Sharon Kennedy: Fogging a mirror is dangerous
I’m aware that anyone who can “fog a mirror” can be a writer. It doesn’t take talent as much as it takes endurance. Sixty-five years ago, I began writing stories and poems. I even wrote a couple letters to the editor of our local newspaper, but Mom said it might not be a good idea to mail them. She knew I wasn’t a popular student so she didn’t want to give my classmates another reason to dislike me. In a small hick town like Brimley, any girl who showed a speck of political awareness quickly became a target.
Fast forward to today. If I had continued taking Mom’s advice, I’d never have started writing for a newspaper. And if Donald Trump had stayed out of politics, I never would have started voicing my political opinions. Without DJT, his attempted coup, and followers who drank his Kool-Aid, I would have continued writing about my cheerful childhood or the lovely springtime we’re having or the birthday I’ll celebrate tomorrow.
But, alas, Trump’s mastery of kitsch landed him in the White House, and because I’m still capable of fogging a mirror, I won’t keep my opinions to myself. It’s my belief his disciples fall into three camps. One is filled with billionaires willing to do anything to get and keep him in power so their enormous tax cuts and deregulations will continue unchecked. The second camp is composed of traditional Republicans who got caught up in his shtick and are too embarrassed to admit they made a mistake. Members of the third camp are too thick to realize that Trump is dangerous. They’ll stick with him to the bitter end.
Normally, I wouldn’t call anyone “thick,” but I refuse to be like that milquetoast, Merrick Garland. Why is it the MAGA crowd can cuss and threaten and bludgeon anyone who disagrees with them, but when we show some spine, MAGAs say they’re being picked on? The Boss and his gang of adult crybabies can dish it out, but they can’t take it.
The crowd I’d like to reach won’t read this. They’re cowards. They’ll strut and fret and think Trump will deliver them from all their woes. Maybe he will, but oldsters are fooling themselves if they believe him. They’re handing an anarchist political torch to their children and grandchildren. Why? Is trading democracy for whatever Trump has on offer so enticing it has blinded them? They’ll be a-mouldering in their graves, leaving their loved ones to face the equivalent of Brownshirts, not freedom, if Trump becomes president.
What will it take to awaken rational segments of the electorate from their stupor? It’s not too late to reject the rantings of a deranged man. Listen to Republicans who testified before the Jan. 6 Select Committee. It’s easy to call them RINOs, but that’s a cop-out. Where has the Grand Old Party gone? Would Ronnie Reagan be proud of what it’s become? Does his spirit visit MAGAs and congratulate them on worshiping a convicted rapist?
What happened to the party of law and order? Trading in our form of government isn’t like trading in a Chevy for a Ford. Once democracy is gone, it’s like the horse that ran away. It ain’t comin’ back. If you think re-writing our Constitution will favor the Red Hats, you better wake up. Continue supporting DJT and you’ll regret putting your X by the name of a false prophet.
I’ll keep fogging the mirror until Nov. 5. Whatever happens after that is up to you. I’ve done my part in sounding the DJT alarm.
— To contact Sharon Kennedy, send her an email at sharonkennedy1947@gmail.com. Kennedy's new book, "View from the SideRoad: A Collection of Upper Peninsula Stories," is available from her or Amazon.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Sharon Kennedy: Fogging a mirror is dangerous
