OMG: Care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan? How can we accept such responsibility, celebrate human decency and honor individual sacrifice, when too many Christian attitudes betray Beatitudes?
Will we be made worthy to face tombstones of lives we’ve entombed with lies for oil wars? How can a nation regain and sustain balance in the midst of tornados, earthquakes and madmen hurling incitements to riot, rot and ruin?
How do we find peace in a world rattled by nincompoops, terrorists and media trumped by its own spin? Can we believe that those most vulnerable, to fear of the future and hate over the past, could ever comprehend what is, and is not, great about America?
And exactly how is casting our pearls before a court jester performing his parody of patriotism – an absurd mimicry of the easily manipulated by vain-glory -- honor veterans, women and minorities?
What can hateful mob-rule memorialize but desecration of the valiant?
Shall we bequeath nutritious food to the future or dishonorably ignore the gluttony motivated slaughtering on mega factory farms?
Shall we gather at our polluted rivers and wade into the fight against corporate conservatives privatizing our most powerful liquid asset?
Exactly how does our vote snatch peace from the jaws of a violence for profit NRA, a fear-mongering Military Industrial Complex and a Right is Wrong society using middle class patriots for cannon fodder?
Are we to be narrowed by the tunnel vision of Wall Street cloning the hypnotized, fermenting on the heels of a combed over carnival barker?
Where can we find peace of heart or peace of spirit?
Is there no hope for peace of mind, before resting in peace?
And honestly what answers can we expect to these questions while we are kowtowing before the bottom line altar memorializing historic revisions?
When we hear a snake’s rattle, hasn’t wisdom taught us its spewed venom is poisonous to the good fight of a nation trying to follow corporate crumbs out of the fog of wars, to the coal spared mountaintop.
Victory and peace honor those who live daily, the greatest love of all, to lay down one’s life for the good of all – whether in Revolution, Civil disunion, World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or in American neighborhoods & communities or on American streets.
What if, in memorial, for one brief shining moment, we look into the eyes of one who differs from us, and embrace that mind, welcome that POV, contribute our best to that life -- for that is Exceptionalism– not using Holy Scripture and Old Glory to demean, denigrate or diminish.
In part, because we’ve been sink-holed by Media forgetting its responsibility to protect the public trust, we are sinking into the mire of a Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, seeing savage red in everything except our toilets backing up with Jim Crow.
With one notable exception however: Tamron Hall calling out Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, for dodging her questions with robotic GOP Talking Points.
Not so when imposing a gag order on President Obama about global concerns over The Right choice of an unqualified presidential candidate.
Neither custom nor geography excuse a president from his oath of office. And for Chris Matthews to suggest they do, is yet another example of the skewed lunacy of a rogue Rove, demoted Starr and warped Charles Krauthammer.
A vote for petty, angry old men such as these, revives Dick Cheney’s “so,” and elects:
- More Fossil Fuels with fewer rules
- Insurance Companies not in business of protecting Americans
- Pharmaceutical Companies not prepping for super bugs, but profiting from America’s misfortunes
- Denying California Drought and other weather extremes
- Dangerously crumbling bridges
- Roads disappeared by rain
- Big Agriculture stealing more water than Nestle
But there is hope, for under our debris of greed, war and bigotry, treasures of peace, honor and love await re-discovery.
However, honor and peace are not givens, but rather cherished responsibility memorialized in a society open to unity, civility and equality –if we can keep it.