One can waste a lot of moments trying to be
profound. I know that because what you’re reading right now is the end result
of that very foolish endeavor. To be honest I’m not a very profound person. I’m
gut and reactionary. What is to be said of today? I could use the words dignity
and eloquence to describe the eight years of the Obama administration, but over
the past few weeks the words have become overused despite how well they fit. I’ll
say simply that I’m going to miss the man, his family, his administration, and
the way that President Obama tried to steer this nation toward something
resembling a collective empathy.
Simply said: the story of America is a story of
immigrants. The incoming president and the collection of domestic terrorists
otherwise known as the GOP may not recognize that, but it’s true. Be they the
people who were enslaved and brought here against their will, brutalized,
traumatized, terrorized and demoralized as they built this nation, or ones who
came here of their own volition; America is the story of the “other.” It would
do us all a good service to remember that over the coming four years.
It is also important to remember who we are.
Collectively. Individually. What makes us. To quote the great Bruce
Springsteen: “Who we are, what we’ll do and what we won’t.” It’s important to
remember that because we’re going to be tested. The elements out there that
will take power at 12:01 PM on January 20th, 2017; they want us to
forget ourselves. They want us to forget our compassion. They want us to forget
our empathy. They want us to forget our sympathy. They want us to forget our
humanity, our very OWN dignity and eloquence. They want to make America great
again by taking us back to a time when the rights of women, LGBTQIA, and people
of color, when the rights of incoming immigrants too, didn’t mean a whole hell
of a lot.
That isn’t to suggest that we’ve blossomed into a
full utopia. A simple look at police shootings of African Americans,
particularly Black males, and a look a domestic violence and rape statistics against
women, and assaults on immigrants show how very far we haven’t come.
This refashioned WineDrunk SideWalk blog is no
longer a forum for my own writing, but is not being transformed into a forum
for resistance through art. Resistance to Trump. Resistance to the incoming GOP
apocalypse. Back in November, still reeling from the election (but not
surprised at its outcome at all) I made a call to poets, writers, artists, etc.
to come and join me on this blog. Many have and I thank them. Over the next
1460+ days you’ll be seeing my writing and the work of many others on here. I
hope you enjoy. I hope it makes you think. I hope it helps keep that part of
you that those motherfuckers in Washington D.C. are going to try and strip down
and trample all over. I welcome others to join. Email me at Winedrunksidewalk@gmail.com with
your poems, your rants, your painting, your drawings, your photos….hell gimme
what you got! IN THE BODY OF AN EMAIL PLEASE.
We’ll come out of this alive….well….most of us
will.
To close I’m going to give you the sweet and sour.
The sweet is an email that my father-in-law sent to his daughters the day after
or a few days after the election. Its very own dignity and eloquence made me
want to use it to set the positive tone of this blog. Don’t worry they’ll be
plenty of negative. But my father-in-law’s story is an immigrant story. His
story is an American story.
So….ladies and gents and all others I give you Big
Ron:
Hi
girls
Though
a few days have passed since the election and the anger had subsided somewhat,
I still have this hole in my soul that will be there for at least four years.
I'd
like to tell you something - I grew up in the 50s and 60s and l saw firsthand
what America was then. I used to say when the next generation comes along
things will get better.
And
it did. We elected the first black president and i thought we were finally
going in the right direction.
Here
we had a chance to elect a woman for president and break that glass ceiling.
That didn't happen.
I
came to this great nation as an immigrant and I may not have accomplished
personally everything I wanted but what I'm most proud of are the strong
daughters that I have and that I know you'll fight to break that glass
ceiling.
I
may still see a Madam President.
I
love you all more
Love,
Dad
peace
jg
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