America Weeps
There’s a hashtag on Twitter that is gaining momentum, #countrybeforeparty, and I hope it continues. The behavior of our current president, as well as the horrible assault on the Capitol Building on January 6th, is a sad indicator of just how low some people will sink to wield their power. It also illustrates just how wide the divide between parties and people has become. That divide dictates and encourages behaviors and thinking that continues to push us apart when we should be coming together as people of one nation.
Thursday morning when I heard the news on The Daily Podcast of the breach of the Capital Building, I cried. Literally. The first time I’ve cried that hard since my husband died.
I felt like our country was dying.Maybe it is.
We don’t know what hovers at the edge of sanity with these people who think it is their right to wreak such violence against the very institutions of our government.
These are truly scary and uncertain times. We don’t know how deep-seated the Trump loyalty is with these radical people who have swallowed his Kool-Aid. To be clear, there is no doubt in my mind that this is a cult on a national scale. Trump is the epitome of a cult leader. He fits so many of the criteria that I found while researching the book, Coping With Cults, that I wrote about destructive cults for the Rosen Publishing Group, including:
- narcissistic thinking and behavior
- a messiah complex
- no tolerance for questions or criticism
- a charismatic leader who becomes an object of worship
- belief that he is above the law
On the other hand, it’s possible that the sheer horror that most Americans felt, and that most Republicans expressed, at the scenes of mayhem will cause everyone to take a step back from divisive political behavior and look harder for common ground. It’s surely an exaggeration to say the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol did Mr. Biden a favor, but they lent some new urgency to his calls to back away from the bitter politics of the last few years.
- Sen. Ted Cruz
- Sen. Josh Hawley
- Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith
- Sen. Roger Marshall
- Sen. John Kennedy
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville
Before signing off, I do want to say that it was my fervent hope that 2021 would be a year in which I wouldn’t find things to rant about on the blog. I was planning a whole different approach to content, but, well, shit happens and I can’t hold back the thoughts and opinions that swirl around my head.
Before what happened Wednesday, I was going to post a blog with fun facts about cats, but in all honesty, I have no heart for fun or jokes as I type this post on a late Thursday evening in preparation for posting Friday morning.
I do hope you are in a better frame of mind, and if you’d like to weigh in on this topic, please do. I only ask that you keep comments civil and polite.
Stay safe. Stay well.
Thank you for your thoughtful blog. I’m still trying to process what has happened, and your words lend perspective.
I’m glad you found the blogpost helpful, Rosemary. It’s taking time for me to process it all, too. I keep asking myself who gave people permission to do things like that. Then I heard about the MAGA folks meeting Lindsay Graham at the airport and harassing him for being a traitor for not siding with Trump in his efforts to overturn the election. Since when is one a traitor for following the law? It is all so horrible, I still cry when I think about it.