A series of essays.....
~THE AUTHOR ON A GOOD DAY~ |
.....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
Personal Life Lessons and 'Questions To Self' I've
Encountered During the Trump Era: Before, during his campaign, and after his
presidency began. Not, necessarily, in any particular or chronological order
with some (most) rendered as deeply personal and emotional. A good friend recently told
me that I am certainly not alone in my angst.
At this point, I still choose to yell each one of these out loud
at the top of my lungs because, somehow, it helps to make me feel a little bit
better.
~ Don't you see that what was once perceived as fun and
folly is now recognized as childish and immature behavior?
~ Don't you see that innocence has died and is being
replaced by fear, hatred, retaliation, and an incalculable sense of loss? People
have, are, and will suffer (possibly die) from your actions!
~ Don't you see that my profound feeling of simplistic
trust and the self-righteous belief that someone or thing (government) will
always have my back, in good times as in bad, has been thinned down to a bare minimum?
~ Don't you understand that unconditional love means
just that? Not subject to any conditions with no strings attached. I embrace
this concept. What about you?
~ Don't you understand that death is inevitable? We have
no realistic control over it. It will take us all by surprise or not.....whether
we like it or not, one day. This is why we appreciate, with all of our being,
those we love while we can.
~ Don't you realize that no amount of riches, birth
rights, or fame makes anyone smarter, less vulnerable, or better off than the
person standing across the room from you? We are in this game of life together.
We must help one another to make it work out for the benefit of all.
~ Don't you realize that mocking, belittling, and
calling others by hurtful names only promotes your own weakened character and
will, ultimately, lead to your own demise? You are a failure if you do not see
yourself, kindly, in others.
~ Don't you know that bullies are loners who must
implant fear in those around them in order to command, what a bully might
perceive as, their loyalty and respect? It's an illusion. You are
no more than a Las Vegas magic act with no redeeming value.
~ Don't you understand that the color of your skin,
whether you were born female or male, rich or poor, Christian, a follower of
Muhammad, or an atheist, none of these labels define who you truly are? We all
belong to the human race. Each one of us share equal importance as participants in this life.
~ Don't you understand that in order to receive respect
from others you must learn that others need you to respect them, as well? Have
you ever been taught the meaning of this valuable word, respect? Oh, and it's
pretty well acknowledged that if you don't respect others, you pretty much have
never respected yourself. In this regard, you are only too
transparent.
~ Don't you see that your take on degrading women by
categorizing their appearance, treating them as sexual objects, and taking away
their right to control their own body makes you a small person with a crippled
insight into the entire other half of this world? Did your own Mother not teach
you any better? Did she even bother to have you understand a woman's worth at
all?
~ Don't get me started on your apparent lack of
education (!!!) and not knowing how to handle yourself in public. A person who hides
behind social media is a person who fears contact with others unless he/she is
in 'bullying mode' and wishfully believes that they are in total control.
~ Don't you realize, by the way, that social media is
NOT your friend? It may get your several syllables worth out to your 'base.' You
might believe you're getting your point across to the world in one hundred and
forty characters....or less. However, you have marginalized your intelligence
and placed the position of President of the United States in a gravely weakened
position of influence and power. You have succeeded in relegating our nation's
mainstream (middle class) to the fringes of society by making them seem
unimportant, nearly worthless.
~ Don't kid yourself. You feel similarly about your
so-called 'base,' also. Pawns for your amusement. Drop them like a hot potato
after they've been used-up!
~ Don't you see that your lies encompass your entire
personality? Your temperament is like dealing with any child who is confronted by an
authoritative figure. You contort the truth so handily that it must have been a
trait given to you at birth. You've perfected it well. Most of us understood
early on that what comes out of your mouth (or tweet) shall be turned one
hundred and eighty degrees in order for it to, actually, apply to the situation at
hand.
~ Finally, and most interestingly, do you believe in
karma? I do. Do you even know what this word means? Probably not because if you
did, you'd be more aware of what you are doing in this world you have been given so much
legal control over. Or, would you?
You must believe in destiny or fate because you push the
envelope of both throughout your waking hours. The main principle behind karma is,
and I'll put it so that you can understand, what garbage you throw out of your
window and splashes onto the street, as it does upon the inhabitants of the village,
will inevitably come back to splash you in the face with all its dank murkiness
and unsavory ramifications, sooner or later. In Theology this is referred to
as the doctrine of inevitable consequence.
This distinctive negative aura, atmosphere, or feeling
that surrounds you in every way leads most of us to believe that there is bad
karma inside of the White House today. There is bad karma circling around Capitol
Hill with its hate-mongers, heretics, and their excessive greed. There is bad
karma surrounding unrestrained gun enthusiasts and white supremacists, alike.
But, because you are their most influential cheerleader, your current status has
awakened a profound and privileged sense of bravado in those too ignorant to
comprehend plain, ordinary good judgment!
Don't you see that between your oversized ego and the
ration of fear you continue to feed your minions on a daily basis, your fate
will come to bite you in the backside with such a vengeance you won't even know
what bit you for sure. The world was your oyster handed to you on a
Presidential gold plated (in your case) platter. You were too ignorant, too into yourself, and too
easily influenced by power, greed, and gluttony to even pretend to want to make this
world a better place to live in.
I still continue to learn new life lessons every day. If
I'm honest with myself, the strongest lesson I must reintroduce into my life is
the power of Hope. If I can feel Hope in my heart once again, I will then work
on Trust. Two steps back and one step forward....making progress towards a sense
of normalcy, after enduring the stupidity of the past year, appears arduous yet,
astonishingly, still achievable.
Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved