The Age Of The Pure Self

 

Anarchy,

Not just for the dispossessed anymore,

It's catching on like wildfire,

A fad,

A new sport for the upper crust,

For those separated from the great mass

By privilege,

Power,

Perception.

This perception of superiority,

Now this is the motive force,

Not just for the well-to-do anymore,

No,

Even the lowest inhabitants of the social order

Feel superior these days.

Now,

In our cities and our streets,

In our homes and office buildings,

In all manner of public and private places,

Now,

No one is safe from this self-righteous anarchy.

This is war.

To each their own pure self,

The pure self that needs no law,

That bends to no man, woman or child,

That considers not its own frailties,

Sees no larger world beyond itself,

Enforces its iron rule without mercy,

No matter how trivial or mundane its kingdom may be.

Nor more humility,

No backing up,

No admission of error,

Of guilt,

Of responsibility.

All actions and motives of the pure self are beyond question.

We encounter one another

In our day-to-day lives

And exchange the menacing glance.

All is understood.

Ours is the age of the pure self.

~ Poem & Image by Russ Allison Loar

© All Rights Reserved

The Other Virus

Trump has a virus.

I do not refer to the coronavirus. This other virus is far more deadly. 

The notion that the erratic course of the Trump presidency is the result of a localized infection centered mostly in the White House, aided and abetted by compliant media outlets and servile politicians, was further dispelled by the anarchistic minions who stormed the U.S. Capitol bearing Trump flags and assorted MAGA accessories.

Talk about a pandemic!

The virus that infected and elected Trump has spread to every nook and cranny of the Republic.  It is a pandemic of willful ignorance, spread by those who believe their certainty inoculates them against rational examination.

Yet even the impermeable Trumplings of America are but a subset of a global pandemic of authoritarianism whose existence depends on the strangling of truth and the obedience of ignorance.

In how many countries has democracy been overtaken by authoritarianism? Too many. Who can stop and reverse this advance of totalitarianism? The United States of America comes to mind. Despite the best efforts of Trump, his minions and his compliant political apologists, our recent elections do indeed seem like a turning point, a turn away from the abyss of another Trump administration and a restoration of sanity.

But let us never forget the names of those who defended the evil untruths of the Trump administration that have torn our citizenry apart.

Sanity, leadership, character and conscience: These virtues are not Republican or Democrat virtues. They are human virtues that must guide the course of our nation. May we defend them against the evil, soulless intentions of those who would subvert our Democracy.

May we call out the defenders of ignorance. May we demand educated, knowledgeable leaders in all walks of life to speak out against tyrannies both small and large. And may the freedom-loving people of the world once again look to the United States of America as an example, not of chaos, but of enlightened governance.

The great work lies ahead. The great work calls us. We must answer.

    What happens in America happens to the rest of the world.

     ~ Maria Ressa, Filipino journalist, author and dissident

 ~ Text and photograph by Russ Allison Loar

© All Rights Reserved