still allowed to be recorded.
Those of us who are witnessing these events threatening our democracy are struggling with ‘how do we oppose this thing effectively?’ I hear people voicing cries of resistance but they seldom offer any suggestions for what form that resistance might take. I’m wide open to suggestions on that one.
Right now, remembering we are all in this together may be what we have to settle for at the moment during a holiday where we celebrate peace and materialism, strange bedfellows. I found myself wondering what Christmas looks like in Mar A Lago, given the extreme weirdness of the orange one’s family.
My thought was that Trump probably doesn’t actually like Christmas because it celebrates someone else’s birthday and our most popular holiday is named after that other guy, who by the way, let the Romans nail him to cross. Loser.
As cynical as that statement is it’s not an unlikely scenario for an extreme narcissist like Don. We have a President-elect who has never had any real respect for anyone else. He admires dictators, but respect? Voters knew this going in but once again suspended common sense and experience and gave him another chance, the classic example of letting the wolf back into the chicken coop.
Can’t undo that right at the moment, though he may give us a chance if he keeps pretending to be omnipotent. That may take a few years during which it is likely he may die from eating overcooked steaks with ketchup, Big Macs, and drinking diet soda. We can always hope.
That would thrust JD Vance into power, but he is no Trump no matter how hard he tries. Him we can deal with.
All of this is the constant background a political observer and writer deals with as we zip through the holidays that mark a new year, the most uncertain the country may have faced since the Civil War. All because of the monumental ego of one man and the willful ignorance of the voters who voted for all of this.
Writing on Christmas Eve generally means talking about an uplifting state of mind filled with joy. The holiday, which is really a celebration of the winter solstice, with a veneer of Christianity applied by a church seeking to convert heathens, is supposed to be a time of unity.
But unity is a verboten word in Trump world. It is his enemy and he is acutely aware of it. That’s why Joyce’s statement somehow struck me as important. At a time when we struggle to find a way forward, a simple message of unity takes on a deeper meaning, at least for me.
And that may be the remnant of true Christmas spirit we are lacking in these times of mega billionaires with their super yachts turning into a new class of American oligarchs. If some is good, more is better, might be their mantra. As long as none of the ‘more’ trickles down to the masses.
Trump’s new lieutenant Elon Musk is already making the blunder we have all hoped for, upstaging Trump. The brilliant gesture of a Democrat Representative sarcastically calling him President Musk on the House floor was rapidly picked up by the media. You know that didn’t sit well with the actual future president. Lol, Don.
This post will appear in your inbox late on Christmas Day because it’s a little too cynical and I don’t want to be a downer while everyone is enjoying the moment. We have enough downer days ahead in January and beyond.
On that topic, the big news coming will be that we will soon see just how strong Trump’s hold on Congress is, as his parade of wildly incompetent and dangerous nominees face confirmation. There’s going to be a lot of public squirming for sure, which should be entertaining or extremely disturbing, depending on the outcomes.
This will be a sort of test for more than those politicians. It will be a test for the American public. Will we pay attention? Will we care? Or will it be just another corrupt month in Washington? Before you ponder those questions, I hope we’ve all had at least a day of unity to remind us that we truly all are in this together.
Tired of politics? I’ve revived my personal growth newsletter, The Remarkable, as a place where I can write about some of the good stuff in life. Check it out!
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