Yet Again

Partial Lunar Eclipse and the Pleiades – Photo: L. Weikel

Yet again we’re set back on our heels, reeling at what many believe to be a gross miscarriage of justice. It’s exhausting. And let’s face it: most of us, if we’re not people of color, are only just now starting to get even the tiniest hint of an idea how crushing it must feel like to be them – every day – in this country. In their own country.

I vowed I wouldn’t write about the Rittenhouse verdict tonight. What more can be said? The people who feel the verdict was a vindication of all that is right in our country are exultant. Those of us who feel otherwise? I don’t know…perhaps we’re seeing that the system has slowly been corrupted and is now a caricature of its former self. Or perhaps it’s always been more corrupt than any of us wanted to admit. For many, I fear this to be true.

Jury and Judge

I don’t necessarily disagree with President Biden’s statement that the jury did its job. Given what little I know of the details, I have a feeling the jury did its best to follow the law and apply the law – as written – to the facts of the case as they understood them. I do believe, however, that the judge went out of his way to make it clear to the jury the result he believed must be reached. And that pressure, while we wish it held no sway, is profoundly difficult to ignore – and harder to buck.

At the same time, I do not believe our justice system can survive without the citizenry’s inherent respect for its conclusions. And quite honestly, Judge Schroeder’s blatant bias and defiant refusal to provide and maintain a neutral forum blighted the entire system. The list of outrageous interim orders issued by this man began early and continued throughout. There was no way the truth could be discerned without fear of incurring the judge’s wrath. The fix was in.

And therein lies the most unforgivable facet of this tragedy: the judge himself was instrumental in corrupting our faith in the system he was sworn to uphold and protect.

Sound familiar?

Photo: L. Weikel

Turn to the Eclipse

I catnapped after posting my missive last night, managing to rouse myself every half hour or so to check on the moon’s progress as it entered the Earth’s shadow. The night sky was beyond vast and captivating. Every star seemed to shine its brightest, while the moon knew it held center stage, even as it grew dark and rusty-red.

A pang of utter delight shot through my heart as I witnessed a long-tailed meteor streak across the sky. A persistent rustling of leaves in the woods beside me caught my attention. Opossum, mouse, I’m not sure who was holding space with me. But I knew I wasn’t alone.

I suppose the eclipse, in revealing to us that which we may not want to see, did its work via the verdict today. The bigger question, I guess, is what we’ll do in response to what’s been revealed.

I recall the cards I chose at the beginning of this week. New Beginnings – built on a foundation of Truth. The truth right now is ugly for a vast number of our fellow Americans. What’s it going to take for us to see what’s right before our eyes, dismantle the institutions that no longer serve the greater good, and create systems that actually deliver the ideals we say our country represents?