Who are the barbarians now

The news that Pete Hegseth planned to broadcast the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter is shocking, but not surprising. The cruelty that has become part of our cultural landscape has seeded this proposed action.

Trump and the MAGA empire have gleefully killed innocent people in the streets. They have cultivated hate among us and given license to the murder of immigrants, American citizens, and innocents around the world.

The head of the beast is Trump. He cares nothing about hurting people. People are disposable to him, as long as the money keeps flowing into the company trust.

Sadly, the American people are anesthetized and dulled, seeing this as Trump just being Trump. Our passion for resistance is worn down. Some sit and wait to see how low we will go. There’s a sense that it’s okay to let somebody else fight this battle.

Democracy is badly damaged at the hand of our wanna-be king. The people around him have applauded like Romans at the Coliseum, cheering for the lions to slaughter the peasants. In that time, killing was sport. Is that where we are in America now?

ICE has done damage striking terror in communities. People have turned against other people for no good reason. The snake is eating its tail.

Congress and the Courts have failed the American people. They, like we, have seen the havoc and destruction Donald Trump continues to do. House Speaker Mike Johnson is such a coward, he adjourned the Congress until after the mid-terms.

Those on the way out of Congress, like Thom Tillis, are singing a new song. But their words are empty, a day late and a dollar short. Courage may produce martyrs; courage also produces heroes.

Newton’s law teaches that things in motion stay in motion, until there is a disruption that stops it. From whence will the disruption come?

The No Kings movement was a start. It may have rattled the status quo. History gives examples. In the French Revolution, which has great parallels to the Trump aristocracy, the peasants rose up in resistance. “Can you hear the people sing, it is the song of angry men (and women)?” It is we little people who need to raise the loudest voice. Trump is the worst president this country has ever seen.

There are legal paths that could get him out of office. We can pressure congressmen to do what is right to set us back on our post WWII course of American peace.

Problems will still exist – racism, sexism, homophobia – all need special attention. Killing the system that gives our greatest hope for solving real problems is stupid.

Rise up, people of good faith. Get loud in objecting to the dangerous nonsense around us. Create a huge, gold-plated statue of a naked Trump on the back of the little man. Oh, wait. That’s already been done. Mythology tells truth deeper than reality. Trump is Midas. In truth, he is naked and bare as his bluster vaporizes into air. Everything Midas touched turned to gold, until it didn’t.

Trump’s narrative is sad. The poor little rich boy who grew up without love or parental instruction is to be pitied. With all his money, power, and influence, he could have done such good.

Untreated mental illness ruins many people and the lives of those around them. Few, however, are presidents of the United States. Trump’s narcissism hurts Americans and people in countries around the world.

Canada has found the most effective response. The bears and beavers animated in social media form an army of resistance singing their Canadian pride, telling Trump to take a hike.

Let us find song and hope and joy for the righteous fight we have undertaken. We cannot be afraid. We must find strength beyond our own and keep going on toward the light of freedom and peace.

Public executions of even the most heinous are never the right response of the American people.

Hegseth, you need to go. There’s an exit door for you, too, Donald.

Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist, and host of the blogsite Avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com.