Civil War Redux – An Uncivil Uprising

 

Seems like folks are all in for another civil war … this war even less civil than the last one. North versus South. White versus non-white. Richer versus poorer. Self-centered versus selfless. Who will win? Who won the last one? 

Odds are on those who lie the most and lie the least believably. Odds are we will all lose. The bigots are on the rise and the fall of the shining city on the hill is imminent. 

I am so sorry to say that my older and wiser brother, rest his soul, was right: what happened in Nazi Germany can happen here … is happening here. 

I feel so helpless to do anything. And then I remember Franz Jäggersätter … see In Solitary Witness by Gordon Zahn – see https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1500357.In_Solitary_Witness. 

I want to do something positive beyond contributing to the campaigns of those dedicated to peace, love and kindness but I am not sure what I have to offer at this late stage of my life. Three governors who manipulate those seeking asylum in this country from tyrants have treated innocent persons to a taste of American tyranny. Woe is me.

Memories

 I find phrases popping into my mind as I reluctantly (habitually) listen to the news, which is generally quite disturbing. Phrases like “civil war” and “war between the states” came to mind as I listened to the President’s address yesterday.  But those phrases seemed totally out of place … out of tune. More appropriate would be “uncivil war” and “war within the states.” It is not north versus south or free states vs. slave states. Maybe it does involve the soul, or more simply, character. Whatever happened to other phrases that also came to mind, such as “love your neighbor” and “be kind to strangers.” It did not matter if your neighbor was black or white or stranger than Corporal Klinger. I was taught that love and kindness should be boundless and, while trying to live up to boundless love and kindness is often a challenge or even repugnant, that is what we are charged to do … my father was referring to a higher power, of course. I found those sentiments embedded in writings that led up to the founding of today’s western democracies, and implied in the President's repeated use of "we the people." And yet … and yet … I am feeling old and my thoughts seem stale and passé. I have a grandson who is fascinated by dinosaurs … I will have to let him know that I am among those lost beasts.

Mike Spector

2 Sep 2022