The Light Has Been Snuffed Out

The Grand Experiment is a failure.

Today may not be the end of this country permanently, but this is the first tolling of the bells sounding the death knell.

There really is no way back from the historic clusterfuck that occurred in Washington, D.C.

The short view is that this is the epitome of one of the most brazenly racist and hateful presidencies in the history of this nation. The events that were kicked into motion five and a half years ago when Trump glided down an escalator in his gaudy, gilded building and declared that he was running for office.

The medium view is that this the natural evolution of things going back to the Reagan administration in the 1980s, as the idea of a shrinking government and supply-side economics grabbed the GOP by its lapels. Oh, and that view can even be stretched back to Goldwater and Nixon if we want it to. Make it 60 years.

The longer view is that this is who we always have been, going back to 1619 when this was just a loose confederation of colonies trying to make their way in the world.

The correct answer is all of the above.

It’s easy to say, “This isn’t us. This isn’t who America is.” After all, many of us, especially of a certain age and above, were fed the myth of American Exceptionalism for years and years and years. We are the shining city on a hill.

Well, that light, which has been dimming for the better part of the last 20 years, was snuffed out this afternoon.

We’re not special. We’re not exceptional.

We are just like other places we have mocked or pitied.

And the problem, moving forward? Is that some folks are so committed to the idea that this is not who we are, that this is just a blip, that this is just a brief detour from our supposed success…that it could happen again.

Shit, it may happen again in four years if we are not careful and don’t wise up.

As it stands right now, as I write this…some of the terrorists (because that’s what they are) are simply being allowed to walk away from the Capitol.

They’re not being teargassed.

They’re not being corralled and shot with rubber bullets and beaten to within an inch of their lives.

They’re not having chemical weapons used on them.

They’re not being tased.

They get to be talked to.

Talked at.

Reasoned with.

De-escalation tactics and training are being implemented.

Funny how that works sometimes, huh?

I thought of a simplistic analogy earlier to describe what was happening today:

“The creature is created, fed a steady diet of lies and taught how to hate.

It fuels the creature, turning it into a monster full of rage.

The monster grows stronger and starts rattling the cage. The cage cannot handle the stress and starts to weaken over time.

Eventually, the monster breaks the cage and escapes to wreak incredible havoc on the community.”

So…what happens next? Does the community put down the monster and win?

Or does the monster emerge victorious?

I wish I could answer that.

My natural pessimism, though, sees the monster pulling this out.