Fool Me Twice

The war on America is underway.

I really don’t want to write about politics, but the Muse of History says what we all do in the next few months matters. This week has been an unnatural disaster, so I’m just going full on stream-of-consciousness ranty today.

Over the last many decades, the Republicans made themselves known as “The Party of No” for shooting down all good ideas and not having any of their own. Over my lifetime, I noticed in conversation and debate with Republican friends or uncles or neighbors that their thought process always eventually came down to gaming the system somehow. And now that the system has been completely gamed, from the jerrymandering to Citizens I mean Corporations United to whatever just happened in the election, we have a self-deified monarch (not the butterfly) and we’re not citizens anymore, we’re subjects. Who, this week, unloaded a big fat pile of NO designed to completely rock our world, shake it to its foundations. No climate protections. No more helping the rest of the world. No more protection from corporations. No more consequences for criminals, no more citizenship.

While I was hosting a community gathering on Monday in Joaquin Miller Park, reflecting on the teachings of Martin Luther King, the biggest corporate bosses came out of the closet as the true heads of state and stood closer to 45-47 than the body we elected. No, we didn't elect them, but we made them royals too by giving them our (brand) loyalty, and for the most part (except ruining our children and compromising our privacy), they have taken good care of us. (I could literally have a new house delivered by Amazon tomorrow.) But when that one guy who bought all those votes made that enthusiastic gesture, the Neo Nazis really loved it.

Up in the Hights, we wrote poems and stuff. I penned a little industrial haiku mashup on MLK, for reasons that I will make clear in upcoming literary events.

The arc welder of
history builds steel bridges
of equality.

Because somewhere out there is true justice, not petty revenge, that guides the growing infrastructure of lattice of agreed-upon laws, and we can all feel what is happening is wrong wrong wrong, even the petty victim-villains.

When things are destabilized…we have seen this again and again… the rich get richer and one or two of the poor might get also get rich (making it look like everyone wins) but the systems that protect the poor from the rich get lost in the shuffle.

There’s this reality we’ve been constructing (revealing?) for thousands of years, that each voter has power, and each human has rights. But with another few scratches of his seismic signature (which, if it were on an HRV device would read as TOXIC STRESS) 4547 has taken away, or stated his intent to take away FEMA, public schools, even gender fluidity, which is an actual reality.

from Handwashing and Heartmath, 2020

Meanwhile, Facebook and Amazon and Paypal and Tesla and all the companies that were such breakthroughs 15 years ago all seem to be just fine with that. It makes no sense. 4547 may have immunity but he’s a convicted felon and the insurrection is all on record. The truth is the truth.

What on earth is that cosmic builder up to? Is unleashing demons part of the whole plan?

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

If corporations are people, we have nothing to worry about. Because in taking care of themselves they also take care of the people who compose them.

Uh. But then there are these decrees that demand otherwise. What do human resources do about workplace discrimination without DEI laws now? What about all the immigrants pursuing legal status whose app was shut off?

Even watching frock flicks on Netflix gives me little consolation right now because I am sick of history, of the pendulum of tyrrany, I want new stories that reflect the magnificent reality that is right there, every day, the strength of optimism, the grace of upside down-ness, the force of love. I’m tired of the diabolical norm. We could ease 50% of the world’s pain in one generation if we wanted to.

Since 4547 didn’t swear in on The Bible, or ANYTHING, maybe the inauguration wasn’t legit. Because he is not really interested in upholding the constitution, as witnessed by a lifetime of disdain for the law. I want grownups back in office. I even made a bumper sticker for my new car. Not a sticker but a magnet, because I don’t want to wait forever. You can get one here.

I’d better stop now. The sun is shining and Dave is out there somewhere, ready to meet me for our weekly walk. I think I mentioned I’m hand-feeding Entropical Paradise to Substack now; they post in bursts a few times a week. He’s much more politically salty than I am. And if he’s not salty enough, there’s always everyone is entitled to my own opinion.

Next week is the fifth Friday on on Fifth Fridays this year I am planning to put more jewels in The Cave. Who knows what it will be? I’ll take requests. Now one last picture on the theme…

This is totally the shielded arc welder helmet the Muse of History would wear. It’s a dangerous business, welding arcs, but why not do it in style? Source: Wikimedia commons