election – Fleeting Muse

Warning:Week Forty Seven of My Fifty Two Weeks Journey with the Letter ” W”

We are always warned by somebody or other about something or other. Warning labels are part of our daily life. We have warning about our health, our finances, our education, our retirement, etc., etc., etc. We are so dependant on warning as if without warning our life can not go on. However we sometimes do not get any warning about some of the most important things about our lives. The recent passing away of Alan Thicke is a warning to all of us regarding the fleeting nature of life. I am sure the people of California would be more than happy to get enough early warning regarding impending earthquakes.

However sometimes even with warning signs flashing, people either tend to ignore at their own peril or find it hard to believe. Such was the case of the recent election in USA. Though there were plenty warning signs that the results may not be what majority of the polls were predicting, lots of people either were complacent or chose to ignore those warnings. Now it is time to pay the price for ignoring those warning signs. The events of last month and half are sending enough warning signs of things that are shaping up to revoke and repeal many of the progressive achievements of last few years. Accepting the results of the election does not mean that we will have to acquiesce meekly to all the rhetorics that are flying around. Acceptance does not mean to be resigned to one’s fate. We need to stay engaged in the process, pay heed to the warning signs and also warn and educate regarding the perils of abject surrender.

As I an marching towards the completion of my yearlong journey with the letter “W”, I am realizing many of my Write Anything Wednesday posts are taking a subtle political tinge. May be I will take some rest at the end of the year and regroup my thoughts. Maybe this post is a warning to me that I need to open up more to other ideas. Whatever it may be, for week forty seven of my fifty two weeks journey with the letter “W”, I start my poem with the word ” Warning”. And my dear readers, I am warning you, the poem definitely has a political tinge.

This post is in response to Write Anything Wednesday-Dec-21-2016 sponsored by Writerish Ramblings

Wake:Week Forty Three of My Fifty Two Weeks Journey with the Letter ” W”

We wake up in the morning, dreams over and it is a new day. Unfortunately, this presidential election and its aftermath is like a bad dream that is not getting over. We have made our bed and now we must lie on it. We have every right to protest, but protest within the law. We must be on guard to protect our rights, not get incited by words and deeds of the hate mongers. We have every right to fight to change the laws that are not just. Those who proclaim that the constitution is sacrosanct, we can remind them that the sanctity had been violated twenty seven times with twenty seven amendments. Things change. People make a country. If the people so desire, then things can change.

For those who think that the president elect is the biggest calamity that could have happened, take heart. The same constitution has limited his time in the office. If people so desire, they have the power in their hands to change the situation in the coming elections. This is not a wake for the funeral of democracy, rather this is a clarion call for the complacent voters to action. Some fanatic extreme right wing fringe groups have ridden the wake of the groundswell of frustration about politics as usual. It is the duty of all of us, genuine conservatives as well as liberals to ensure that this small vocal minority does not hijack the spirit of this great country. If we allow that to happen, then we will certainly be failing in our duty of a citizen. We may have our disagreements, but name calling is not going to help our cause.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Let us be thankful that we are still able to wake up to a morning full of hope compared to many others who could not even go to bed for fear of being killed by bombs or gunfire. Let us be thankful that we have our rights for peaceful protest, let us be thankful that even though we may be down, we are not out. Let us wake up from this bad dream and celebrate Thanksgiving in the right spirit. Towards that hope, I continue on my journey and start my poem with “Wake” for week forty three of my fifty two weeks journey with W.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers.

This post is in response to Write Anything Wednesday-Nov-23-2016 sponsored by Writerish Ramblings

Weary:Week Forty Two of My Fifty Two Weeks Journey with the Letter ” W”

At long last election campaign was over, election day came and went. We now have a president elect. Whether we like him or not, that does not matter. The law of the land does not recognize the winner on the basis of popular votes, but that’s the law of the land. If the majority does not like the law, then the majority needs to work towards repealing that law. However, approximately 42% of eligible voters decided to stay home. As a result the winner was elected by the votes of about a quarter of the eligible voters and will now decide the fate of the country for at least four years and his imprints may be there for many more years to come due to the possibility of selecting justices of his choice for SCOTUS.

None of the above bothers me. As many had said before, in a democracy people gets the government it deserves.People had made their choices one way or the other or not to vote. What bothers me is the lingering impact of the nastiness of the long drawn out election campaign. The campaign had worn out the people. People had become weary of politics. What one should remember that once pandora’s box is opened, the curse is out and it is very difficult to put it back again. There is no whitewashing the fact that the genei of hatred that had been unleashed during the campaign is just politics. Kristallnacht was not just politics. It should be a warning to those who lost hope not to be weary but to be on guard that history does not repeat. It is better to engage than to be weary and lose heart. It is a given that in a political system where winner takes all, somebody is going to lose something. Protesting injustice is a right in democracy but protests need to be used judiciously. People who say that the law of the land must be respected and obeyed need to be reminded, if needed, over and over again that not very long ago segregation was the law of the land, slavery was the law of the land. If the law is unjust, it needs to be changed. It behooves us not to be weary, not to retreat, but to engage. Engage with the 42% that chose to stay home and not vote, engage with those who for one reason or other chose to vote for the winner. Engagement is needed to make the silent majority a vocal majority to stand for what is right. Being weary of the nastiness of the campaign is not going to take care of business.

I could have gone on and on. However I have a deadline and the clock is ticking. In another half an hour, it’s going to be midnight and I will miss the deadline to post my poem for Write Anything Wednesday. So here is the word for my poem starting with “W” for week forty two of my fifty two weeks journey with the letter “W”, WEARY.

This post is in response to Write Anything Wednesday-Nov-16-2016 sponsored by Writerish Ramblings