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POLITICS AS USUAL: The Week that WasBy Alison Collins-Mrakas I don't think we are going to hell in a hand basket just quite yet, but I do think we are getting pretty darn close. What else to make of the world of politics this past week? Where we've gone from “alternate facts” to frightening reality in a matter of just a few days. It has been a sobering experience, for me at least, and it has left me at a loss for words. I truly did not know what to write about this week. The topics range from the potentially inspiring, to the truly horrible, to the outright horrific. For example, I could comment on hugely successful Million Women March, where millions of women – on the day after Trump's inauguration to add to the powerful message being sent – marched in cities across the globe in support of the, “protection of their rights, safety, health and families.” But will this show of force mean anything in the long run? To paraphrase CNN, is it a “moment, or a movement?” Or, I could comment on the thousands of people protesting at US airports, consulates and embassies about the appalling presidential decree banning entry to the US by Muslims from certain countries. Is this the beginning of a Muslim registry, as many fear, or is it a sensible temporary measure to improve national security as others assert? Or, I could comment on the firing of the acting AG who refused to uphold the presidential decree, in what has been described as “Monday Night Massacre” redux (a reference to Nixon's firing of multiple folks in the justice wing that refused to do his bidding). Are we about to see a return to the dark days of the Nixon years, or is this a simple issue of appropriate sanction for an act of insubordination? I could comment on the tragic deaths and horrendous injuries of dozens of peaceful worshippers at a mosque in Quebec City, apparently shot in the back, as Prime Minister Trudeau said, “while practicing their faith.” Is religious intolerance becoming a crisis in Canada, or is this just the work of a lone madman? Or, I could change gears entirely and comment on what passes for scandal – manufactured or otherwise – in local politics. Where picayune doesn't quite capture how small the issues it is that some folks have their proverbial knickers in a twist about. But, I can't be bothered to comment on the contorted contrivances of the perpetually aggrieved. It's not that I have no opinion on any of the issues of the day; it's just that – at the risk of sounding defeatist – it seems so pointless to say it. Much of what needs to be said has already been said, or frankly should have been said. I am not sure what else I can add, but here goes. We have always lived in a world where there are those that have much and many more that have little. We have always lived in a place where “others” are not welcomed by everyone, and often feared by some. And thus we have always lived in nations where leaders assume power by stoking fear not peaceful coexistence. There is no point in denying what is, the point is to fight for what could be. I don't have much fight in me right now, but tomorrow is another day. The sun will rise. And so should we. |
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