They don't remember.

 It blows my mind and breaks my heart to realize that there are grown adults of around 20 years young, who don't remember what America was before the last decade, wherein 45/47 and his 37% have ruined it.  They don't remember civil political discourse or civility, period.  They don't remember a time before xenophobia, hate, scapegoating and divisiveness ruled the day.  They don't remember a time when the rule of law carried the day.  They don't remember a time when we were widely respected in the world, and an inspiration to many.  And although we have had many shameful chapters in our history, they don't remember a time when we were so much more than our worst aspects and potentials.  They don't remember a time when there were things to be truly proud of and patriotic about protecting and nurturing.

They only know this crazy, hateful, cruel and lawless, corrupt and sociopathic POTUS and his xenophobic, racist, horrific followers.  They know a government that lies constantly, shoots peaceful protesters in the street, and kidnaps people with no due process and puts them in concentration camps.  They know a government that is Reaganomics on steroids, Robinhood in reverse, a fascist oligarchy.  We already had no social safety net, no investment in our people, when I was their age, and it changed the trajectory of my life from what it would have been and could have been, had we had (like most other westernized countries) federal, universal, single-payer health care, maternity and paternity leave, child care, etc.  And instead of trending in the right direction, no matter how long and how hard some of us fought to make it do so, it has only gotten worse and worse, until we had a crazed, racist, antisemitic South African wackadoo on a stage with a chainsaw, as the 37% cheered.  That was the exact moment when I, watching in abject horror, knew that America was gone.

20-year-olds do not remember the America I believed in, the ideals I passionately fought my entire life to try to make us live up to.  Instead, all the worst aspects and potentials of America have come to fruition.  And it is poisonous fruit.

It is heartbreaking enough to watch your country be swallowed whole by all of the above-outlined horrific potentials, but then to realize that there are not even just children (which is heartbreaking) but adults now--fully grown adults--who don't remember.  They don't remember when, though it has always faced strong headwinds, there was an alive and kicking America to be proud of and passionate about.

And all the No Kings marches, and all the No Kings men (and women), couldn't put America together again.

 Let me make clear what has taken place and is taking place, since many people are not seeing it:

1.  Trump has taken over Venezuela.

2.  It has nothing to do with caring about democracy, as he has simultaneously announced to the press that the exiled, duly elected, opposition leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will not be supported by the US as the rightful leader.  He further pontificated that she is "not respected".  What that translates to is:  "I know she won't give me all of Venezuela's oil."

3.  This whole this is about OIL, and power.  47 wants both.  A side benefit is that it distracts from all the talk about his health, the Epstein files, etc.  He would have gone for it without any side benefits, though, as HE WANTS THE OIL.

47 has just taken over a sovereign country because he wants to enrich himself and his oligarchic cronies of the oil tycoon variety.

Believe the man when he says stuff.  Colombia is not safe.  Greenland is not safe.  And, yes, wait for it:  Canada is NOT SAFE.  Canada has a lot of oil, people.

If he gets away with Venezuela, he will know that he has effectively, as one knowledgeable person phrased it yesterday on the news, "dissolved congress".  It has been obvious to me for this entire term that congress is TOTALLY (and treasonously, by the way) complicit.  Congress has the power of the purse, yet 47 ended PEPFAR and US AID and so much else.  Congress stayed SILENT, though 47 had NO power to do what he did unless THEY CEDED THEIR POWER TO HIM.  We no longer have checks and balances, as we no longer have congress.  Congress is nothing but a mirage now.  They are just there to look pretty, and they aren't even doing that, in my subjective opinion.  They are ugly, in their treasonous complicitness.

If 47 cared about liberating Venezuela, he would be supporting the opposition, but instead he has said that their leader is "not respected" (which is a statement based on nothing), and has also said "we will be running things".

"Running things" translates to TAKING OVER VENEZUELA.

Like I said, other countries are next.  There is no stopping this sociopathic, textbook malignant narcissist, who fancies himself Hitler 2.0.  Hitler without the stache.

I have been warning of this since 2015.  I really wish a certain dear friend of mine's Facebook page was still up (the friend passed away and the page is now vaporized, along with many years of content), as I wrote a LOT on it, predicting everything 47 has done, right down to rounding people up and putting them in concentration camps (I was told I was being overly dramatic and ridiculous).  But I wrote about that/predicted all of it on my page, too, you just have to go back and look.  So I don't know why I seem to cling to the vain hope that, at some point, PEOPLE WILL START TO UNDERSTAND.

Yet, I have a next-door neighbor who is firmly in the MAGA cult, and it is a cult.  IT'S A CULT.  But I digress.  About 37% of the American population is in the cult.  They continue to believe that 47 is "making America great again".  Then you have another large chunk of Americans who proudly will tell you every chance they get that "I don't watch the news."  I had that happen yesterday at the health food store:

The cashier asked "How are you?"  I had to pause for a moment, and then I said that I am a mixed bag, because personally I'm well, but "the news is very upsetting."  Her retort was "That's why I don't watch the news."  Well, bully for you (and, might I add, DUMB BUTT), that DOESN'T MAKE IT GO AWAY, or make it not affect you.

So many Americans seem to me to be like little kids who stick their fingers in their ears and sing "La la la la la, I can't hear you!", and are insufferably proud of themselves for that.  Meanwhile, I'm screaming on the inside:  WAKE THE RHYMES-WITH-DUCK UP, PEOPLE:  our country is gone!

47 hasn't just taken over Venezuela.  He has, before doing that, taken over America.  And all the No Kings Marches, and all the No Kings men (and women), couldn't put America together again.

😢

#MyCountryIsGone 
#DoesAnyoneCare?
#OrAreYouAllTheCashierAtTheHealthFoodStore?