CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT

I think too much at night. Politics are scaring away any hope of sleep. I rise and groggily water my garden, then head to the store to wander the isles in a daze.

The checker at the grocery store says, “Happy 4th of July!”

And I reply, “I’ll be celebrating if we don’t have a fascist dictator as a leader next year.”

My comment dissipates in their uncomfortable shock as everyone ignores my comment, and the checker greets the next customer.

Ah, well, I try.

That a man who studies the tactics of Hitler is vying for leadership and is taken seriously, is keeping me up at night. The fascist-T won’t get the popular vote, but we have already seen the conniving power of the electoral colleges. If he gets in, it will be because of the details of redistricting and insider trading. Then, the circus will begin.

I lay awake all night planning the biggest protest ever for the day of the possible inauguration because I know what will happen – one atrocity after another. In my midnight plotting, there are many millions of people protesting as soon as he proclaims himself king. We are all saying “No.” to a political takeover. I fear that it will not change things, my only hope is that the show of power might slow down the dismantling of the social systems.

Any protester will be in real danger. You know how the insurrection has been tried; well, get ready because the tide will turn, and those who protest will be imprisoned. I’m sure the Dictator will be basking in the pleasure of revenge.

Once this new system, with all the key players of a capitalist, Christian, repressive regime, is in place, it will take generations to undo. The think tanks haven’t been studying China and Russia for nothing. In his years in power, he will be chipping away at democracy, ensuring there won’t be any fair voting or social justice because the only real election results will be if he wins.

The red, white, and blue that have represented democracy and equality will come to represent Jesus, corporate shopping centers, and ignorance.

That’s what’s keeping me up - ol’ Benjamin Franklin’s ghost rattling in his grave.

So, on this Fourth of July, I will blow some fireworks off because it may be practice for what may come. There will be no allies to save us. We will be on our own to regain democracy. This election is the most pivotal moment in history. If this American fascist gets into power, the shock waves will echo around the world because if there is no democracy in America, the democracies of the world are in peril.

Sorry for the nightmare, but I’m sure I’m not the only one up all night.

Float in Germany saying the blond is the new brown referring to the brown coats of the Nazis