Just to be clear

I try to stay in my bubble.

I focus on beauty,

people and places I love.

 I read words that uplift my spirit and challenge me to grow.

I capture moments with my camera

and in my minds eye. 

I contemplate the world and my life's meaning

while sitting on my deck, 

listening to night sounds.

But the world intrudes;

it creeps in and sinks into my ears;

it worms its way down to my heart.

I’m just here to reaffirm that the current state of affairs in our country is not normal.

A long term enemy of this country interfered in our election process 

and continues to influence those occupying positions of power.

Immigration officers raid hospital rooms and schools, 

tearing children away from their parents, 

inflicting trauma that will reverberate for a lifetime.

Human rights for the LGBTQ community are eroding.

Environmental protections are vanishing; 

the earth is being looted, ecosystems destroyed and polluted, 

possibly beyond repair.

Puerto Rico is still in shambles – 

8 months after being slammed by a massive hurricane – 

and we turn a blind eye,

even as we face another storm season.

People in our country, 
the richest country in the world, 

are without potable, clean water in their own homes.

(ex Flint, MI and many communities in Appalachia)

Hate crimes are on the rise in all areas of the country.

Gun sales and murder rates continue to escalate 

with little response from elected officials; 

officials who have been bought and paid for by the gun lobby; 

officials who value campaign contributions over the lives of their constituents.

Medical care for thousands has been compromised by sabotaging the Affordable Care Act 

and bankruptcies due to medical expenses are once again on the rise after years of decline.

‘Christians’ distort basic tenants of the very Gospel they profess to live by –

refusing to show hospitality to strangers, 

refusing to feed the hungry, 

refusing to give shelter to the homeless, 

refusing to LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. 

‘Christians’ embrace a pathological liar, a serial breaker of marital vows, 

a corrupt businessman who lies, swindles and cheats as easily as he breathes.

Feigned outrage over some off color remarks from a female comedian

while wholeheartedly embracing that same quality in a leader “who tells it like it is” 

is the very definition of hypocrisy.

Sorry, friends, 

when you accept a man who spews hate and proudly displays his ignorance, 

you forfeit any moral high ground.

Facts are no longer ‘facts’; 

they are inconveniences to be twisted, distorted and debated.

Science is suspect.

The rule of law is for all us in flyover country, not those in the White House.

Taking an oath “to solemnly preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” 

was merely another vow he had no intention of keeping.

A revolving door where “the best people” enter 

and soulless hacks with ruined careers are spit back out months later, 

having failed the loyalty test created in the bottomless ego pit of a narcissistic man-child

is this Administrations M.O.

Everything is contextual, malleable and ever changing

It’s all smoke and mirrors, “nothing to see here” and “look at the shiny new thing”.

It’s beyond comprehension.

It defies all logic.

Make no mistake, 

while this has become our new ‘norm’,

it is not normal –

nor should we ever accept it as such. 

 Just to be clear:
it may look bleak,
because it's not over yet,

but it's not over yet.