Muddy Upstream – Photo: L. Weikel

Walking Through Mud

So, how’s 2021 working out for all of us so far? Honestly, this first week of January has felt like the emotional equivalent of experiencing an entire year (of horror) in warp speed. And yet the past two days have felt, to me, like I was walking through mud.

I have to wonder if I’m the only one who’s experiencing this paradoxical sensation.

I’m feeling incredible outrage coursing through me as I contemplate the audacity of the people who stormed our halls of Congress. It would appear at first glance as though they’ve perpetrated this assault with impunity, although I’m aware there are many arrests yet to occur and crimes to be charged. As we witnessed the mob violence unfold on Wednesday, though, it was beyond upsetting to see the marauders almost stroll out of the Capitol with admonitions to honor the 6:00 p.m. curfew.

When we subject ourselves to the images of that fateful day (which are admittedly hard to avoid in the aftermath), how do we reconcile within our own psyches the hundreds upon hundreds of bodies streaming through those marbled halls, smashing windows and battering down doors with the reality that only 15 arrests were made that day? Yes, more have occurred since then. But the sheer incongruity of it all, especially after witnessing the predominantly peaceful protests following George Floyd’s murder this past summer and the oppressively militaristic response to them is overwhelming and depressing.

Bar the Doors

Ever since I woke up yesterday (Thursday), I’ve felt as though I were living in a different world. Accomplishing the tasks on my agenda the past two days has felt like it took Herculean effort. Again, my movements – heck, even my thoughts – felt like they were struggling to swim upstream, pushing against a thick current of despair and revulsion prompted by the chaos and malignant intentions unleashed on the symbols and representatives of our government.

It feels as though something needs to be done to protect us from the worst impulses of the current occupant of the White House – and they need to happen immediately. Even taking a ‘wait until Monday’ approach feels perilously risky. I feel as though we need to bar the doors and grab the oxygen masks – all while running through waist-high mud.

The End and the Beginning

It feels like it might be a good thing to revisit the advice we received from The Crone just four short days ago. We are indeed living through ‘the End’ of a cycle. Perhaps over the next several days, those of us who have no real power or influence over what gets done procedurally or even practically in dealing with the imminent threat DT and his followers pose to our democracy might want to take some time to sit quietly and envision what we want to create.

How can we improve our country? Get the money out of politics? That might be a great place to start. How could we best accomplish that? Just imagining trying to bring such a reality into being might feel like we’re still running through mud. But what a difference this could make.

That’s just one thought that occurs to me this evening as I try to shift my thoughts from despair to a new day.

But first we need to get through the weekend.

(T-322)