The Fall and Decline of Morality
Two different, disparate things come to mind this morning. One is the tear gassing of innocents along the Mexico border. The other is the blood red Christmas decorations color-blind Melania put up in the White House. Different, yet, they seem intimately related.
Millions and millions of dollars were spent sending the United States Army to the border with Mexico to obstruct the entry of the caravan of asylum seekers that had travelled north from Central America. The occupant of the Presidency even declared that he gave them permission to fire if the soldiers felt threatened. So, when a group of them got too close to the border fence, the soldiers fired tear gas at them, and forced them to run. But the people who got too close weren't the thugs and criminals Trump sees in every poor person outside the borders of his mind; they were families with small children. Photos of parents running from the expanding mist dragging small children created outrage in just about the entire world.
All those dollars should have been spent talking with each asylum seeker and determining which deserved entry, and which should be turned back. It would have taken weeks, yet it would have been more in line with the image of America the world has traditionally had, and it would have been the correct thing to do. Undoubtedly, mistakes would have been made, but the situation right now is one huge mistake, in which no one wins.
Which brings me to the laughable and memeable White House decorations. Last year, Melania seemed to relish being the Ice Queen, distant and haughty, unconnected to anything her husband did. This year she has thrown her luck in with his, and decorated the halls in a blood red color that seem to show her pride in this Adminstration's lack of humanity. Marie Antoinette comes to mind, though by mentioning her, I slander her memory. The French queen was truly unaware of the misery her subjects were suffering when she spent her money at the Petit Trianon. This Blood Empress is aware of everything the Administration has condoned, from the murder of a U.S.-based reporter by a medieval prince, to the tear gassing of innocent families at the border. And she truly doesn't care, just like her jacket affirmed.
But the world cares. And the world is beginning to shunt aside the United States, looking for different allies, waiting to see what will happen. Oh, there are plenty of other countries where the ruling caste beats down any dissidance and which refuses to react humanely with asylum seekers unless it's in their proper interest. But, until now, the United States has had a certain public morality which it touted throughout the world. Yes, it has used the cover of that morality for its own gains and interest. Yet, until now, it was seen as a safe haven country, where those who were persecuted could find safety. Though many times the ruling caste showed only hypocritical solidarity with those who needed a safe haven, at least on the outside it coincided with the message. Now, the mask is off, yet the United States is denying it. This is what makes it a country that cannot be believed.
So, those blood-red conifers lining the halls of the White House represent very well its attitude toward those unfortunate enough to still believe in the message of the Founding Fathers, that Abraham Lincoln recalled during the bloody Civil War, and that Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson reaffirmed during the Civil Rights movement. That America is gone. Whether it ever returns, or needs the funeral service to be recited over it, is yet to be seen.
Millions and millions of dollars were spent sending the United States Army to the border with Mexico to obstruct the entry of the caravan of asylum seekers that had travelled north from Central America. The occupant of the Presidency even declared that he gave them permission to fire if the soldiers felt threatened. So, when a group of them got too close to the border fence, the soldiers fired tear gas at them, and forced them to run. But the people who got too close weren't the thugs and criminals Trump sees in every poor person outside the borders of his mind; they were families with small children. Photos of parents running from the expanding mist dragging small children created outrage in just about the entire world.
All those dollars should have been spent talking with each asylum seeker and determining which deserved entry, and which should be turned back. It would have taken weeks, yet it would have been more in line with the image of America the world has traditionally had, and it would have been the correct thing to do. Undoubtedly, mistakes would have been made, but the situation right now is one huge mistake, in which no one wins.
Which brings me to the laughable and memeable White House decorations. Last year, Melania seemed to relish being the Ice Queen, distant and haughty, unconnected to anything her husband did. This year she has thrown her luck in with his, and decorated the halls in a blood red color that seem to show her pride in this Adminstration's lack of humanity. Marie Antoinette comes to mind, though by mentioning her, I slander her memory. The French queen was truly unaware of the misery her subjects were suffering when she spent her money at the Petit Trianon. This Blood Empress is aware of everything the Administration has condoned, from the murder of a U.S.-based reporter by a medieval prince, to the tear gassing of innocent families at the border. And she truly doesn't care, just like her jacket affirmed.
But the world cares. And the world is beginning to shunt aside the United States, looking for different allies, waiting to see what will happen. Oh, there are plenty of other countries where the ruling caste beats down any dissidance and which refuses to react humanely with asylum seekers unless it's in their proper interest. But, until now, the United States has had a certain public morality which it touted throughout the world. Yes, it has used the cover of that morality for its own gains and interest. Yet, until now, it was seen as a safe haven country, where those who were persecuted could find safety. Though many times the ruling caste showed only hypocritical solidarity with those who needed a safe haven, at least on the outside it coincided with the message. Now, the mask is off, yet the United States is denying it. This is what makes it a country that cannot be believed.
So, those blood-red conifers lining the halls of the White House represent very well its attitude toward those unfortunate enough to still believe in the message of the Founding Fathers, that Abraham Lincoln recalled during the bloody Civil War, and that Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson reaffirmed during the Civil Rights movement. That America is gone. Whether it ever returns, or needs the funeral service to be recited over it, is yet to be seen.
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