I am mourning our country. Not the sham that is our politics. That stuff
infuriates not saddens me. Not the pathetic Donald Trump. His dysfunction is
real and alarming but he’s not the source of my grief. Not Hillary Clinton with
her chameleon masks, her endlessly lavish suits, and her highbrow ownership of
the Democratic Party. What a disappoint she has turned out to be. But I don’t
weep over her. Not the professionally and morally bankrupt media either. Their
selling out, their cowardice, their trivial pursuits drive me to scorn but not
sorrow.
No, I mourn for the real people in this country who desperately
need a reliable government. I mourn for our veterans sent off to missions of
disgrace and outrage only to return to us maimed, ruined, and dead. And all of
that for lost causes and dishonest hype and the gluttony of a fraudulent
Congress.
I mourn for the poor, the homeless, the addicted, the disabled,
and all Americans whose lives are daily embarrassed from lack of resources,
from one failure after another, from shame and wounded spirits, people who
endlessly struggle against a fortified government bureaucracy, against a rigged
and scandalous economy, against the callous indifference and petty snobbishness
of the Church, against gross moral blindness and glaring insensitivity all
around them.
I mourn for the undocumented, for the heavy broken dreams they
carry, for the dishonorable and crass insults they endure, for the lack of
appreciation shown them for the often difficult work they do, for the
preposterous bewildering useless immigration process in this country, for the
offensive disregard given their beautiful language, for the ignorance shown for
their magnificent culture.
I mourn for my black brothers and sisters, for the history of
abuses against them which continue to this sad disgraceful day, for the
backwardness and ignorance and the senseless brutality they often face from
bigoted whites and mean, unworthy, incompetent police officers, for the chintzy
limited opportunities given them, for the rundown schools and the urban blight and
the prejudicial arrests and prison sentences they have braved for years.
I mourn for the LGBTQ community, for the inhumane journey they
have been forced to travel, for all those years of being denied legal marriage
by flawed religion and spineless legislators only to have it still
questioned by the self-appointed moral police, for business owners who refuse
them service, for employers who deny them jobs, for the unwillingness of so
many to simply understand and respect the natural differences of people and the
natural commonalities as well, for refusing to simply accommodate transgenders
the opportunity to enter the restroom they feel safe and themselves in.
I mourn for women and girls, for still being paid less than men
often for the same jobs, for the unfair expectations put on them for home and
family, for having to put up with being objectified and ogled and catcalled,
for living in a society where body image transcends brain power and character,
for apologizing for ambition, for being denied an equal chance in men’s sports
and the military, for too often being sexually and physically abused by fathers
brothers uncles teachers coaches priests ministers and husbands, for being
mercilessly taunted and shamed over abortion, for fearing their sexuality or
exploiting it or hiding it or denying it, for suffering all those dumb blonde
jokes, and that old bromide: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as though
there is no such thing as a man insane with jealous rage.
These are those in society today who are being ignored and
harmed by a bloated, inadequate, inferior, corrupt, oligarchical government. I
mourn for all of them. They all deserve so much more from their government. And
from all of us.
(c) 2016 Timothy Moody
Comments
Post a Comment