AFTER THE ELECTION OF A LIFETIME IN THE U.S,, A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE COULD BRING SOME CLARITY AND CALM FOR OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH …
REMEMBER WHEN …
.. it was not the leader of the free world but badly behaved children who dared to defy mammy and pappy to indulge in petty name-calling, routinely tossing out bully-laced monikers like Crooked Hillary, Sleepy Joe, Little Marco, Crazy Bernie, and yes, the most recent whopper, “Monster’ in reference to groundbreaking vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, all the while smirking “bigly” and enthusiastically pumping micro-fists at the shameful reactions of shameless enthusiasts, often against the backdrop of yet another super-spreading petri-rally?
… First Ladies – irrespective of party – cared deeply about the platform their position afforded and used it to effect real change and champion the rights of those less fortunate, rather than make bizarre sartorial statements and Grinch-hate on holidays? Ahhh the good old – and not so old – days when women of valor and substance like Dolley Madison, Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Michelle Obama and so many others of equal standing, stirred legions of women across the nation to fight for what matters, find the courage to be more, want more, and ultimately make their own marks on humanity.
… science was actually ”a thing” – legit! – and leading experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, successful advisor to six presidents on either side of the aisle during global health crisis, were respected and valued, or, heaven forbid, encouraged and “allowed” to provide daily briefings and guidance integral to mitigating as much suffering and death as possible, rather than denigrated, dismissed, controlled, trolled, threatened and harassed?
… facts and truth not only existed in our ether, but mattered and daily news didn’t require the masterful skills of fact-checking journalists forced to dedicate copious amounts of valuable time to unearthing the seemingly endless mountain of lies emanating from the conspiracy-loving top? Hello fellow Canuck, Daniel Dale!
… responsible journalists – whose sacred freedom of the press is protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment and considered “one of the great bulwarks of liberty” – were not routine prey for daily discrediting taunts like “FAKE NEWS,” an obvious but dangerous play taken directly from the dictator’s playbook?
… politicians from different parties didn’t see each other as perennially warring enemies to be defeated at all costs but members of the same “team America” with the indistinguishable goals of keeping country safe, stable, free, democratic, thriving and vital? Hello Ronald Reagan, Tip O’Neil, John McCain, Joe Biden, and countless other civil civil servants.
… long held mores and customs – like showing tax returns in a run up to an election – held gravitas and were easily and proudly respected by all candidates? Hello everyone but …!
… our greatest superpowers – empathy and love – in lieu of ego-heavy greed and power-mongering (a disturbing recent trend well documented by an embarrassingly long list of former disenchanted cabinet and family members) informed political action and decisions, inspiring leaders to be the best versions of themselves, building bridges instead of walls? Hello JFK, Lyndon Johnson and more!
… days, even weeks of our lives would go by untainted, unbothered by the oft destabilizing, dispiriting antics of Washington players gone rogue, making real-life look eerily similar to the reel-life of Margaret Atwood’s chilling The Handmaid’s Tale? Hello No Drama Obama!
Et voila, a little something from DIARY OF A POLITIGAL, aka a Canadian Gal who cares.