The Witness Chronicles, March 8, 2024

The State of the Union

Time to Choose: Civility vs Hate, Hope vs Fear, Future vs Fantasy, Decency vs Bullying

This year’s election is about the future of Democracy

Let’s get something important out of the way. Joe Biden is not losing it, not even close. Last night, in the State of the Union address, he killed it. Specifically, he killed the fantasy that the Republican Party stands for anything. And they didn’t like it, so they reverted to acting like children.

As usual in these days of Trumpism. But watching the room, what I saw was a stunned GOP side of the room as the President showed the world who they are and what they represent. And it was ugly and revealing.

The Republican platform, if you can call it that, is entirely based on hate, fear, greed, and the glorification of intentional ignorance. When we see it in the glare of tv lighting, it is sad and empty and devoid of substance. And that is a direct reflection of their candidate, a man with no vision but vengeance and vanity.

It is a mystery how Donald Trump has mesmerized an entire Party into this kind of haze of negativity. A man who is sadly flawed beyond comprehension, a hater who must have attention at any cost, is not worth a minute of attention. Pity maybe, but his sowing of hate and fear does not deserve even that.

Yet half of our elected representatives seemingly worship this man and his cultivation of division and distrust of everything good and civil. Last night’s address by Biden made that reality stark and inescapable.

Here’s the good news. The country is not the cesspool that Trump would have us believe it is. In fact, and it is a fact, we are in incredible shape. The economy is roaring. We are rebuilding infrastructure left to rot for decades. And we are leveraging technological advances to return manufacturing and jobs back to our country on a scale unimaginable only a few years ago.

Yes, we have issues, big ones. Immigration, refugees, and border security are serious problems that need immediate action. But Trump ordered his party to ignore them so he could have an issue to rant about. The reproductive rights of half our population are being stone aged by old white men. And the Republicans are stopping us from supporting a devastating war on democracy by our biggest enemy.

All because of one man. But let’s look again at that man. A self-proclaimed billionaire who cannot pay his multi-million dollar settlements for convictions of sexual assault and character assassination. A would be leader of the free world facing criminal indictments for what look like treason against his own country and all it represents. And a man who appears to be cracking under the pressure of his own misdeeds.

Are we seriously thinking that this is who should lead our country? For God’s sake, pay attention, this is bad stuff, to put it mildly. We are in danger of losing everything because of one weak man’s fragile ego, a man who embraces dictators and spreads hate among us.

Last night Joe Biden stood up and told the country and world what democracy is capable of. It was impressive, but it also was a call to arms against hate, fear, and bigotry. It is hard to reconcile the Republican message that we are in terrible shape with the reality of life today in America.

We live in the most prosperous country on the planet, with unimaginable resources and freedoms that others would die for. Yet, somehow, a huge part of our citizens have bought the myth that we teeter on the brink of destruction.

Those same Americans sit down to full plates, drive huge trucks, can send their kids to school knowing they will likely have a better future, and can say what they think without fear. Yet many live in a cloud of fear manufactured by one man and a party of lackeys who have abandoned democracy and choice.

You still have a choice and it is a simple one. Choose respect. Choose trust. Choose to be civil and decent. Choose a reality where the law is applied to all on an equal basis. And choose to be a patriot and know we are all patriots. 

We’re lucky to be here. It’s an accident of fate. The world is full of far worse lives with no future. Look around. This country was not built on hate and fear, it was built on hope and possibility.

Last night a good man reminded us of that. Let’s hope we paid attention.

~ I write The Grasshopper, a letter for creatives, The Witness Chronicles, a place for my articles on politics and climate, and The Remarkable, a recovery letter, about my addiction and reentry experience. All are weekly and free, however this is how I live and I strongly believe all writers and creatives should get paid, if we provide value. Your upgrade to a paid subscription helps make that happen. 

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