Wednesday, June 20, 2018

the drought

It's six AM, and I glance out the window at a grey morning. The evidence of last night's rain clings to the pavement, and the sullenness of the clouds hopefully bodes for another round today. Northwest Missouri, like the rest of the state, has been facing drought, and any rain is welcome.

My country has been under a drought for two years -- a lack of compassion, a lack of integrity, a lack of decency. And I look at it and see how little I can do about it besides point it out. The man who bears the title "President" has taken our thousand points of light and trampled them into the dust. And he is protected in his position by fear and greed, and by the fact that politicians, not we the people, have the only power to remove him.

How easy it seems to be for his followers to discount his words and actions. He tries on the trappings of fascism, and they say, "He's just joking." He attacks our allies (those who hold democracy dear) and lauds authoritarian dictators, and they say "He knows what he's doing." He locks children, separated from their parents, in holding pens and they say, "They were breaking the law."

Those children, some newly born, were breaking the law.  Think about that. The law is more important than ethical violations, than morally evil actions. The difference between law and morality is that morality addresses the right action -- above and beyond the letter of the law. The law is not always right -- Hitler's actions against the Jews were legal.

I am frightened. I am afraid this drought will kill us.

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