The American public, and in many ways the world at large, has been the victim of a fear-mongering, abusive right wing for so long, now that they are no longer in power they want to continue the old way of keeping the rest of us in line. Now that the main fists have been removed from Capitol Hill, those that remain are scrambling around in an attempt to continue business as usual, or at least as they have come to know it...Last January the abused stepped forward and said, "No more!" by electing a man who is dedicated to peace and human dignity for all people, not just those who agree with him. As an abuse survivor, I recognize these dynamics all too well. From every corner we're hearing the right wing yell, "I'll give you something to cry about!" and "He'll never love you like I did!". They look for their leaders and cannot find them; all they have are radio and television big mouths. They have been abandoned by those whose abuse they swallowed as if it was the natural state of humankind. A new leader stepped up and, like cockroaches when the light comes on, they scurry, in search of the dark corners.
There certainly are times when we have to concede a little, to say that we might not understand or even agree with the changes in Washington, but now is not the time. I'm not talking about big things, mind you, but about small things. However, when facing down these hate and fear-mongerers, any concession we make sounds to them like, "I know, but I love him". It's time to be strong, to be certain, and to be confident. In the past I've had to face down my abusers and it's damned hard. It takes guts. But every time, the abuser, when shown that I was no long afraid, backed down. Abusive people are bullies, you see. They take the power we give them and, right now, our press is giving the radical fringe far too much attention and power. Fear feeds on fear.
It's important to remember that many of these people hear from their church pulpits every Sunday that President Obama is, literally, the Antichrist, that he is Satan incarnate, basically the same nonsense that the Taliband says about America in general. They will not be happy until they make their prophecies of Armageddon actually come true, taking the rest of us down with them. In this, they are no better than suicide bombers and hijackers. In fact, they're worse because they need their Bible to be the last Word and their religion the only Truth so desperately that they would be willing to sacrifice our planet to make it so.
I will not bend an inch while they wave their fist in my face. I'm standing behind President Obama and I congratulate him for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. I don't care if the right wing gets mad and I don't care if they holler and throw a tantrum about it. It is not an American award and, as Lynette wrote to someone in Facebook, "Americans need to understand that not everything is about us". You will not hear me voicing concern over the committee's decision--the last I knew, I wasn't asked for my vote.
America has gotten ugly. The old regime is dying and, like the wizard in Dragonslayer said, "It's in great pain; it has gotten mean, spiteful." I will not argue with them, I will not give them breath in my world. They are an abusive force and I quit allowing that energy into my world a long time ago.
Congratulations President Obama. Once again, you have made me proud to be an American.
