Democracy Is Not Dead

As we waited to see how the transition of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden would play out, Linday Graham, that beacon of convenience, declared that Republicans had to change the rules or no Republican would ever again be elected President. The whole waiting game was a scary, scary moment. Many of us feared that the peaceful transition of power simply would not happen. It seemed that the honor system had been blown to bits. Trump seemed to be searching for ways to justify overturning the election results, tossing them aside altogether. We speculated on all the ways that could happen and wondered if we were strong enough and clever enough to stop him. And yet, and yet. The election itself was a refreshing boost of democratic confirmation. So I wrote the following poem on November 17, 2020, two weeks after the election. It was inspired in no small part by Ingrid Jonker's brilliant poem, “The Child Is Not Dead,” and, as always, by the incredible words of Wilfred Owen, one of my soldioer-poets of World War One, “All the poet can do is warn.” 

  Democracy is not Dead 

Democracy is not dead. 

She rides upon the millions 

Of restless, marching feet, 

Demanding to be heard,

Mis-quoting Twain, “Reports 

 Of my demise are just a bit 

Premature—be vigilant!”

Democracy is not dead. 

She shouts alongside the millions: 

I have spoken, let me speak! 

Her epitaph, though written, 

Lies inside the editor's desk 

Unpublished. 

Her voice, though trembling, 

Has found renewed strength but is 

Caught in her hesitation, 

Looking for words, needing but a few. 

Democracy is not dead. 

Her body shows the bruises 

Of every time she stumbled 

But the multitude each time 

Has picked her up and set her back

Upon the terrible long path to Golgotha 

While Liberty awaits her 

To share her fate. 

Democracy is not dead 

Though there are so, so many 

Who would make her so.

Five Points Post Election

One. At the pro-Trump rally in Washington yesterday violence broke out and twenty people wound up arrested. I don't care which side you are on, if you think violence furthers your cause, stay out of mine. Two: Let the courts decide. This is a nation of laws. Accept it! The Department of Homeland Security declared that 2020 was the most secure election in US history. Accept it! Eighty percent of America has. In a nation governed by majority rule, that's a pretty good number. Three:The election shows that America remains divided. Donald Trump lost but still garnered more votes than anyone else in history except Joe Biden. At the same time, the Democrats lost seats in the House and could not get their sweep into the Senate. State legislatures by and large stayed as they were. Four: What does it mean? Most Americans hope that a change at the top will lead to better, more coordinated management of the Covid-19 Crisis, but no one seems to want to endorse sweeping change anywhere else. Five: We do not want another lock down. But to avoid it, we just need to be courteous to one another and respect each other's safety. It has been shown that masks help both the wearer and everyone else. Wear them. They're just another item of clothing. Socially distance. Wash your hands. Be polite. Be mindful of those around you. Watch out for the other guy! Or gal. It's not hard, and if it helps keep our ecnomy going, it's patriotic.

Biden Wins, What Now?

The National Nightmare is not over. America remains divided and confused. Half the population is uttering a sigh of relief, the other half a groan of bewilderment. Many Americans are angry and restless and uncertain how to proceed. But the invitation to re-unite as a nation is out. Joe Biden is President-elect of the United States. Still, Donald Trump is acting President for 74 more days. He will challenge the vote. States with close results will automatically recount the ballots cast there before being certified. Mr. Biden is President-elect of a country in crisis, and there are no magic bullets to take us out of the varied crises that confront us. It will take working together for the common good. The invitation is out. What strikes me is that more people came out to vote than ever before, despite all the challenges to the process imposed by Covid-19 and utterly false suggestions about vote integrity, America's citizens stood in ridiculously long lines not just on election day but every day wherever early voting was permitted. 100 million voted by mail or brought their ballots in to voting centers. The voter refused to be disenfranchised by either disease or disruption. President Trump received more votes than any candidate in history except Joe Biden, while President-elect Biden won the highest percentage of the popular vote of any candidate facing an incumbent president. Democracy seems to have won a major victory here. Unity and Civility stand by her side. And Hope has booked the next flight home.

I Have Voted, Have You?

Today, we decide. Today, the last ballots will be cast and the counting begins, today the robocalls and the political ads stop. It may take days, even weeks before the outcome is clear. But today the decision will be final. 100 million voters gave already turned in their ballots. All arguments aside, this robust participation bodes well for democracy in America. I have voted. I got the sticker. If you haven't yet, please do. It is one way your voice can be heard. It is the way you can say e pluribus unum, “Of the many I am one.” Millions would love to have that privilige.

Best Health Care, Really?

As the rest of the world is confronting new outbreaks of Covid-19, statistically they might begin to catch up to the United States. Or they would, if the United States stood still or even plateaued in the numbers of cases and deaths here. Other countries have higher death rates per million, but the staggering question for Americans has to be, what happened here? I do not lay the blame for Covid-19 at the feet of our president any more than I blame anyone else. It is a disease. Diseases happen. That being said, it baffles me why the country with the alleged best healthcare system in the world is doing so poorly among the so-called industrialized nations among whom America is supposed to be the leader.. There is one thing that sets us apart from almost every other nation in our “class,” especially in response to Covid-19. You can point to a lack of central leadership. It is a factor. You can point to the divisiveness among Americans over what should be no-brainer methods of containment. It contributes. Ultimately, though, there has been a fundamental lack of coordination between the myriad levels of government and the widely diverse healthcare system. In a word, health insurance is driving the bus. Or, rather, not driving when it should be. We tout our healthcare system as the best in the world. However, our overall ranking by the World Health Organization puts us at Number 37 in the world. What the nations above us have that we don't is universal healthcare, the one-payer system. When will we stubborn stupid Americans realize that the open market system does not work for everything and in every case? If it shows us nothing else, Covid-19 makes a great case for single payer, MediCare for all. It's not the perfect solution, but neither is it the death knell for capitalism. It gives protection to every consumer and worker who forms the foundation for every capitalist's dreams. And guess what? You'll save money paycheck to paychek!

Changing the Channel

When I originally began writing my blogs, my intention was to write about art and entertainment. Politics inevitably crept in, a little like Freddy Krueger slipping into my dreams. But politics has not been very artful of late. It has been entertaining, in that I have felt compelled to watch, the way I find myself sitting down to finish Field of Dreams no matter what point in the film I walk into, or an episode of Masterpiece's Van der Valk to find out just who is behind a rash of violent crimes, how our troubled hero will cope, and just why he is so troubled. I am not a fan of Reality TV, and the last four years have been a long, continuous, 24-7-365 broadcast. Last night's debate was almost refreshing. Both vice presidential candidates were relatively polite and controlled. Neither one seemed able to keep their responses within time limits, but aside from that they did okay. In an environment of extremes all around, okay was just fine. And that's all I plan to say today. Since almost everyone who is planning to vote has already made their choices, I feel it is pointless to keep badgering you. I think I'd rather watch Field of Dreams, or a good murder mystery, wouldn't you? Or Hocus Pocus, It's almost Halloween! I do marvel at the lengths Jeff Goldblum went to in order to be the highlight of the debate. He was almost permanently stuck in Vice President Pence's hair, softly sreaming his mantra, “Help me! Help me!” Help us!

America's Crisis of Conscience

Donald Trump is an arrogant, ignorant prick. Coming back from the hospital against better judgment, still battling Covid-19, he tells us it was no big deal, we need not be afraid of coronavirus. With over 210,000 Americans succumbed to this plague, and as many as a thousand new deaths daily, downplaying the severity of this health crisis simply because Trump, with access as President to the absolutely best health care available in the world, still holds onto the strange notion that hiding the truth is a sign of strength. The abomination that was his incessant shouting over both opponent and moderator at the first presidential debate still reverberates through my battered skull. Even getting sick from the highly contageous Covid has not stopped him from acting with foolish, ignorant bluster. Is this what we want representing us to the world? Have we become so caught up in our own self-righteousness that we no longer can recognize, let alone admit, when we are wrong? I hold that this is a minority view. But will that minority accept the decision of the majority to change course, to move forward by going back to a more reasoned and reasonable America once again worthy to lead the world? That is the question now. Trump obviously is counting on the answer, “No, they won't.” They'll take up arms and march to protect his power. He's doubling down on it. Republicans across the nation are searching for ways to make it harder to vote safely. Freedom itself hangs in the balance. Badgered as we have been, the worst possible thing now would be to give in and not vote at all. Trump wins automatically if we stay home. America is having a crisis of conscience. Are we going to move toward finally achieving and accepting an all inclusive society, a process our Forefathers began 244 years ago, or are we going to hold on, tooth and claw, to a white-domninant nation? The choice is that clear. Personally, to do it right, I'd say we need all the help we can get. America has been on a journey to Equality. Call it the Freedom Train. Donald Trump is trying to derail it. He wants us to forget who we are and how hard our parents and grandparents worked to lay down the tracks. So: do we want to be Proud White Boys or a truly democratic, all inclusive, all welcoming nation living up to and striving toward the ideal set down by Emma Lazarus, engraved at the foot of Liberty herself: “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”