A wake up call by Sue Robin

I keep thinking that Congress will wake up, that the Trumpers will wake up, that the American people will wake up — yet the snores continue, only a tiny bit softer. The ground hasn’t swelled enough to stir a critical mass of the population. We need a tsunami of sorts. Perhaps not a good analogy, as we have seen enough fast-moving destruction to last us a lifetime.

I know little waves are washing through the farming community in California. A realization that this person they thought was a good idea has screwed them. The funds they anticipated are no longer available as Doge sweeps through the government. There are ripples of awareness as to how devastating the cuts are for adults and children with disabilities. Prices are going in the opposite direction than promised. One does not need four reusable bags to tote home $100 worth of groceries. One will do.

While the chaos continues, his people are saying, “Just wait. When he is done, it will all be better.” Their optimism is not shared by a growing number of Americans.

How the hell did we get here? Here being the economy on a free-fall rollercoaster ride with none of the fun of knowing it will be over in 45 seconds. There were huge red flags for all to see. Six corporate bankruptcies, complaints from former employees of non-payment for services rendered, and 34 felony convictions.

Here being the treatment of women. Big red flags flew in our faces there, too.  A conviction for sexual assault, the belief that since he was a “star,” he could grab any woman he wanted by the genitals, the constant insults thrown at women who ran against him or who dared speak out against him, and an enduring friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Here being the decimation of our once highly respected health agencies. A man who recommends imbibing bleach to kill the COVID virus and a supposed cure with hydroxychloroquine, which was never meant for that use, proved not only useless against COVID but harmful. This man, who makes fun of people with disabilities, cannot be expected to protect and support them. He puts a man without a medical background in charge of our health. A man who denies the efficacy of vaccines, who then hires more deniers to run the agency, all while a measles outbreak is taking lives. He cannot even be trusted to tell the truth about his own health or his golf score. He thinks he is taller, thinner, and smarter than he is.

Those are just a few of the offenses against good taste, good sense, and just plain common decency. Books will be written about the incompetence of this administration. From the top down, people who are ill-equipped to do their jobs and who lack respect for their fellow citizens, or for our constitution.

We must not shrink back. This is the most challenging and crucial fight of our lives. We need to remember that it won’t happen overnight and will require stamina and creativity. The groundswell of rallies across the nation and the world is heartening. In a small town in Spain, their Easter pageant hung an effigy of Trump in place of Judas. The homemade signs are filled with humor and capture the pain in just a phrase or two. I resonated with many, but the one that said, “Even the introverts are here,” hit home. I hate crowds and noise, and know that I must find other ways of doing my part. If I am not out marching, then I will make sure I am writing or making calls to the powers that be.

Fighting lies and hypocrisy is a difficult business. Each letter and phone call, each march and protest, add a bit of power to the wave of change and healing that our country so desperately needs, and we the people want with all our hearts and minds.