The 1966 Vietnam era Simon and Garfunkel song came to mind the other day. The 7 o’clock news is reported with Silent Night in the background, the national and world news report gradually growing louder, the presentation powerful. Fast forward nearly sixty years for a similar play with different actors. Death and destruction reign. We war endlessly, currently in Gaza and Ukraine. Innocent civilians always suffer the most. Drought, fire and flood born from climate change, a new actor, and even earthquakes assault again and again. Canadian fire and smoke in our cities, Greek wild fires, Lahaina burned to the ground. Destitute villages in Syria and Afghanistan shake and crumble to the ground. Misery and futility reign supreme.
Here, i.e., us: U.S. Supreme Court ethical disregard, Roe v Wade repeal; Trump and more Trump, the Jan 6 insurrection, ‘witch hunt’ ad nauseam, stolen election, election fraud, criminal indictments; COVID pandemic, anti-vaxxers and public health deniers; U.S. House chaos; budget failures, repeated threat of government shutdowns. Second Amendment distortion, gun violence: AR-15 huggers, school lockdown drills and massacres, Sandy Hooks, Uvalde’s unrecognizable 4th graders. Nothing changes, no light at the end of the tunnel of death. Where are we going in this endless circle? America should hang its head in shame. Does shame still have a face? Same play, different actors. Silent Night’s news still resonates, 57 years later.
Bob Lux
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