On our way South for some summer on the beach, Adella and I passed a truck with this admonition painted on its back doors: "Vote red in November, or be red in December." We got the first "red" reference, but we had to think about the second one. Embarrassed? Communist?
We paused. Is the owner of this truck still worried about communism? Which candidate might be considered a communist? What year is this?
The back doors of the truck made me think of a property owner in Woodbury, Connecticut, who sees fit to admonish the locals about the evils of the non-Republican world by painting slogans on a piece of plywood that he uses to decorate his front lawn. Currently, the slogan, "Butterly, utterly, uttelry disappointing" with frownie faces assaults passersby on Main Street. We don't know why he opposes the first selectman; there are no footnotes.
At a rest stop, I checked out Google News to find out that Paul Ryan would adjourn the house rather than tolerate a vote on gun control. The vote, he said, was a publicity stunt.
Last I knew, Chris Murphy wanted to force a converation about the "everyday carnage" that results from easy access to guns. After all, we have had way to much "everyday carnage" since the massacre at Sandy Hook in 2012.
Conversation about important issues is at the heart of the democratic process, so let's go. But no. Republicans would rather pull down the shutters on democratic discourse and go home lest--what?
Come November, I will cheerfully vote the party line. Then, I will drive to work, where I will do the hard job of convincing my students that their lives depend on participating in democratic discourse.
If you see things differently, please feel free to say so--but only after you have thought about the lives of the babies gunned down at Sandy Hook thanks to a gun-toting Republican mommy.
7 Comments
You Americans have to let go of your guns. Us Canadians are in fear of your guns and the whole Trump for president thing
ReplyDelete...just saying.
Ditto what Karen said. Frankly it frightens me that Trump is running and loved by so many. Is he the next Hitler? And the guns! I am disgusted but the Republicans and their unending right to bear arms. It sickens me.
ReplyDeleteWiser than anything on the news! Thanks
ReplyDeletelove the words to the song...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI am sick and tired of people telling me crap like "if guns are outlawed then only outlaws will have guns" and "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This country has a bad problem and it is so frustrating. At least Connecticut, from what I understand, is further along than Oklahoma where we now have Open Carry, no permit required because "the Second Amendment doesn't say anything about a permit." This was authored by my State Senator.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.
ReplyDeleteAt every public event where the pledge or the anthem are on the agenda, I meditate on the marvelous beauty of the American system. We all crave kindness and respect and dignity. It's what we're about.
The cretins who compromise these fundamental values--whether they are home-grown lunatics or imported extremists or contenders for the presidency--are pathetic beyond belief.
What is America about? I can tell you it is about being kind and decent and loving. America is about creating beauty where you can't otherwise find it. Just look at the blogs of the commenters hers and the blogs of others who are linked here. Watch the video in the post below.
America is a dreamland. Kindness and humility together make dreams come true. I know this because I have seen it. Click on the link below, and watch my daughter and her music teacher. This is just one humble example.
I too still believe we have more decent and kind people in this great country than we have evil ones. My sadness is that we have so many people who aren't really innately evil, but are so afraid of change and anything/anyone different. And evil politicians who pander to that fear. That's the take from one who spends half the year in a 'trailer park', so take it for what it's worth.
ReplyDelete(Glad to be back in a solid blue state where most of my neighbors agree with me.)
Thanks for being here.