I'm Becoming a Little Disillusioned...

In the Film Apocalypse Now Marlon Brando’s character Colonel Kurtz begins his descent into madness as he recounts an incredibly grim story. According to the movie, and not based on fact, Colonel Kurtz recalls an episode in which his unit inoculated Vietnamese children against polio. Later he discovered that the Viet Cong, who were so dedicated to their cause, hacked off the arms of the vaccinated children. Kurtz realized that the enemy could do what he could not. And they would win.

I feel a little like that now. You have stories about Homeland Security paying ICE agents bonuses for arrests, proper or not. The Secretary speaks at a podium that proclaims “One of ours. All of yours.” Which means that if an ICE agent were injured or worse, the retribution upon all of the protesters or those arrested would be as much if not worse. Fear is instilled in the citizenry because ICE agents are anonymous and know that if they commit some atrocity, they will be pardoned. The racism is mind-boggling, but the point is cruelty and fear.

And I’m becoming disillusioned. One side will do things that my side will not. After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there were some snide comments from the left about his widow and her interactions with the vice president and her “mourning” apparel. Not right or appropriate. But their children were left alone. Now, some MAGA faithful have doxxed the orphaned six year old child of the assassinated Rebecca Good. That level of cruelty is something I just don’t think my side could ever sink to. 

So, I’m in a low spot. But there is hope, Our school patrol/constitution observer training was at capacity and more had to be scheduled. Public opinion is turning. And as we celebrated MLK Day, I’m reminded that “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”