68th Winter

 

The Furor’s brown shirts have descended in force upon our city. Last week an ICE trooper killed one of our citizens in a neighborhood not far away. Shot her in the face, point blank. I attended her vigil/protest. The administration’s Big Lies to follow.

While we are not Nazi Germany yet, the government’s aspirations seem to be clearly in that direction and credibly well on the way. For someone who has known sixty-seven years of relative freedom—i.e. white, male, middle-class freedom—I find the change to dangerously not-so-free and the new demands of civic resistance considerable. Even the relatively simple protest marches and the ICE watches require dressing for the frigid weather now and the treacherously icy footing. Much more to learn and do. It would appear to be a long haul in a dark winter.

Old and retired, I have the time, and if less energy than I once had, I’ve read my history and retain much memory. And if we aged late-Boomers needed a sense of purpose—I didn’t, but you know, shit happens and it’s sometimes big—the GOP’s embrace of fascism, racism, and Christian nationalism makes for a wide field of opportunity to discover it: that is, opposing, well, EVIL.

So, they say, freedom isn’t free. No, it isn’t. It requires time, energy, treasure, and, apparently, the blood of young moms trying to get out of the way.