It’s been a while since I posted to the blog, not because I have been without thoughts but because I haven’t been entirely sure which ones to share.  I have many.  Over the past few days I’ve written, re-written, edited and, finally, scrapped the first, second, and third drafts of this post.  I vented and then vented some more.  Honestly, venting is exhausting.  Cleansing, but exhausting.  I ended my last draft writing, “The time to sit in silence is over.  Speak up.  Speak loudly.  Our collective energy is what we have so let’s not squander opportunities to use our strength of will.”  Well, low and behold, in the days I’ve been nose-to-computer, our country, our citizens have risen.  Images of peaceful protests in all fifty states, challenging the validity of our newly elected government, the cockamamie, ill-conceived actions of the last three weeks and the demolition of our democracy are plastered all over international media.  What a sight to see.  

Congressional leadership is now standing front and center asserting their rigorous support of our country, our people, resolutely denouncing the groundless acts of an unelected, unaccountable, special employee of the United States government.  Some see these events as puff pieces and nothing more.  I disagree.  While our Congressional voices may be the minority, our united opposition speaks at full volume.  We’re in this battle together.  The resolve to step up to the plate reminds us that we are not weak and helpless but strong in our voices, that resistance is commanding.

After my last post in December, I hoped to not have another orbiting the political drain, but the truth is, we’re deep in the trenches or as some have said, the sewer.  With each day that passes, there’s one more thing and then another and another.  Uncertainty in our current political climate, the ambiguity of what the heck is going on over there, is breeding an unceasing lack of trust and angst throughout our nation, in large part, due to the fissure in our Congressional leadership.  There are substantial cracks beyond the surface.

Like the Buffalo Springfield sang, back in 1967, “There’s somethin’ happenin’ here.  What it is ain’t exactly clear.”

I pulled President John F. Kennedy’s book, Profiles in Courage, off my bookshelf.  It’s a very old copy with yellowed, tattered pages.  I found it years ago while cleaning out the basement of our family home.  It’s a small, yet consequential volume of stories of American politicians, of all parties, whose unswerving loyalty was to the United States, who demonstrated grit and courage during crucial times.  It’s a treasure.  While there has been controversy surrounding who actually wrote the words, the collaboration between President Kennedy (then Senator Kennedy) and speechwriter Ted Sorenson stands on its own.  

President Kennedy wrote:

“The two-party system remains not because both are rigid but because both are flexible.”

Not so much, today.  In my November post, “In Silence There is Truth”, I posed the question, “Can we trust our new Congress to, first and foremost, serve the American citizen, or will they act as instruments for the new president’s agenda?”  It’s three months later and, sadly, it seems clear that some have wholly lost sight of their purpose for which they were elected, in all good faith, by us, their constituents, who depend on them to follow the law of the constitution, defending and supporting our best interests. 

President Kennedy further wrote:

“…when party and officeholder differ as to how the national interest is to be served, we must place first the responsibility we owe not to our party or even our constituents but to our individual consciences.”

Conscience.  How many of us have begun questioning the conscience of many in Congress, especially in recent weeks?  I ask, to what side of history do you choose to stand?  The rule of law?  Or the law of the jungle?  Where anything goes, where ill-considered self-interest eclipses that of universal loyalty to our country, to each other.  

President Kennedy continued…

“But it is a little easier to dismiss one’s obligations to local interests and party ties than to face squarely the problem of one’s responsibility to the will of his constituents.  A Senator who avoids this responsibility would appear to be accountable to no one, and the basic safeguards of our democratic system would thus have vanished.  He is no longer representative in the true sense, he has violated his public trust, he has betrayed the confidence demonstrated by those who voted for him to carry out their views.”

Safeguards of our democratic system.  Do they still function, today?  How is it that we have now come to the point of questioning whether our leadership has our well-being in mind versus following a pattern of genuflecting to an administration sans citizen concerns.  Months ago, I remember telling someone that a threat to our democracy was a moot point. We had safeguards, after all!  I was wrong.  The delicate balance of right and wrong is fragile.  So, now that the unsettling shock has worn off, we need to contend with consequences of the election and regroup as unyielding advocates for our rights and freedom.  

This is not the America where I grew up.  This is not the America that welcomed my grandparents to our shores, offering opportunity to build fruitful lives, build a business, raise productive children and grandchildren who contribute to a thriving society.  They fled their countries for the security bestowed upon them by a democratic society, for generations to come.  My grandfather rarely talked about his past.  As far as he was concerned, at the age of nineteen he became an American.  That’s what he called himself and the flag flew, proudly.  I wonder what he would say, today.  

I hear you when you say, but how can speaking up, protesting the current state of the nation, do any good?  Because when we stand in unison, we’re heard.  There is absolute value in pushing back and not sitting back in passive resignation.  The pressure we as citizens, as consumers, exert on leadership has consequences.  Grass roots advocacy has its place and time.  If you believe our personal, individual, and national security is at stake, if you recognize the gravity of a constitutional crisis, then the time to organize is now.

Do you recall hearing news about Chicago becoming a smoke-free city?  A heavily political city where we, the citizens, as underdogs, had to fight City Hall?  I was there.  When Roe v. Wade was passed?  We were there.  When women finally had the “right” to vote and apply for their own credit?  When the Civil Rights Act was passed?  None of these happened by burying our heads under our wings in silence.  

So, gird your loins and hang on to your hats.  We, the people, will do what the law, the constitution, allows us to do.  The freedom to speak may be our most vital freedom.  Peacefully protest, call or write to your Congressional leadership, regardless of party.  Then, we will watch the law do what the law does to Stop the Madness.

Remember… process equals outcome.  And we’ll be there. 

Just my thoughts…

If interested, “Profiles in Courage” by John F. Kennedy is available on Amazon.   You might also check out Good Reads online or your local public library.

As one who promotes the joy of reading in any form, I am happy to share where you might find books referenced in this blog.  I generate no revenue for myself from Amazon or any other venues suggested.

“For What It’s Worth”, Buffalo Springfield, 1967https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY

The United States Constitution

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

The United States Bill of Rights

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights/what-does-it-say