Periodically, I visit my spam folder just to see what garbage it is filling up with. Not surprisingly, the genre is decidedly political – but the vast majority is from the GOP. I’ve got emails from Devin Nunez, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and Tim Scott. Now, if you’ve been reading my stuff, you know I am not a Republican. More bizarre is that according to their records, my name is William. I am not joking. Each of these emails addresses William emphatically.
The Dems are more discerning; they call me “friend” or do not use a salutation at all. Clearly they do not have my name, just my email address. And I have far fewer spam emails from that group.
The Republicans, though. Telling WIlliam what horrors will befall us if the radical left (because that’s where Joe is going by having Kamala as his VP) takes over the nation. I’m like, dudes, do you NOT know what’s going on right now? What fresher horror can I expect than over 180,000 people dead with no slowing in sight, millions without work, shelter or food, kids STILL in cages exposed to who knows what horrors, black people unable to just live their lives without fear of dying at the hands of those who are sworn to protect them? Is this not horror enough? I mean, try to convince me that we will be worse off if someone who actually gives a shit about others is leading us! Just try. Like my only chance to live long and prosper is to vote for someone who very clearly doesn’t care if I get sick and die, or lose social security benefits that I have paid my entire working life to receive, or if my kids will have a fighting chance at getting a job if we manage to get them through college! Just try to convince me.
I often say that we are on the brink – we are on the brink of our own destruction or our own salvation. What we choose in the next several weeks will determine whether we survive as a nation. We lived for decades in complacency. Most of us were comfortable; so comfortable that we didn’t pay attention to the workings of our government, we took our safety nets for granted, we believed that our lives would just go along without too much disruption. The dark side of our society lived entirely in the shadows, but it was there, just waiting for someone to bring it out in the open. We spent decades ignoring it – it wasn’t visible, so we didn’t have to face it. Well, well, well. Here we are. The Mango Menace and all his mendacity tore away the veil, exposing the rot and depravity that had been there all along. Our collective decision to just move along when life gets ugly has been challenged by the ugliest of all. Are we willing to allow our fellow citizens to be attacked with impunity? Are we willing to allow our rights to be stripped of us? Are we willing to stand idly by while scores of our brethren are abused just for existing? Are we willing to watch while laws are broken, international alliances thrown to the four winds, and our so-called leaders line their pockets at our expense? In eight weeks, the choice you make will determine our future and our collective priorities. I’ll be damned if you choose for me and mine to suffer; I’ll be damned if you choose for all my fellow citizens who are suffering now to continue to suffer with no relief. I’ll be damned if you choose grift, depravity and evil over decency and humanity.
Wake up, people! Our lives depend on it. Literally.