Do We Circle The Drain Or Choose A Higher Level Of Discourse?

A comedian posts a picture of herself holding what appeared to be the severed head of our so-called president. It was disrespectful and disgusting and I didn’t like seeing it. However, if the conservatives who vilified the Obamas claim the right to express themselves in such a disgusting manner, then so can this woman. Citing outrage over the feelings of the new guy’s young son, I wonder where their outrage was as President Obama’s daughters were inundated with the same sort of shocking and upsetting crap?

Personally, I don’t care for this type of humor. I like parody, but I’ve never been fond of severed heads or openly racist comments or pictures. I think this type of humor represents a bridge too far, but again, that’s just my opinion. People can do as they please just as I can choose to ignore all of it. Just don’t be surprised if it’s met with some push back when the target is the orange guy occupying the White House.

And I have to say that the but he did it so I can too excuse got old when my kids tried it growing up. It’s a fallacy and suggests that no one really needs to be responsible for their behavior. Do we circle the drain or do we choose a higher level of discourse? When does pushing the envelop just because we can do so go too far? With a severed head? An outburst of laughter at a Congressional hearing? Where do we draw the line? Or should a line be drawn at all?

If we react to something that someone else does, then we’re not living in our own present moment, but in the present moment of another. And in the case of the severed head picture, it seems that some of us are living in the new guy’s unhinged moments a little too much. But with all the potential destruction he’s causing, is it any wonder that many of us are having difficulty staying calm?

People are scared to death that they may not live to see a new president undo all the damage this guy and his white nationalist party are doing to the bulk of the country. They are culling the herd by destroying the social safety net that so many of us depend on to survive. Had wages ever been commensurate with our experience let alone a reflection of simple compassion and dignity, we all might be in a better place financially and a middle class might actually exist in this country. However, the priorities of those currently in power are misplaced with their focus on enriching a chosen few while the rest of us worry about how to make our income stretch to the end of the month. Caring about our neighbors has gone out of style, replaced by lawmakers who somehow believe that if we become sick, we’re undeserving of care, as if it’s our fault that we’re ill.

I believe what the comedian did, as distasteful as it was, expressed a level of fear that so many in our country now live with on a daily basis. We want an end to a nightmare that is really only just beginning. That’s all the comedian was really saying, albeit graphically. Something is terribly wrong here and what’s unfolding is far from normal and it must stop. Leaders around the world are either terrified or salivating at the antics of the so-called new guy and his minions, in fear of his craven unpredictability or looking for opportunities to use his gullible ass. Either way, we’re screwed as long as he remains, so any indictments on the horizon can’t come too soon.

I used to believe that the Republican party at least had some core values that were shared by the rest of us. Now I’m not so sure. Maybe it was all a ruse with destruction of the masses their goal all along. Because it sure looks like they’re all in on this strategy and it’s becoming more and more difficult to stomach their glee as they continue their path of destruction.

However, we do ourselves no favors by circling the drain along with him. We have to be above this sort of behavior, saving any down and dirty approach we make for when it truly counts. We can’t worry about stepping on the feelings of those who have compromised our country, but nasty potshots aren’t appropriate either. He depends on this sort of vitriol and uses it to his advantage, something we cannot give him.

The picture above is of a dead juniper tree in the center of one of my ponds. It strikes an as above, so below feeling as its image reflects in the water reminding us that who we are as Spirit should drive entirely our experience while in human form. It’s in that alignment with our true Self that we’ll find our way home, the antics of this man-child a horrific and distant memory.

While he distracts with lies and tweets, we must put the pressure on with facts, something he seems averse to. While he continues to play games, we must be the parents in the room, baby-proofing everything in sight. If he’s so easily led by the bad guys, we need to use that to our advantage. Not that I’m holding my breath mind you, but there’s nothing wrong with using an opponent’s weaknesses against him. And he has plenty.

Just ask Vlad.