The Skeeter Daddle Diaries

So the Bishop of the Diocese of D.C., with the newly coronated Prez of the not-so-United States of America sitting in the front pews, directed her sermon to him, asking for a bit of mercy for the gays, the immigrants, the trans kids, the enemies he’s declared are making for carnage in our great country. Maybe something Jesus hisself might ask of the powerful. Back off, big guy, have a bit of compassion.

I guess the Bishop hadn’t been paying attention to politics these last, oh, couple of decades. The Supreme Leader of the Free World takes no prisoners, demands the utmost retribution, forgives only those who stormed the Capitol to keep him in power, not exactly the poster child for Mercy. Of course he exploded on social media that the pastor was lousy, stupid, a Trump hater, a liberal snowflake and totally out of line. At least he didn’t call her a Horse Face. But one of his minions suggested she should be put on the Deportation List. Adolph would be proud.

If you want a quick portrait of where we’re at in America today, you got it. The pardons of the insurrectionists that stormed the Capitol January 6th, attacking the cops, sacking the offices, well, there’s another signpost of what’s coming. Compassionate conservatism? I don’t think so. Vengeance, retribution, attacks on any and all critics, these are the order of the day. So much for the guardrails of democracy, we’re on a track toward something darker than anyone could have imagined.

Strap in, gird yer loins, buckle up and get ready for a rough ride. You think the Proud Boys aren’t licking their lips, checking their ammo, firing up for the next assault, you didn’t study the history of Adolph’s rise to power. The nazis are here and they have the Fuhrer they want. Mercy? Those days are over….

I got some friends who are kidless. And who own cats. Being single, they have to pay their rent, their mortgage, their car payments, gas, food, health care, clothes and all the rest, by themselves. I know plenty of people on the South End who are married, both working and still have a hard time making ends meet. Excuse me if I ask the Yale graduated venture capitalist rich guy running for Vice President who thinks these women should pay more in taxes than women who have children, why the emphasis on child bearing and not, say, helping all women who struggle to find work and housing in this economy of inequality? Hillbilly Elegy, you might think, would offer some insights into poverty and the folks left behind in our technology driven society. Might even give the writer a profound sense of empathy for the poor, cat owners or not.

But no, what we have here is a man … and a political party … against raising wages, opposed to welfare, fighting to keep unions from coming back, interested primarily in giving the corporations and the wealthy a leg up, lower their taxes and hope that the old trickle down will solve the income gap. C’mon, whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Drive down to any moderately sized city in this country and observe for yourself the proliferation of tents along the freeway or in parks or the homeless lined up along industrial avenues living in busted down RV’s or junker cars. Stop at the rest area along the way and maybe notice how many of those there are living in their vehicles, using the restroom to wash and brush their teeth.

You might think this problem would dominate the political discussions. These are our citizens. Sure, you can force them off welfare and into the workforce. But if you make minimum wage and the cost of rent is more than half your income, leaving no room for food or much else, maybe that’s not a solution. And if you happen to be one of those women JD Vance think is more invested in the future of the country and more deserving of her help, well how about covering those childcare costs, the daycare fees, the extra mouths to feed? How about offering help to ALL of those in need, even the ones who have cats? If not, spare us the talk about religion, you haven’t got one. And no, capitalism is not a religion.