I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this week’s happenings, but it’s a slow go. This is only part of what’s going on in my brain these days, and while this sounds dark, I haven’t totally lost the light. I just need some kindling to build it up again.
Losing The Light Was it only a week ago that I entered the new year with a renewed feeling of hope? The year from hell had ended, a new president had been elected, and new vaccines to fight Covid 19 were on their way. I knew everything wasn't going to change overnight, but I felt lighter, somehow, like things were going to be all right. Then this week happened, bringing a new day that would live in infamy— January 6, 2021. Instead of being lifted by what I thought was a light at the end of the tunnel, the hope I'd felt was smashed when I was struck head-on by a screaming locomotive of sedition crashing into our democracy. Domestic terrorists poorly disguised as protesters stormed the Capitol, bringing destruction and death, incited by an orange madman who cannot accept that the majority cast their votes for someone else, someone with more experience and knowledge of what the office requires, someone who has read The Constitution and understands that law is by the people, for the people, not by a wannabe-king's demands. As horrible as this attempted murder of our democracy is, the idea that so many of my fellow Americans applaud this behavior and cannot see they have been used by a con man who cares about nothing but his own power and glory, a man who feeds on their fears and prejudices, at the expense of others, has broken my heart in a way it has never been broken before. I hope it can be mended, but fear I've lost the light. I pray someone will find it soon and shine a candle in the darkness.
~Elise Skidmore ©2021
