My country is enveloped in a miasma of fear, anger, hatred and cruelty and one deranged narcissist bears sole responsibility for it all. Like the villain in the Harry Potter books whose name dare not be spoken I too will not speak the name of this modern American villain. 

Of course our Villain could not be conducting his reign of terror without the help of a supporting cast of slavish sycophants. Cabinet members, members of congress and millions of American citizens all share an equal amount of responsibility. Our Villain seems to have cast some kind of spell, turning descent people into robots who are willing and eager to do his bidding no matter how vile the request. He has the ironclad grip of a Mafia don on his enablers. We’ve all seen enough gangster movies to know that you simply don’t cross the don.

It appears that nothing is beneath this Villain: lying, cheating, corruption, sex with underage girls, attempts to overthrow the government and now murder.  I.C.E. thugs pulled the trigger but we all know that he gave tacit approval to their heinous acts, standing behind them with that repulsive shit-eating grin while American citizens were gunned down. These were human beings with families and friends who loved them, their survivors will have to live with this for the rest of their live. No, Renee Good did not try and run an “agent” down with her car. No, Alex Pretti did not pull a gun while being wrestled to the ground yet they were both murdered, plain and simple. Rather than admit that I.C.E. has finally gone too far, pledge to hold honest and transparent inquiries and at the very least offer some kind of condolences to the families of Good and Pretti, our Villain has doubled down on his lies expecting us to believe what our eyes can clearly see just isn’t true. Instead of trying to deescalate this volatile situation he is gleefully pouring gasoline onto a conflagration that’s rapidly spiraling out of control. I wonder how he and his followers can sleep at night, knowing that they are all accessories to murder? Have they no decency? Do they feel no remorse? A woman is murdered and you call her a domestic terrorist? That’s just sick!

I’m frightened and sad and so angry. I can’t bear to read the news but realize that I must, sticking my head in the sand is no good. Where do we go from here? This is without a doubt one of the darkest periods in our history. The U.S. constitution  has procedures in place to remove a president who has become a tyrant and abuser of power. Now is the time to act but with the Republicans in charge I won’t hold my breath. How can anyone, even the Villain’s most rabid supporters, think that what’s going on in our country is acceptable? I ask them: What if it were your child, or friend or partner who was gunned down? What if it were your neighbor or co-worker who was kidnapped and held without due process? What if it was your city filled with teargas and gangs of armed thugs with a license to kill?

It’s a struggle to keep from despair but I know that there’s plenty of good in the world. Yesterday twelve goldfinches were gathered atop my neighbor’s oak tree. The rays of the setting sun reflected off of their breast feathers making these birds glow like tiny nuggets of gold. It’s moments of beauty like this that fill me with hope. Meanwhile, brave Minnesotans are out in the streets every day standing up to tyranny. Bruce Springsteen wrote a song called Streets Of Minneapolis and put it out for all the world to hear. God bless you Bruce. I recently saw a Facebook reel of a school principal with a baseball bat in his hands, confronting I.C.E. “agents” on the front steps of his school. Everywhere people are marching and protesting and with one voice shouting, “Enough!” The Villain and his forces are strong and determined but so are the voices of reason and compassion. There are more of us than there are of them. This too shall pass. In my heart I know that a brighter day will dawn, until then we resist and carry on.