THE EXOTIC ELIXIR OF PACIFICATION

A series of essays....

OPPRESSION ON A GRAND SCALE:
GREAT FAMINE NATIONAL MONUMENT, COUNTY MAYO, IRELAND
WITH CROAGH PATRICK IN THE BACKGROUND 

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Have you ever tried to pacify a small child? If so, you have earned your first merit badge in the fine art of patience/diplomacy. Even if you were not one hundred percent successful, you must know that you have learned quite a bit about your own personality and strengths after all is said and done.

I remember that it would always take a calm, soothing voice of reason to bring to and restore a state of peace and tranquility into the world of a small child whose feathers have been ruffled because certain demands have not been met (especially, in a timely manner) as far as they were concerned. Nine times out of ten this all came to pass in a public setting with millions of curious souls milling around, wishing you the best with their eyes and blissfully content that it was happening to you and not them. 

Throw a dash of bribery and a pinch of promises into this exotic elixir of pacification and you have one mystifying concoction that should be bottled and sold to every couple hoping for or anticipating a first child. Liquid Pacification. Directions: One spoonful taken during the red-faced and trembling stages and just prior to the full-blown onslaught of a mighty tantrum. Often useful towards maintaining the sanity of all participants.

Whether we like it or not, 45 has turned most of us into that desperate parent trying to calm the overgrown child with our soothing voice of reason. We are on one of the largest public stages now, performing our pacification rituals for all the world to see because one of the most unpredictable, self-possessed, and spoiled brats of all time is tearing us away from anyone who ever looked-up to or hoped to emulate our kindness, the pledge of being “indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” and protecting the right to be different...all attributes associated with democracy and the United States of America. Our toddler leader accepts our deterioration of all things good with inhumane anticipation and tremendous joy!

I must say, we’ve all been nice to a fault for the past several years while putting-up with his hate, greed, and malicious behavior. We are good, kind parents who have tolerated his tantrums placing all of our hopes of renewal in one tidy basket only to be mystified by the short-comings of our possible lone hero, Robert Mueller. (He should have followed the money trail!) Unfortunately, we’ve learned the hard way that even ‘super heroes’ have their vulnerable, human side.

If we don't shrug-off the mantle of oppression soon and stop the pacification process of 45 and all of his intolerable cronies, 'We the People' will lose the 'Blessings of Liberty' within our lifetime.

Every person I know who possesses a soul and a conscious, is benevolent to a fault, and exercises their rights as a tax-payer and Social Security contributor since their first W-2 job could use a bottle of this elaborate mixture just to get through his or her own daily routine. Certainly, becoming numb to a very bad situation would placate us...temporarily, but the crisis we face under 45’s regime will not go away unless we all do something...now! 

45 will always be the little boy who never received enough love growing-up; the man/boy who’s been given everything (including our exotic elixir of pacification) yet, consistently revels in the fact that there will always be heavy consequences connected to his every action. When you believe the world revolves around you, no elixir (unwritten laws based on basic faith and humanity and honored by good men and women) will be able to subdue the man or a country that remains divided by racism. 

It is taking the break-down of all that we believe in to see that by giving one spoiled, untamed, over-privileged bully maximum power by becoming president, our status of strength and benevolence as a nation is swiftly disappearing. Bullies are easily bribed, manipulated, and driven by the fact that, “If I can, I will.” Bullies enable other bullies. Warning: Great Nations have fallen for much less than this...

Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

DON'T YOU SEE?

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