The battle may have been won, but the threat to our democracy has only slightly receded. Trump and his supporters have been working behind the scenes and according to an article in The Atlantic, the coup on our nation’s capital last January was merely a rehearsal of what is to come. We need to remain vigilant.
Too many people are swayed by too many smooth talkers. The forked tongues that are spewing out messages on popular news channels and social media, are working their way into the minds of those less discerning. We have become complacent where our democracy is concerned. Most of us who were born here have taken our democratic government for granted. We have been educated to believe that it is the best form of government. We have been convinced that we live in the richest and most powerful country. We have never doubted that our democracy would govern us forever. We have been told what to believe about the history of our country and we have never doubted what our teachers instilled in us early on.
I do not know if democracy is truly the best form of government. I veer towards the ideals of John Lennon: “Imagine there’s no countries…nothing to kill or die for.” Imagine one world. Imagine no government. Imagine peace.
Here is what I do know. Nothing lasts forever. George Harrison reminded us: “All things must pass.” Whether or not democracy is the fairest form of government, we would be mistaken to believe it will prevail forever. Our world is facing more challenges than we can count. Global warming, loss of millions of species, pollution of our air, water, and soil, civil unrest, the ongoing pandemic with its variants, a teetering economy, high suicide rates, and overall uncertainty about the future is overwhelming. The atmosphere of anger and frustration is all around us. War could erupt at any moment.
If ever there was a time, when all people needed to come together, that time is now. The threat is real. This is not the time to lash out and to make more enemies. Our biggest enemy is ourselves. Will we allow hatred to blind us – or will we begin today to be a proponent of peace?
