A series of essays....
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| ATHLETIC TEAMS WEAR COORDINATED COLORS |
Photo Courtesy of Ali Siskind
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
When I conjure up someone wearing a uniform, it takes me back to my older brother, Ronnie, who was a Cub Scout for several years. Nearly four years older than me, I was in awe of his navy blue uniform trimmed in yellow and a bright yellow sash bedecked with colorful patches bestowed on him due to his own hard work and diligence. When he placed the matching cap on his head before walking with dad to the car to attend a meeting, I felt he was the bravest and most handsome boy I would ever know.
In eighth grade I knew an older boy who believed he was already a man. Then, one day, he donned a uniform that took him to the exotic land known as Viêtnam where many young men like Joe learned that even men know how to cry. Joe came back home one day to receive his twenty-one gun salute and I cried for the lost innocence of a kind boy who cared so much about others, he was willing to die for us.
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| RESTAURANTOSAURUS LOCATED IN DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM WHERE ALI HAD HER FIRST POSITION |
Our oldest daughter secured an internship with Disney during her final semester at Michigan State University and was one of the hundreds of young people who were trained to open the newest theme park called Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in April of 1998. She became a 'cast member' working in food service and I smile thinking about her crisp, overly animated, pinstriped uniform (costume) that took her anxious minutes to put on before her shift, as well as take off afterwards. She enjoyed her job very much but was very happy to relinquish that uncomfortable uniform when she moved on to her next Disney position.
A uniform might consist of a suit and tie, pencil skirt with coordinating jacket and comfortable heels, that we wear to the office; the uniform of military personnel, police officers, or firefighters who serve to defend and protect us; any particular school’s colors or professionally coordinated colors worn by athletes during combat when attempting to defeat another team; or, happily, the wait staff at our favorite local restaurant.
In simple terms, a uniform is an identifying outfit or style of dress worn by the members of a given profession, organization, or rank that helps their members to stand out from the crowd so that they can be easily recognizable, as well as distinguish them for the service they do.
I believe that by wearing a uniform it gives a person a feeling of belonging and inclusiveness while working together on the same team with a common goal in mind. Please remember this thought as you read on.
So, on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit the 45th president of the United States on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, ending a historic Senate trial that was centered on his conduct toward Ukraine but that did not include live witnesses or new documents. Like many of us, I calmly sat in a state of numbness and contemplated the future.
Funny how things randomly travel through our minds and we attempt to decipher and catalog them as best we can. One of my first thoughts was about wearing uniforms. I was thinking to myself that now would be the perfect time for 45 to conjure up his own uniform for the rank and file that are so determined to follow him, carry out his orders, and be jubilant about the demise of democracy and freedom in general. Right?
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| THE NEW UNIFORM OF WHITE SUPREMACY ASSEMBLED IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA |
Courtesy Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The flowing, white robe with pointed hat has been taken; as has the crisp khaki pant and polo shirt combo which debuted in Charlottesville, Virginia recently, accessorized with the lit tiki torch and old standards, the Nazi and Confederate flags. The uniform of white hate is now mundane and the stuff of everyday American life. ‘All gown-up and in Hitler’s (45’s) shadow.’ Yes, it is haunting.
I could neither confirm nor deny the Daily Kos article entitled, ‘The Trump cult’s top lieutenants now have their own uniforms By Aldous J. Pennyfarthing / Daily Kos (02/11/2020).’ I always enjoy reading the articles in the Daily Kos but questioned the validity of this particular author, for obvious reasons. I have discovered this: Aldous J. Pennyfarthing is the pen name of Tom Breuer, blogger and insult comic author, who has published on Amazon four comedy based books about the Trump presidency including a #1 Best Seller, Dear Pr*sident A**clown: 101 More Rude Letters to Donald Trump. The amazing things that research will pull-up for you never fail to intrigue me.
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| REPUBLICAN SENATOR, LINDSEY GRAHAM, WEARING TRUMP-BRANDED MERCHANDISE ON FOX NEWS |
Courtesy Fox News
So, if you can imagine my amazement upon hearing about this story so soon after correlating 45’s cult relationship with the possibility of his lieutenants wearing uniforms along with the new uprising of white supremacy...it was heart wrenching. Pennyfarthing’s (Breuer's) article for the Daily Kos describes how “Representative Mark Meadows and Senator Lindsey Graham deny the Trump cult talk on Fox & Friends while wearing Trump-branded merchandise that puts money directly into their cult leader’s pocket.” How fitting.
It was, also, a lesson in laughter for me. After keeping the serious harm being done to this country, and unleashed by 45 on a daily basis, pent-up inside for so long, many of us need a trickle of diversion just to maintain our sanity. I must say that reading about Aldous J. Pennyfarthing worked for me. I don’t smile as often today as I used to. However, Pennyfarthing has helped me to see how humor can be our friend, as well as a great equalizer.
Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
