What's the Point?

the memorial at Weldon Springs, and the wider implications...

On a recent visit to Weldon Springs State Park near Clinton, Illinois, I visited the shrine to our war vets, the signage at the entrance pictured above. My head is necessarily full of all the nonsense going on in our politics, in our nation, and the madness swirling around a lawless administration that is hellbent on killing the republic. I have thought often of that visit more than a decade ago to a gathering in Rockford which featured a debate between members of the “TEA Party,” (which I gathered stood for ‘taxed enough already’) and a spokesman for the Democrats. The audience was restive. Whenever the word democracy was spoken at the podium, there were those in the audience who yelled out “it’s a republic.” Ben Franklin’s retort has been in my mind of late: ‘It’s a republic, if you can keep it.’ Well, can we? We shall inevitably see. In out lifetimes. Maybe even later this year. But as I rode on my bike up to and around the extensive display of statuary and memorial stones on the shores of the little fresh water lake, I thought of the name of the place. Recent events perverting our military had me thinking, ‘veterans… what’s the point?’

Freedom is NOT free. The plaque reads: “Dedicated to the memory and honour of all veterans who have served, are serving, and will serve this great country for the cause of freedom.” A word about ‘freedom:’ what, exactly, is it we (the people) are supposed to be free from? Often ‘tyranny’ comes to mind. It comes to mind for both Republicans and Democrats. The so-called Libertarians and Independents want freedom from tyranny also, but there is some disagreement over who is tyrannizing whom. And who are ‘we, the people?’ Is it just us caucasians? Is it only those of us making over some arbitrary annual income? What is that figure, exactly? Because if it’s upwards of more than $150,000 per year, the number of people there are drops off considerably. The average, as of 2019, the median was $70,000 per annum. But if it’s people with incomes over $200,000,000,000, that number is currently four people. Make that five, if you want to include our ‘dear leader,’ Mr. Trump. I don’t detect that these folks are really free from tyranny. Trump is talking about taking Musk’s wealth, deporting him, and maybe sending him to the Alligator Alcatraz. Just what he wanted. A Florida vacation!

Is Trump just talking?

But to get back to the idea of freedom, apart from tyranny, how are we going to enumerate the ways in which we, the many or few of us might be actually free? Freedom from want. Freedom from persecution. Freedom from hunger. Freedom of speech. Freedom to be what we aspire or perceive ourselves to be. That number seems to be dropping off precipitously. If habeas corpus and birthright citizenship are suspended or abolished, any one of us can be detained without recourse by the masked men and incarcerated indefinitely, or killed outright. That’s pretty biblical.

It has been suggested that if one has any sort of health condition, or is over a certain age, or is of a particular political persuasion, or is on record (as I am going on record here!) as being opposed to ‘dear leader,’ or his minions Noem, Miller, Vought, et. al., the newly cash-rich ICE, DHS, and, by coercion or participation, your local well-equipped police force, can take away your freedoms no questions asked. It has been suggested that you keep papers on hand. (I’m taking a crack at renewing my passport!) I doubt that’s really going to help. If the goons, acting on their own volition and pressured by Miller’s quota system, want you locked up, you will be locked up.

Take it one day at a time.

Veterans, members of the active services, are not immune from the trash talk. There is a sort of impressment going on, in which those serving are deployed against their fellow citizens. This is what is going on in Los Angeles, California. So veterans, what is/was the point?

We are enjoined not to take up arms, or even grab any arresting goon by the arm, lest Mr. Jefferson’s old “Insurrection Act” be deployed. I’d say the police state is already here. The military dictatorship is the part that’s still waiting in the wings. We can see that contingent just past the shin-bangers. They are milling around backstage, doing stretches. Are they nervous? Who’s down in the green room? That bald guy in the booth is on the headset yelling. There is some dispute about who is manning the stage managers position. What cue are we really on, anyway?

Chaos is no way to run a show.