I asked my friend Serge Bielanko for a writing prompt this week. Serge is a writer too, and sometimes we commiserate on deep background. I sent him a text and he responded within 10 seconds….
“Why humanity is worth fighting for…..”
And immediately my heart sank because my first instinct was knee-jerk. All it said was….
“It isn’t…….”
What this nation used to be, it isn’t anymore. But then again, what this nation used to be wasn’t all that fucking great either. In my own lifetime a segment of the population wasn’t allowed to eat at certain lunch counters. In my own lifetime women weren’t allowed to own a credit card or open a bank account in their own name. In my own lifetime you could go to jail for being gay. In my own lifetime my next President may be a convicted felon.
Battles that were fought and won are now having to be fought again. I for one never expected Nazis to be marching with impunity through American streets, carrying Tiki torches, demonizing Jews, and pledging loyalty to the then President of the United States. How ‘bout you? I never assumed one of the richest men in the world would purchase a social media platform just so hate could be less regulated. I never expected 70 million of my neighbors would vote for the dumbest person in the country. I never expected the words “Never Again” to ring so hollow. The homicidal madness that engulfed the world into war and genocide in the 1940s has had its mind cleared by one of those “Men in Black” neuralyzers. If we’re not already doomed, this will surely do until doom comes along.
But two words does not a column make. “It isn’t” is more like graffiti sprayed on a wall.
It’s a cop-out. It’s too easy. It’s intellectually lazy…..something I try never to be.