Moved By The Spirit - Slap, Kapow, Boom

Yesterday was a bummer. Reports were coming in from around the world of people being detained at airports and denied entry and sent back to their place of departure because Trump had signed another Executive Order. This one banned Muslims from entering the country from 7 particular foreign countries. It didn't matter if they had a green card or a visa or if they were returning home to the United States from a visit abroad.

When I first heard about this, I was watching the news. I went on the internet to confirm it and there were reports and pictures and videos. I was shocked and, eventually, I called an old friend in Florida to see what his take was. He said, "Oh yeah! Annie woke me up saying that things were getting crazy and we were starting to act like Nazis."

We talked/commiserated for a bit. Before I got off he said, "I've lived all my life and now I am worrying that someday I will be part of a roundup of people deemed "enemies" by Mr. Trump. I said I knew the feeling and he told me that "1984" was now topping the charts on the New York Times book list. Well, at least people were reading.

As the day progressed, I dozed off on the couch as I and countless of other seniors are wont to do. I was woken be a very hard slap to my face. I sat bolt upright and no one was there. I said, "Who" and before I could say another word I was slapped again. I said, "Hey" and kapow! When I turned to defend myself and boom! I was in a Batman TV episode from the 60s. I could see the words appearing in the air above me with each blow.

I stopped moving. I said, "Holy cow!" A voice responded, "No, Holy Moly!" It was the Spirit like never before. The Spirit was knocking me about like a rag doll. I knew better than to say anything else. I listened and the Spirit proceeded in a kinder and gentler manner. It said, "Take notes."

Here is the gist of what the Spirit said to me:

1. "You were just lying there feeling lost and dejected and hopeless. Your energy and optimism were gone. You were certainly not behaving in a manner consistent with someone I have chosen as my prophet."

2. "So the immigration ban has got you flummoxed. I suppose you regard it as the icing on the cake of a tumultuous week and you are in despair."

3. "Well, who told you any of this would be easy? While you are curling up all fetally, there are people suffering and dying all over the world. This is nothing new. It has been going on as far back as anyone can remember. Yesterday was the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Your President may have forgotten about that. He may have forgotten about Hitler's "final solution" for the "Jews" and issued a statement without mentioning "Jews", but you remember it, don't you?" I nodded.

4. "So what did you expect? The idiot appointed Steven Bannon as his Chief Strategist and Stephen Miller as a Senior Advisor and Michael Flynn as his National Security Advisor and Kellyanne Conway as his Counselor and the Face of his (Trump's) Movement and Jeff Sessions as his Attorney General. Who do you think you are dealing with Gandhi? You're dealing with an aberration. A totally whacked out freak who wrested the Republican nomination away from the Republican Party and then won the election and became the 45th President of the United States. You ain't dealin' with no light-weight son. You is dealin' with the latest threat to world peace. Got that!" I nodded.

5. "Your job/mission is to communicate your thoughts and feelings about this as they relate to your understanding of what I am about." The Spirit had me cold. In a moment of weakness I had lost my way. I was disoriented by Trump.

6. "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Yeah, I know you heard this from Mike Tyson, but hey, it's profound. It's right up there with Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Gandhi, King, Mother Teresa, Abe Lincoln, etc. If Tyson understood this, I expect you can too."

7. "After basically hijacking the Presidency from the Republicans, Trump has set out to dismantle the United States. The Republican leadership thinks they can control him, but they can't and they'll find that out all to soon."

8. "Trump is not like George W Bush. George was a genuine Republican who won the election. His Presidency was hijacked by Dick Cheney and the neocons. George was asleep at the wheel while the world was taken to the brink of economic collapse. The Middle East was totally destabilized and things were looking real bad. Remember that?" I nodded.

9. "Okay, so Trump is fundamentally different from Bush. Trump is the hijacker. He is simply going about his business. Everybody knows exactly what kind of a douchebag he is. They have known for years. It didn't matter. The American people went crazy after 9/11 and they never recuperated. They can't take a punch. Well, Boston and New York City and some other places can take a punch, but a lot of you can't. The people seized on Barack Obama and fell into a kind of lull. They thought Barack would lead them to the promised land while they found better things to do. You were all caught sleeping while the Tea Party sprung up and slowly took over the House. When your government was brought to a virtual halt for 6 years, you people forgot what you had learned from the Bush meltdown. You started buying guns. You were lured by the simplistic, facile, imbecilic rhetoric of people like Palin, Bachmann, Cruz and an endless host of Cretans spewing meaningless, mindless, mendacious, misogynistic and misleading muck. Hell, you're now being spoon fed "alternative facts" by Trump and his minions." I sighed.

10. "So here we are. Spread the word. Stop this sulking. You got a job to do. Don't let me down. You ain't the first. Remember Jonah and the Ninevites? Hell boy, this idiot is strikin' up a deal with Putin. He's dismantling NATO. He's destroying your country's relationships with its allies and trading partners. He's gonna wreck your healthcare system and hasten the end of the world. Wake up! Get to it! Chop, chop!"

So here I am writing as fast as I can. I'm sorry for sinking into a funk. It won't happen again. I'm in this for the duration. What about you?
Here's what the Spirit wants you to know. The only thing that will bring this madness to an acceptable end is our Congress. Pray for them. Call them. Pester them. The battle line must be drawn in our Senate. The Senate is the key. Let your Senators know they need to act in a bi-partisan way to stop Trump and get this country back on track.
Don't curl up on your couch and nod out for the next four years. Make a call! Make a difference!

Check this out:

http://echothroughthefog.cordeliadillon.com/post/153393286626/how-to-call-your-reps-when-you-have-social-anxiety

Holy Moly!