I took down the flag after the first anniversary and swore I would never fly it again as long as the true enemies of our democracy were in power, i.e., Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. I could not bring myself to dishonor all that the flag represents by flying it and somehow validating their reign.
But I am also deeply troubled by what has happened over the last few months during the course of this presidential campaign. The violent racist and hate-filled rhetoric spewed by the Republicans from Sarah Palin on down has created an explosive situation of chaotic proportions.
I began writing this diary on Monday when I had a slight emergency to attend to in New Hampshire.(I live in New Jersey.)Imagine my surprise that when I arrived at my destination, CNN was headlining the breaking news about the "plot" to assassinate Barack Obama.
As we learned later the plot was the product of two hate-filled, drug & alcohol fueled white power/Nazi wannabes with the combined IQ of 9. Their plan also included the murdering of 88 black school children, the number 88 having some bizarre symbolism referencing Hitler's name. Like I said, bat...shit...crazy.
Be that as it may,come November 5th, there are going to be thousands of very disappointed and very angry supporters of the McCain/Palin ticket. We already know from some of the shouted comments at their rallies as well as statements made by their more rabid supporters that there is an undercurrent of violence simmering in some of these people. To deny the possibility of some one or some group will act upon this anger is to bury one's head in the sand. It denies the level of violence already present in our society and denies our history of assassinations and attempted assassinations of our leaders.
On the day after, the politicians and pundits put out the quadrennial plea for healing and coming together for the good of the nation. And the vast majority of Americans respond in just that way. And I think that in this election year, the problems we all face in our lives both individually and as a nation will speed that process.
But there will always be that infinitesimally small group of irreconcilable individuals who, out of racist-fueled hate or some truly deranged sense of patriotism, may take matters into their own hands. And the only thing we have to prevent them from succeeding is constant vigilance and if you believe, a a lot of prayer.
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