We thought we were on our way out of it. That, with the election of Biden, we would return to a restoration of democracy and decency.
We thought wrong.
Except for William Jenning Bryan (who ran for President three times and lost by a bigger margin each time), they generally fade from history when our politicians lose the Presidential race. Nixon came back after eight years and won a deeply divided election in '68. But most are permanently sidelined.
So, Trump's persistence as a central political figure was a bit of a surprise. His only accomplishment as President was tax code revisions that primarily benefitted the rich and increased the income gap. America's response to COVID under his watch was, by far, the worst reaction in the world. He spent four years dividing us and demonizing so many people. He sided with and emboldened dictators while dissing democracies and NATO. With a strong hat's tip to Mitch McConnell, he packed our courts with far-right radicals, who will not only gut women's reproductive rights but also stymie civil rights and worker's rights and side overwhelmingly with the powerful. I could go on and on, but it's senseless. It doesn't change anyone's mind, and the horrors have gone so far beyond Trump.
Trump was just the face of a movement, and as his baggage became too much for all but his most ardent supporters, it was inevitable that someone else would rise to represent those people.
And that is where we are at now, dear sister. I pray that you get this smuggled letter. I know that the Great Lakes Union has its problems too, but it is not like us here in The Kingdom. Openly speaking against President DeSantis and Vice President Haley is considered an act of sedition and could result in being sent to a re-education camp.
I know. We should have moved when we could have. We could have accepted your offer to move in with you in your Grand Rapids home and apply for asylum in the Great Lakes Union. Or we could have moved to the Catskills with Doug, Paige, and my granddaughter, living in the remnant that still is the United States of America. Or to Pacifica, either with Greg in Los Angeles or Benjamin in Seattle.
No. We hesitated too long. We thought this was a fluke and that things would soon return to normal. Alison had her job here. We had family and church. And Alison was not going to leave her mother here, knowing her health would prohibit her from being moved.
Then when the walls went up and the Kingdom Guard numbered in the hundreds of thousands, we knew we were doomed. We stripped our house of anything that showed support for any Democrats or liberal causes. We kept completely silent about any issue. It was hard to talk to anybody about anything besides the weather, sports, and the most inane TV shows.
We thought our church would be a safe haven, but when the Diocese was seized by the Government, we could continue to exist, but only with the leadership of the most conservative elements of our church. We lost our long-time Reverand, only to have her replaced by a Christian Right male priest who immediately reversed all our progress with the LGBTQ+ community.
We feel so lonely and cut off. When our former country finished its Great Sort, we were left on the wrong side of the divide.
I love you, Carol. I miss all of you.
Maybe, someday, I have faith that we will see this through. Maybe Anne Frank was right. Maybe, in spite of everything, people are really good at heart.
It's one thing to read it.
It's another thing to live it.
God bless you. I pray we will see you and my children and grandchild again.
Love,
Tom & Alison
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