An old lady still has some things to say
In truth my age is a shock to me. Not when I look into the mirror, which is brutally honest and never tells me I’m the fairest of them all, nor when people all over the world, like at this week’s escapades in Jerusalem and environs, and Berlin, and at our own Newark Airport, treat me like I’m made of crystal. So fragile and breakable, always in need of help. Everyone sees me for what I am, an ancient person, shrinking and wrinkling in front of their eyes, obviously a bit senile (more than that in my own humble opinion), ready to simply lie down and die. I’m here to tell you I’m not going without a fight! Too much bad stuff going on in this miserable world that I want to expound upon. Things like Donald, and Zohran, and Bibi, and a whole gang of international creeps including plenty here in this land that’s our land.
I still feel the maternal obligation to worry constantly about the future of our progeny, yours and ours. But this week, this very recent Election Day, restored some of my faith in our country. Definitely not all, but at least some. What a relief to see that millions of voters in places like our New Jersey, nearly ours New York, and our friendly nearby southern state Virginia, woke up and fought like lions to subdue the chutzpah, the arrogance that elected Donald J. Trump. And further afield a place called California refused to suck up. Yay California! I see all this as a wave of rebuttal, rebuff, and renewal. We’re just going to fight back, and win, remembering how many times we all said, “It couldn’t happen here,” and then it certainly started to seem like, “Well maybe it could.” And now that we’ve begun the resistance, we’ll show them that they overstepped and we just won’t stand for it anymore.
Who can even begin to describe all the offensive offenses that this government, in less than a year, has commanded us to follow? But let me swing to the hostages. Don’t I love them as much as you do? Didn’t I cry, sob actually, tears of joy and relief, when they were finally freed? Don’t I give those who negotiated for them credit for a miraculous event that history will always memorialize as an incredible achievement?
Didn’t I too daven for them and wear the ubiquitous necklace? Did I wish them to stay in Hell to prove the evils of the present government in these United States? Is not Donald Trump a hero for his efforts to get them released, efforts that resulted in their freedom?
I am not judge or jury or certainly God. Trump succeeded in getting the hostages their freedom and for that he deserves credit. Kol ha kevod to him. His motives will be judged by God alone. I celebrated the removal of the necklace and the passionate prayer that peace will now reign in Gaza. I may not believe it but I can certainly pray for it!
But what else has been happening stateside? Our president is in an endless pursuit of personal power and vast personal wealth. He has appointed incompetents to run the government in each and every branch, causing tremendous harm to all of us and our institutions, whether they be health and human services, justice, the military, the press and its freedoms, universities, museums, law firms, or foreign relationships. He is simply unable to be truthful. Words tumble out of his mouth like maggots dancing in the air, with no basis in honesty or believability. He is crude, unpolished, vindictive, inarticulate, and unpresidential. He is a glutton for praise and undeserved honor, seeking gilt and gold as coating for his unvarnished needs.
On May 25, 2017, the world saw Donald J. Trump wearing his true colors. Dusko Markovic, then the prime minister of Montenegro, was preparing for a photo op during a tour of NATO headquarters in Brussels. Markovic was standing in the front row with many other world leaders who were included in the photo. Abruptly Trump, seeking a more prominent position, shoved him aside and stood in his place. You’ve probably seen that in real time. It was simply beyond belief. Boundless aggression, force, and hostility without justification. It was straight out of the third grade! That, chaverai, is our president.
Rosanne Skopp of West Orange is a wife, mother of four, grandmother of 14, and great-grandmother of nine. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and a dual citizen of the United States and Israel. She is a lifelong blogger, writing blogs before anyone knew what a blog was! She welcomes email at rosanne.skopp@gmail.com