Morning in America
"In [child's name], we see all our children." -Consoler-in Chief.
Bullshit - I don't see mine. I am sick of politicos telling us what we see, what we feel. When I think of that child - murdered, massacred - I see incomprehensible loss and the ripping of the fabric of hope.
I watched and listened to the memorial service last night, and I am glad I did. I thought Obama's speech was good, not great, and I was moved by hearing the words of Daniel Hernandez. (I was repelled by all the Bible-reading/quoting; that was dissonant to this non-Christian-non-Jew.) I was glad when the throng erupted in applause and cheers, from time to time; I cannot put myself in the place of the people in and of Tucson over these past few days, but I can guess that they needed the relief of feeling some gladness - good for them for having the opportunity to be together, so many of them, and feeling some emotions aside from grief, horror, sadness, anger and outrage.
But I do not see hope, or a rededication to truth, justice and the American way. I see another example of the damage inflicted by the crazies backed by the right wing in its never-ending struggle to subvert the better angels of our culture.
Today, there is a giant American flag hanging from a fire engine outside the funeral church for this slaughtered child - what is the relationship between a slaughtered child and the symbol of the country (that did not keep her safe)? So what if she was born on 9/11/2001? She could have been born on any day. She was slaughtered in her hometown by one of her fellow-citizens. In any world other than our Alice-in-Wonderland America, people would be focusing on helping to minimize the prospect of a repeat of this horror, not focusing on the uplifting spirit of blah, blah, blah - not on (post-massacre) prayer sessions in Congress or condolence books signed by millions, read by no one, while our subservient-to-NRA legislators cower in their weakness and do nothing about 30-bullet clips.
Voice of patronizing TV news anchor reporting "news": "Right now in Tucson, they are unfolding the 9/11 flag - the ONE FLAG that survived the attack on the Twin Towers." To paraphrase Mr. Biden, Big Fucking Deal. How many flags did Gandhi and Buddha wrap themselves in?
Bullshit - I don't see mine. I am sick of politicos telling us what we see, what we feel. When I think of that child - murdered, massacred - I see incomprehensible loss and the ripping of the fabric of hope.
I watched and listened to the memorial service last night, and I am glad I did. I thought Obama's speech was good, not great, and I was moved by hearing the words of Daniel Hernandez. (I was repelled by all the Bible-reading/quoting; that was dissonant to this non-Christian-non-Jew.) I was glad when the throng erupted in applause and cheers, from time to time; I cannot put myself in the place of the people in and of Tucson over these past few days, but I can guess that they needed the relief of feeling some gladness - good for them for having the opportunity to be together, so many of them, and feeling some emotions aside from grief, horror, sadness, anger and outrage.
But I do not see hope, or a rededication to truth, justice and the American way. I see another example of the damage inflicted by the crazies backed by the right wing in its never-ending struggle to subvert the better angels of our culture.
Today, there is a giant American flag hanging from a fire engine outside the funeral church for this slaughtered child - what is the relationship between a slaughtered child and the symbol of the country (that did not keep her safe)? So what if she was born on 9/11/2001? She could have been born on any day. She was slaughtered in her hometown by one of her fellow-citizens. In any world other than our Alice-in-Wonderland America, people would be focusing on helping to minimize the prospect of a repeat of this horror, not focusing on the uplifting spirit of blah, blah, blah - not on (post-massacre) prayer sessions in Congress or condolence books signed by millions, read by no one, while our subservient-to-NRA legislators cower in their weakness and do nothing about 30-bullet clips.
Voice of patronizing TV news anchor reporting "news": "Right now in Tucson, they are unfolding the 9/11 flag - the ONE FLAG that survived the attack on the Twin Towers." To paraphrase Mr. Biden, Big Fucking Deal. How many flags did Gandhi and Buddha wrap themselves in?
posted by ricksahm @ 12:50 PM
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