AGING WITH KINDNESS AND GRACE

 

A series of essays….

JOE BIDEN’S AMERICAN PROMISE TOUR—JANUARY 28, 2018

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Believing that age is merely a number and we’re only as old as we feel, my heart aches yet is thrilled at the same time with regards to President Biden’s decision to place country over self and country over party. He knew he chose the right running mate. Still—my love and respect for this man, coupled with the desire to have him move on into a second term, will never diminish. In fact, his courage in dropping his campaign and backing his highly capable running mate has heightened my appreciation of his selfless act of love for the people.

Growing up in the 1950’s in Northern Indiana, religion and (especially) politics were never topics bounced back and forth between my parents, or any relatives in general. Which kind of coleslaw, creamy or classic, Mom would make this year for the family reunion, or who got brand new boots that winter, or which burger restaurant we chose for our Saturday night treat were the closest topics up for discussion and debate.

Because of their open silence regarding politics and world events, I often wonder if the adults in my life even cared about what was happening outside of their little bubble, especially when the cruelty of the Joseph McCarthy era, the ideological clash between communism and capitalism, ushered in the decade following WWII.

Maybe this was a good thing and I should be thanking my lucky stars to have been saved a lot of worry and grief through my highly vulnerable years. It was the assassination of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy in the 1960’s that quickly pulled me into the political scene. Politics became the bridge between my high school years and college career.

I wasn’t the only one. Students on campuses all over the country harbored doubts about their political leadership and discussed, as well as challenged ways to make a positive change going into the future.

Last Sunday, President Joe Biden reconfirmed for so many of us our belief in this good, selfless man running our country. I am proud to have been a part of the 36% who supported the Biden re-election campaign and believe that Joe Biden has led us with intellect, grace and dignity.

Some say that with the exit of Joe Biden in this presidential race, Kamala Harris is the ‘shot in the arm’ that Democrats need to move forward with their political agenda. If you really want to know about a person, you talk to their history: a District Attorney for San Francisco, Attorney General for the State of California, a United States Senator, and Vice President under Joe Biden.

Joe’s life lessons via quotes help to define the man: “Grandpa said, ‘Joey, keep the faith.’ Grandma said, ‘No Joey, you must spread the faith.’ “

My emotions have run full circle within the past several days. My heart is settling into a satisfied rhythm. I will find extreme comfort in Joe’s leadership in the next six months and in Kamala Harris come next January. As I have stated before, Joe knew he made the right choice in his running mate. Now it’s Kamala’s turn to do the same. 

(I believe that Senator Mark Kelly would be a phenomenal choice for Kamala Harris as her running mate—for many solid reasons.)

Copyright © 2024 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

KEEPING AMERICA SMART

 

A series of essays….

STAYING STRONG AND UNIFIED UNDER THE BIDEN/HARRIS TICKET

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

To keep America smart, you must assume that it was smart at some time in the past.  

And, it was....before Washington D.C. became 'the swamp' following the November 8, 2016 election, it had been a semblance of a fair and balanced ecosystem that incorporated all people, faiths, and ideologies within its borders. In a heartbeat, it was being drained of its kindness and left vulnerable and open to greed, fear, and foreign influence!

You would be correct in believing that we've always been vulnerable to all of the above. And, I could now list a litany of opportunities by the USA that many of us believe could and should have been resolved years ago such as the constant struggles with women's rights, racism, gun control, climate change, and immigration.

What we are fighting hard for today is to retain our democracy, reinstate check and balances to aid in a more stabilized balance of power, and save our Constitution from collapse by insuring that its general principles remain functioning as our founding fathers believed they would in order to protect all of us, not just the few who believe that money is more powerful than kindness and love.

When I see people fighting for our rights such as Representative Adam Schiff who has taken great pains to clarify exactly why the impeachment inquiry had taken place, tears come to my eyes. 

Said Schiff, "When the founders provided a mechanism in the Constitution for impeachment, they were worried about what might happen if someone unethical took the highest office in the land and used it for their personal gain and not because of deep care about the big things that should matter." 

Schiff concluded by saying, "The president believes he is above the law, beyond accountability. And, in my view, there is nothing more dangerous than an unethical president who believes they are above the law." We are most fortunate to have this gracious man, Adam Schiff, fighting for us and the Constitution of the United States. 

Unfortunately, Drumpf’s handpicked members of our Supreme Court eye this arrangement by our nation’s founders as wrong and haVe given this ‘horrible example of humankind’ the right to stand above the law with the ‘gift’ of immunity. This is not justice. This is stupidity and greed talking to us. And, its consequences may be fatal to all of the people of this great nation.

Yesterday was a much simpler time. I was young, accepting of authority, and embraced life through a child's eyes. Authoritarianism, Humbleness, Consolation, Maturity, and Loyalty all helped to mould, shape, influence, and build my character as an adult.  

I am, significantly, older now. I have lived through so much while making many decisions along with minor/major life changes. I have become book-smart, responsible, commonsensical, often goofy and carefree, with one of my greatest attributes being the ability to listen to what others have to say. Everyone is important and everyone has something they need to tell someone else. But, not everyone has the patience to....listen to them.

Aging and living a full life has taught me how important life's lessons are, whether good, bad, or indifferent.

While I was living out my childhood under the thumb of the authority figures who impacted my everyday life, I, more than likely, was making mental notes about what was going on within my own small world. Did I know or care about who the President of the United States was, what his or her job or purpose was? Probably not as much as I should have.

I know today, July of 2024, after a wildly successful first term as President, Joe Biden has reached deep within and pulled us out of a stinking hellhole specifically created by a twice impeached president who now, after leaving office, has 34 felony convictions under his belt. We all deserve much better than this!

Basic control over what others may say and do.....has always been the reason behind Drumpf’s existence; reversing Roe v. Wade is his success story. Removing our democratic roots in order to create his own dictatorship can be labeled his future plan.

I refuse to go backwards into the future!

The definitive progress made by mankind in the last several decades that was guided by mutual respect and understanding for one another and Mother Earth is about as far back in time as I choose to go. Most of us have worked way too hard to have all of our long fought battles reversed by people who want to shake-up our government, take back jobs that have been mechanized and are now non-existent, who fail to understand that lies and deception are the new rules and guidelines set-up by the very person they voted for in 2016, and is attempting to take charge again in 2024, and take the benefits of a decent life of education, health care, earned rights of Social Security benefits and Medicare back into the dark ages.

If 'The Dumbing-Up of America' serves the handful of enormously rich and greedy characters that desire to deny Americans their basic freedoms, hope will go by the wayside. The once great United States of America will tumble into a heap of rubble that cannot and will not be respected by the rest of the world. This decline has already become evident to many of us after Drumpf took office.

Is it too late, fellow Americans, to 'Keep America Smart?' If it isn't, we had better get our act together NOW and do something to renew our hope and faith in a nation that is quickly melting into the hands of foreign powers, unhealthy greed, and the frigid bonds of dictatorship. Maintaining the works in progress, as well as future endeavors, by our President, Joe Biden, is the best way to do this. With Vice President Harris beside him, we are in highly capable hands!

I offer strength to Joe and Kamala who are working so hard to correct the wrongs and reintroduce the right approach to our future and well-being. May their forward progress not be halted by squeamish politicians and supporters this late in the game. Supporting Joe and Kamala should be our main priority right now if maintaining democracy is our goal.

Copyright © 2024 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

SPONTANEOUS CELEBRATIONS

 

A series of essays....

PEOPLE CELEBRATE ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY
AFTER JOE BIDEN WAS DECLARED PRESIDENT-ELECT. A SPONTANEOUS
CELEBRATION OF PEOPLE LONG OVERDUE FOR CHANGE.

Courtesy of The New York Times

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Late in the morning of November 7, 2020, the world changed...significantly. Beneath facial-masks were cheeky grins layered with fresh dreams made possible by a Biden/Harris winning ticket. If you believed, how could you not feel a bit sassy and pleased? Four years of tension and anxiety had just snowballed down the ‘Mountain of Lost Hope’ and our collective ‘tears of relief’ were creating orange tinted rivers that flowed out into the mighty seas.

Someone I know and respect as a writer, teacher, and good human being recently posted a meme stating: “Trump is turning America into a Banana Republic.” If she were simply initiating a ‘writing prompt’ for her students, I completely understand that. Instantly, people from all over the world began to negatively comment on this meme and they were plentiful, hurtful, and exasperating. Amanda, the crazies have crawled out from beneath their rocks to concur with this statement. Do they wish the USA to experience similar circumstances in order to justify their own losses? I am here to say that we plan to stay focused and fight like hell not to be led down that rabbit hole any longer.

Democracy is only as good as the people who support it and help to make it work. Yes, it is with great sadness that I understand the last four years have been choreographed by 45 and other dictators and despicable politicians. Many people have suffered the hate and humiliation sponsored by them. We the people have fought long and hard to change the specifics of this passé performance by legally electing a strong and loyal team in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They are already working hard on removing the walls, complexities, and hatred that have been collecting for many years. It’s time to believe...

Our deliberate show of emotions, especially after the past four years of being torn down and humiliated in the eyes of the world, deserve the spontaneous celebrations offered by the oppressed citizens of this country. Do not worry. Our minor happy dances in the streets did not expend all of our energy or leave the coffers of Democracy empty and askew. If anything, our celebratory souls have been renewed and re-energized for the fight for freedom that is ahead of us. 

 

Elizabeth Gilbert, American journalist and author, best known for her 2006 memoir entitled, Eat, Pray, Love, has written all of us a letter specifying how she had battled depression years ago and made the realization that lying alone in bed, not sleeping, not reading, but thinking, was the most dangerous place to be. “Captivated by what I came to call “horizontal thinking”—the worse off I would be. What I cannot do in bed, if I want to survive the treacherous crevasses of my own mind, is think.”

She goes on to say, “I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but here it is: If you are physically able, get up now. Nothing good will ever come to you from horizontal thinking. Don’t let your mind win its most brutal game. You deserve better. Get vertical. Move your mind to a higher altitude where the view is better. You can do this.”

The view has certainly been looking much better, lately. Its vertical heights have empowered us while helping to shake-off the images of anxiety, shame, despair, regret, unworthiness, and past failures in a brilliant  attempt to avoid future catastrophes. For this important awareness alone, we deserve to celebrate. Thank you, Elizabeth, for your words of knowledge and encouragement!

Georgia, Georgia, Georgia—you are definitely on our minds.

We stand close by our President-elect and Vice-President-elect with our spirits uplifted even while acknowledging the fight for logic, freedom, and democracy that’s before us. In great numbers, we will be stronger, better. Rushing in, with Georgia on our minds, it is time to support the Democratic candidates, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, in a double-barreled Senate runoff election to be held on January 5, 2021. The outcome of this race will determine control of the Senate under the Biden administration for its first two years. 

Think again if you believe that Joe Biden alone can change the negative and destructive policies established by the current administration that heavily relied upon the support of Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader of the Senate. Understand how this combination has undermined our freedom and democracy for so long, even during the Obama era. Then, realize how important these two Senatorial runoffs are. With the tenacity, experience, and intense cheerleading offered by a strong, black woman and voting rights activist, Stacey Abrams, we hope to control the Senate as of January 20, 2021, and begin the healing this country so deserves.

We may have had our glorious few moments of dancing tall and joyously in the streets of this great country, but we must now embrace the monumental tasks ahead with grace and dignity. We have been rejuvenated by the examples set by Joe and Kamala along with their brilliant victory we celebrated on November 7th. But, we cannot stop there. 

There is no time for “horizontal thinking!” It’s time to stay sharp, think on our feet, and elevate ourselves from the sinking depths of the past four years. By believing in our right to shake-off false images of hopelessness and despair, together we can and will make this happen.                                                                     

For the love of our country and everyone living here, please where a mask while in public and donate your time, money, and effort into the two Senatorial races in Georgia. With these victories under our belt, the real celebrating can begin!

Congratulations going out to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and everyone who still believes in fighting for our people, politics, and freedom.

May we begin to experience a smooth and peaceful transfer of power.

Thinking of all of our uniformed soldiers and thanking them for protecting our freedom. May we earn their respect for all of the sacrifices they’ve made to protect and defend our great nation.

 

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved