“And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming”- Simon and Garfunkel
When Paul Simon began penning the classic song Sound of Silence, in 1963, America was on the toes of Vietnam and the heels of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Then as now, the deafening sound of silence cut through insanity and searched for common decency. Unlike the keen efficiency of the Kennedy administration cutting through adversity, the dull hacking of the political branches by the Trump regime has the bough on the verge of breaking. Donald Trump has taken his personal vendetta and fear of getting caught into the halls of the people who are charged with our literal safety; the CIA, the F.B.I and special prosecutor Robert Mueller. Let me not be hypocritical and assign false praise to Brennan, the Department of Justice or Robert Mueller. As a black child of the 60s and 70s, I saw enough grievous injustice to last a lifetime. Everything from a real dossier amassed to stop the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., to the recent indiscriminate drone strikes ordered by Brennan. I had as much of a Trump-world free weekend as possible these past two days but the reprieve was short-lived. Like a ghostly voice bouncing off the walls of an empty mansion, the tweets and sound bites of Trump echoed in the halls of my silence once again. I came back home to the news of the former CIA director [John Brennan] having his security clearance revoked with the calls for a potential set of witnesses from our security apparatus under the same threat. Rudy Giuliani trying to displace Kellyanne Conway with the latest version of ‘alternative facts’ with his “truth isn’t truth” remark. The pièce de résistance was First Lady Melania Trump, today. After a week and weekend of insulting tweets by her husband, including calling a former, black female staff member, ‘that dog’ she renewed her call to stop bullying under the auspices of her BeBest.gov campaign. Yes, the irony staggers me too. Even sadder is the rallying behind the President by gutless Republicans who are not only twisting but snapping that pretzel into a thousand pieces trying to defend the petty, vindictive actions of a small-minded man. One who holds the once most respected office of government in the world. Imagine the Republican reaction if in 2020 the Democratic President publicly tries to embarrass Mike Pompeo and takes away his security clearance because he says some, mean things. Oh, logic would tell you that no politician would be that openly hypocritical, but I dare you to say that to Merrick Garland, or confront Senator Mitch McConnell(R-Ky). The Republican Majority Leader decried Democratic obstruction but he convened a cadre of Republicans prior to the first Inauguration of President Obama and vowed to make Obama a “one term President.” Former White House Counsel John Dean was famous for talking about a “cancer on the presidency” well, the remission is over and again the disease of power has overtaken the good cells of the body politic.
"Fools," said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you" But my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of silence”- Simon and Garfunkel
Vote in ’18 for Change.