Mourning the Loss of America

This post honors the loss of an America that stood for and acted upon foundations of freedom, hope, and intelligence to bring growth, prosperity and quality of life to its citizens. Sometime last year there was a piece circulating the web that said in paraphrase.."Why not give our Constitution to Afghanistan and Iraq, we don't seem to be using it any more". Chilling and true, which is why it has come into prophetic reality today as we see the intense support by those who thrive on fear to control others celebrate the cementing of their efforts in the government elections.

I have this intense dislike of fanatic zeal...maybe because the first time I witnessed its effects it was through seeing pictures of the stacks of bodies in German concentration camps. Then we were taught about the Crusades where zealous fear fueled the forced marches of children into battle and certain death against the Non-believers. A little later in school were the chapters on the Dark Ages and the Inquisition. It took centuries to emerge from that blanket of intentional stupidity and rule by fear. Science, education, the arts all were stifled by intimidation and force out of fearmongering they would destroy minds, creating a satanic reservoir of danger worldwide. Those who spread those fears, of course, knew better. In later years I stood witness to the use of fearmongering to lose friends and bright young minds to a war in Vietnam. We are still paying the price of that loss of human life and hope.

So here we have America, a beautiful, diverse, and ever inventive land and culture, too young to have the wisdom of Ages and too impetuous to hear the elders and ancients. It's not the election results so much that are heartbreaking, but the means that were used to achieve them. We used to pride ourselves on a separation of church and state, and often point to the need to correct those countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan that have merged these into a deathgrip of human misery and control. Yet, when all evidence points to the same means used to exploit the fears of the vulnerable who flock to fundamental Christian groups we celebrate their power.

There is no excuse for intentional stupidity. There is no excuse for intellectual blindness and lack of insight individually or nationally. This is not a matter of political parties and administrative differences; it is a matter of intentional exploitation of our American institutions, Constitution, and rights to fuel another Crusade and another Inquisition. The only outcome of the success of such an effort is erosion of all that is good and right and the return to Middle Age decay. How long will it take this time to emerge? How long to regrow that which we have given up in the name of fear?

Wooden Shoe