Poetic Justice

Donald Trump's fourth-of-July commemoration, just another outmoded celebration accommodating rehashed history. He rolled out the big thirty-ton tanks on Pennsylvania Avenue. Well, he didn't really roll them out, if he had that street would have been reduced to rubble. But those huge battle tanks and weapons of mechanized warfare are all so obsolete they will never again see battle, or play any role in modern warfare. They are so heavy and cumbersome as to make them sitting ducks in the sights of cruise missiles launched from a thousand miles away. Glorified troop carriers, they would serve no purpose in a push-button war of attrition. The B-Two bombers flying overhead in a postscript to outmoded muscle power, belie their impression when we consider that Iran just shot down a stealthy drone cruising at thirty-thousand feet. Using upgraded, though dated, surface-to-air missile technology that is available to all and sundry. And Trump has yet to configure an appropriate response to that slap-in-the-face by the region's principal agitator. Iran is the Middle-Eastern power that Trump is most determined to wage war with. But in technological warfare, before one can destroy an enemy, he must first identify and locate him. And Iran's surrogate gun-power is scattered willy-nilly, far and wide throughout the region. In the hands of unidentified third parties, eager to strike a blow against the imperialistic super-power whose infantile overtures are nothing but bluster, and demonstrations of bombastic exhibitionism. He who wishes to enjoin a war-party, should shut-up and keep prancing, but be sure not to tread on the feet of his partners. For close combat today is conducted from a thousand miles removed. These are not the rice paddies of Viet-Nam, and even there your heavy armor failed miserably. America cannot fight a war of attrition because she is hobbled by the weight of her own munitions. A skilled tactician carries little armor, and flits from field to field like the proverbial butterfly, or phantoms of legend. Applying critical injury on every turn and at will, and counting coup with impunity.

A skilled tactician is truly a politician, beguiling his opposition with feats of imaginative, far less-than-super, powers of attrition. And befuddling a dumbfounded president entrapped in his own, outdated fortifications, "A poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. A tale told by an idiot.....full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". William Shakespeare described well the bluster and buffoonery of a president who hid from war behind the coattails of his doctor, proclaiming the fictitious bone splinter in his ankle a disabling factor. Not a single member of his family has ever lifted a finger in defense of the empire he has sworn to protect. And so proudly proclaims in meaningless words and gesture that propelled him to his ill-gotten stature. King Tut of ancient Egypt, suffered from a disabling deformity, yet still rode his chariots into battle,.... at the early age of nineteen. Great men of honor, like Napoleon and others, often meet their Waterloos, but go down into history for having embraced grandeur and proven their stamina. Even in defeat they remain great conquering heroes. Not a sniveling prepubescent caricature flying high over the parades of Europe, and now America, proclaiming loudly for all to hear: "I want my bottle!" If the performance were not so pitiful, it would be laughable. If the figurehead were not so laughable, he would be pitiful. At the memorials of Normandy he pontificated elaborately about the brave men entombed there. While glorifying the fallen in France, he explained away his own reticence, otherwise known as cowardice, for the war in Viet-Nam, by describing that war as one not worthy of his ambition. Great men do not chose their wars, they fight whenever and wherever necessary for the advancement of the communities they serve. Alexander the Great and Shaka Zulu stood tall even in defeat, for their majesty was not measured in wealth, plunder or privilege. But measured in the rightfulness of the principles they fought for. Great men of valor are found throughout the pages of history, most often avoiding the limelight while uplifting their brethren, and sharing their conquests with the humble. Great men of honor don't count coup on the fallen, but help them rebuild and regain their full stature.

The greatest fear in the upcoming fight for American decency, is that in the push to get past Trump's xenophobia, and his bigoted, myopic plutocracy, the opposition in all parties, may be reaching too far to the left-of-center, and embracing philosophies that are inappropriate in any occidental scenario. American societal interaction is most effective when channeled in a pluralizing all-inclusive direction. The one percent factor that currently prevails is impractical and will, in the short term, incite the less fortunate to insurrection. When one percent of a nation holds more wealth than forty percent of the remainder, a self-adjusting repudiation of prevailing policy is inevitable, and can be achieved through legislative reapportionment, Or through the destructive forces of revolution. But without doubt, realignment will proceed as inevitably as the changing of the guards. For nature abhors imbalance as impractical, inefficient and counterproductive. America's income inequality will be the bane of her productivity unless the burden of her social responsibility is adjusted to reflect accountability. From those to whom much has been given, much shall be asked in return. And when the grim equalizer comes calling, those who satisfied their avarice at the expense of their brethren, will pay in full measure for having dispensed of their humanity. History is rife with examples of the bitter fruits of avarice. And equally filled with precautionary tales of rectitude. In redemption we find repentance for the sins of gluttony. And prevail upon the rich that if they wish is to pass through the camel's eye, they must first divest of misconceived concepts of true destiny.

The camel's eye in biblical philosophy was a narrow gate in the city's walls that permitted limited access or egress to travelers and traders. In modern terms a camel's eye could be a portal or worm hole, through which man acquires access to limitless knowledge, and the resources to utilize it for good or evil, based on his concept of man's capacity to predetermine his moral destination. Material satisfaction as a destination must be tempered with concern for fellow man. Must be the objective of the community, not the privilege of the few, and be guided by fair-play in all its interactions. When there are thousands of children whose lives are forever distorted, forcefully separated from their parents as they languish in cages, fair-play is not a term often heard in connection with their sorry condition. The power-brokers in Washington don't weigh the lives of children when they calculate the cost of maintaining their markets. Market share is more important to them, than the welfare of displaced populations fleeing intolerable conditions perpetuated through no fault of their own. Global warming is at the heart of their plight, but short-sighted politicians only see the overflowing cages on the border. In downtown Guatemala City the revenuers count their dollars, but cannot see the burning milpas in El Peten district. Where, for the cost of a few dollars, they could alleviate the suffering that is causing the peasants to flee for their lives. For though the drought is extensive, a little brain-power and a few dollars could channel water resources to the most stricken areas. Where subterranean water has not dried up, it is just beyond the reach of impoverished milperos. Let Washington know that it will cost less to dig a few wells than to play host to displaced thousands who have no desire to live in cages on her border in the first place.

The permanent psychological damage done to those children will become apparent in just a few years. And they will still be in the US, because to repatriate that many will prove impossible. So brace yourself god-father, because the demon of your making is coming home to roost sooner than you expected. The price you are now paying will look like chicken-feed compared to the price you will soon pay, after Donald Trump is long gone, and forgotten. And the lives you have distorted will come back to haunt you as you lay sleepless while your cities are burning. He of course, will blame the Latinos, and somehow incorporate the Negroes, into the cause of the disruption that he has wrought. For his kind will always remain blameless, when the grapes of wrath flourish in the cesspools of discontentment fomented by the political false promises he has made. Even as the ramparts are burning in a conflagration of his own making, he will somehow blame the Democrats, the Latinos, et al. For the Democrats hold the House, and will soon take the Senate, Which will give him complete cover for the years of waste and plunder that he has presided over in a political plutocracy based in Mar-A-Lago. "Out, out, brief candle, life is but a walking shadow...." and you too shall meet your Waterloo, but in your case, without honor. The foot-soldiers of the revolution, fifty-strong neophyte congresswomen, are manning the ramparts in preparation for confrontation with the old-guard Republicans in the senate. Led by Mitch Mcconnell, whose demise is past due, and who has no respect for the institution in which he serves. No legislation in the Senate is presented for a vote that is not promoted by his own party. In other words, he is promoting legislation by a single party, one-party-rule that is anathema to the precepts of democracy, and craved only by those who cannot abide multi-party arbitration.

The comeuppance of the situation will be political discrimination brought to a level not perceived in forty generations. And the Republicans should fear the fallout, for when they become the minority, the same rules will apply to them equally. In a parliamentary democracy, the party rules apply more stringently, for if you wish to oppose legislative proposals you need only cross the floor. In the American, Republican Senate, only one man has shown the courage to stand up for what he thinks is right, in opposition to a plutocratic, misogynist, pathological president. Justin Amash has left his party, and become an independent senator, rather than hypocritically trying to sustain Donald Trump's attempts to emasculate the three-part system. House, Senate, and executive are supposed to be three separate but equal bodies, vying to put forth the best possible choices for the betterment of the people who elect them. Amash has found them wanting, and in the true spirit of a patriot, has called out the hypocrisy he has seen unfolding. More power to you hero, and if your constituents do not return you to your rightful place in Washington, then at least you can stand proud and say that you went down fighting for what you believed in. And the world will be a better place, because one man, torn and covered in scars, still fought with his last ounce of courage, to reach the unreachable stars, to dream the impossible dream.... And now the British Ambassador has joined him in condemnation of this "inept, incompetent, and insecure" president. A president who as an upstart tycoon, trying to make his name as a playboy, used to compare notes and trophies with the now registered sex-offender, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, for the conquest of pubescent, hopeful, young starlets in the Palm Springs playground. How many more will find the courage to take a stand for decency? To turn out this administration, and hold high the torch of justice lighting the way toward the Viking's Valhalla, the home of fallen heroes and no-one less. And no place that Donald Trump can ever dream of achieving.

Courage is a tonic, served in meager measure, that brings forth the heroic posture of all that possess it. That causes small men to stand tall, and tall men who fail to embrace it, to fall. Men who wear the courage of their convictions like a shield, are immune to the seduction of materialistic considerations, and grow with each stride forward in stature and presence. Confronting the infidel with confidence of purpose, while comforting the forgotten with words of reassurance. The infidel is defined as one having harmony with the devil. But who determines the true being that is the devil? The devil is portrayed as dark, dangerous, and infinitely villainous, and opposed to the angels who are white, of light, and brilliantly shining. That would place the devil's origins in blackest Africa; and the angel's domain in lily-white Antarctica. But given that the average human person is not prone to self-destruction, would presume that his preference would be for the former. For though the fires of hell burn more fiercely in warmer regions, the thought of freezing, frost-bite and exposure, puts a chill on alternative reasoning. All the great empires of history seemed to gravitate toward more temperate geographic locations, which would seem practical, as there, there is less need for protective insulation. But in that realm, there is limited scope for wealth creation. So unrequited adventurers mounted expeditions to the more extreme regions, where frivolous rumor placed ample bounty within reach for easy taking.

Some might make an argument for comparing the dozens of shattered lives of the young girls abused with impunity by Donald Trump's friend and conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein. With the thousands of amputated lives of children incarcerated in the president's cages on the southern border. Both face indeterminate futures filled with the scarred memories of exploitation perpetrated by powerful men in positions of authority granted them by extreme wealth or unfortunate circumstance, A child fleeing certain death in drought stricken Guatemala, across two thousand miles of forced migration, along with thousands of others, in the hands of ruthless 'coyotes' transacting Mexico. With hope in their hearts for a civil welcome in benevolent America. Or a young girl, living in poverty having bright baubles dangled before her by an indiscriminate sexual predator. Both face shattered lives at the culmination of great expectations. And the common denominator is the unseen presence and fetid influence of Donald Trump. President of the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the earth. Whose spoken word could transform the lives of thousands. But bigotry conscripts his capacity for magnanimity. Abdication the only solution, and reintroduction of a conscientiousness familiar to those who served prior to the cataclysmic intrusion of his pugnacious administration.

In a peculiar twist, that administration just caved on a determined push to have a person/citizen's status added to the upcoming census' request for pertinent information. That information would determine the distribution of government funding, and demarcate the boundaries of certain ethnic, social and political constituencies. If manipulated well, it could prescribe a lower count to undesirable neighborhoods, and delay the inevitable decline in White participation. It could preclude immigrant populations from equal representation, and ensure White minority rule in Black and Brown communities. It could ensure discriminatory funding for hospitals and schools, and social services. And grant the White minority a brief reprieve from their declining status. So to assuage the loss in the census count, he has proclaimed a draconian enumeration of undesirable populations by social service providers. One way or another, this plutocracy intends to parlay the status quo into a prolonged, yet futile, preservation. A collection of staid old White men, Donald Trump's republicans are facing irrelevance and a journey into oblivion. While House speaker Nancy Pelosi heads a kaleidoscope of youthful energy. An agglomeration of ethnic diversity that is truly representative of America's future.

Howard A. Frankson -- Belize