Ozymandias

I've always been a little bemused by political goings-on. No matter who is in the White House or is (temporarily) running Capitol Hill, I've been fascinated by the way the incumbent President is always demonized by his political rivals, the way the media whips up a frenzy of rumor and innuendo. It seems to be part of the American system, going back to the days of Washington, Adams and Jefferson. 

This rumor- and fear mongering seems silly and often childish (I recall the "run" on guns and ammunition that took place as soon as the 2008 election results came in--Obama was going to confiscate all the guns and ammo after all, right?), and I've always held myself somewhat aloof from all the hysteria. I mean, it's just politics, isn't it? 

For the first time in my life, it isn't. With the election of a man whom I can only perceive as an irresponsible, spoiled child to the highest office in the land, and with the incredible damage he and his cronies have done to our Nation in the year since his inauguration, I finally know the trepidation and dread that I've laughed at all my life. 

I'm afraid of what the news will tell me tomorrow morning; what new reversals of policy, roll-backs of carefully-considered legislation, what preserved lands have been opened to exploitation, what protections for the health and well-being of my fellow Americans have been stripped away.  I'm afraid of what the second year, the third and fourth, will bring.

Because this time it's not some trumped-up hate-speech or rumor floated by political opponents, not a FOX or CNN or MSNBC ratings-grab. This is real. 

And for the first time in my life, I am truly afraid of my government and my leaders, and deathly afraid for the future of my beautiful country and the promise of freedom and equality  that it once offered.

The barbarians are within the gates--they've been here all along--and the empire hangs in the balance.