Hoptimistically Challenged
- Limetree
- Jan 5
- 2 min read
Five years ago – remember? The riot – I turned on my car radio to hear the Capitol had been breached and immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
Well, I think we all know who incited that, but today some of those marchers, heroes as they have been called by some, are commemorating their great day with another march. Meanwhile protesters are picketing the White House with billboards calling its occupant Traitor.
Traitor to what? The Constitution that he swore an oath to protect I suppose. Since taking office a year ago, the march to dictatorship, which began rapidly, seems to be gaining more speed. The judicial branch has been locked up, Congress ignored and now the military appears to have caved to an authoritarian government.
What is particularly difficult for me to understand is continued support for Trump with high prices via tariffs which are basically a tax on consumers (remember the claim prices down on Day 1); less affordable health care; military occupations of cities; and regularly incoherent leadership. Is this really what people wanted? Trumpers are incapable of any kind of criticism, it is truly the cult of personality. Should I just shut up and admit I’m in the minority or are there voters out there who are beginning to suspect they’ve been bamboozled?
What began as domestic strong-arming is now ballooning into imperialistic ambition, even using a 200-year-old justification (the Monroe Doctrine) to bully neighbors, and that from a supposedly non-interventionist President. This would seemingly give other global powers, namely Russia and China, the justification to do the same, and where will that end?
I became a citizen of this country because I embraced freedom, opportunity and optimism. The way things are going, freedom of speech is only for those who agree with the government, opportunity only for those who don’t need it, and optimism, well that’s hard even for an eternal optimist like myself (actually hoptimist in my case).
Last November, at the invitation of Jeannine Marois and the Mondial de la Biere festival, I flew up to Quebec to attend the Quebec City Microbrewers Conference.
Landing at Quebec City the customs officer asked the usual questions about the purpose of my visit but apparently my usual answers were not satisfactory and I was detained. OK, it was only for an hour but it had never happened before in my many trips to Canada.
I was directed into a room with many desks, tables, and other customs officers. There followed about 45 minutes of questions, a thorough check of my luggage (no, I didn’t get a strip search), and finally a phone call to Mme Marois to verify my situation.
My interviewer was polite and less confrontational than the original officer and sent me on my way – maybe he noted the sticker on my suitcase, “Always Be Nice”. I figured it was all probably a little payback for being American (I don't blame you, Canadians)…and I’m thinking for Americans traveling abroad this kind of treatment is likely to increase given the arrogant view of the world the current administration has put on the face of the US.
And now for some Limetree Roadside PubCafe Relaxation, Contemplation and Reflection:
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