The Life in My Years

“To say nothing is saying something. You must denounce things you are against or one might believe that you support things you really do not.” ~ Germany Kent

Silence.

They say it’s golden.

Except when silence is complicity.

These days the silence screams approbation. “Nothing to see here,” shouts the stillness. “It’s all cool, carry on please,” shouts the hush. “Just you wait. We’ll get ‘em in the midterms,” roars the muteness.

Well, that’s if we get to the midterms.

The silence.

Its like falling snow in the wilderness.

At various times on this site, I’ve written about the silence and condemned it, in no uncertain terms. In almost daily posts on social media I’ve begged, cajoled, challenged and confronted people to get involved and it’s all largely fallen on deaf, and likely by now, angry ears. I imagine that more than a few people take exception to my telling them to enjoy their lattes while the country is burning down. As I expressed in a recent piece, I don’t care what they think.

I resent carrying their share of the burden. But I’ve recently realized that I resent even more, the fact that I and concerned people like me are carrying the burden of people who have the horsepower to carry a much larger share of the load.

There are people in our society whose voices resonate from coast to coast, and beyond. Their words have true weight. Where my voice and those like mine carry a mere ounce of weight, theirs carry untold tons. And yet they remain mute.

Who are these clarions?

Let’s begin with four living past presidents; Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Likewise, there are four living past First Ladies; Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Jill Biden. With the exception of Michelle Obama, they’ve been, as the saying goes, “as silent as the grave” while Donald Trump and his merry band of lunatics, traitors and profiteers collapse the republic and loot the remnants.

And what is it that Michelle Obama is doing? Well, almost nothing if the expectation is for her to speak out against the orange king and his court of jesters. She’s doing a podcast called IMO which is by some accounts a collection of cutesy poo family anecdotes. On numerous occasions she’s made it plainly clear that when it comes to politics, she’s over it.

So am I.

She’s over the divisive and the caustic.

So am I.

She wants to go in a different direction.

I’d like to be at the beach taking photos of waves.

And people in hell want ice water.

And yet, here we are.

Nobody wants to hear me. But I can imagine that there are tens of thousands of people who are craving solace from the former First Lady. Please Michelle, throw us any damn bit of debris from our Titanic to cling to.

Stillness.

Where are they? The successors to John Carlos, Tommy Smith, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, and Kareem,? Where are the athlete activists, some of whom risked their careers and livelihoods to speak out? Colin Kaepernick and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf spoke out or demonstrated and it cost them their careers. Where are the faces of the NBA, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry? There were some tepid endorsements of Kamala Harris during the election cycle. Now? They’re all as silent as an arena at midnight after the final game of the season; a couple janitors sweeping up the trash.

In 1996, Abdul-Rauf was a better than average point guard for the Denver Nuggets when, in March of 1996, he refused to stand for the National Anthem. The league suspended him and three months later he was traded to the Sacramento Kings where he hardly saw any playing time and ended up playing in Turkey. He spent a short time back in the NBA with the Vancouver Grizzlies and by 2001, his NBA career was done.

In a recent interview for the Guardian Abdul-Rauf said, “I can’t help but think of years ago, (former FBI Director) J Edgar Hoover was discussing the power of the athlete. And how [the] goal was to shift [focus] from the Muhammad Ali types to the more quiet type of athlete because those in power recognize the power that athletes had to influence people. Especially an athlete that’s articulate and knows how to communicate and is current with all of the issues. So, there is an enormous amount of power that a lot of athletes … don’t realize that they have.”

Where are the celebrities? Where’s Taylor Swift? Taylor’s recent big news is that she and Travis Kelce are going to take Ben Stiller to a Knicks basketball game. Beyonce? On tour singing country western songs and angering country western fans, or hanging out in her 200 million dollar mansion.

The Oscars, usually an event that produces some political commentary, was staid and sterile this year.. Conan O’Brien made one weak, nameless reference to Trump and has been invited back next year. Let’s keep it staid and sterile and not rile the king.

Courtney Love, Rosie O’Donnell, America Ferrara, Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Gosling, and Eva Mendes have all left the country. Fair enough. They have the financial clout to do so. I suppose that I would too if it were feasible. But now that you’re out of the reach of Kash Patel could you speak out on behalf of us – the proletariat?

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There are some other important voices that are remaining silent; Republican voices. For ten years Republican lawmakers have been cruising on a highway towards the cliff’s edge while ignoring and avoiding every off ramp, all the while realizing the incompetence, and existential danger of Donald Trump. They’ve known, but have steadfastly remained silent as they continue to keep their foot on the gas as the vehicle of democracy careens towards the edge.

On a recent podcast, political commentator, and writer, S.E. Cupp disclosed that before the confirmation of Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, a Republican Senator had confided to Cupp that Gabbard is “a joke.” Nonetheless, the Senator voted to confirm.

On March 19, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski made the not so startling revelation that Republicans in Congress are afraid of Trump and Musk. To her credit, Murkowski has a history of voting against Trump nominations, been on the other side of Trump on various issues, and scolded Trump for some of his behavior.

In her recent interview Murkowski said “They’re (Republicans) looking at how many things are being thrown at me, and it’s like, ‘Maybe I just better duck and cover,’” Murkowski told reporters. “That’s why you’ve got everybody just like, zip lip, not saying a word because they’re afraid they’re going to be taken down. They’re going to be primaried. They’re going to be given names in the media.” She continued, “I’m not going to compromise my own integrity by hiding from my words when I feel they need to be spoken.”

Murkowski, who has served the entirety of the Trump years is just now she’s speaking up? Could one of the reasons be that she isn’t up for reelection until 2028? Could it be that she’s secretly wishing that either Trump’s spell will be broken or Trump himself will be gone by 2028?

Murkowski is hardly throwing herself on a political grenade.

On numerous occasions, on this site, I’ve criticized Republican cowardice. Most, with the exception of the mindless such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tommy Tubervillle, know that Trump is a dangerous lunatic, but they are too desperate to hold onto their seats than to break ranks. And yet, if they’re voted out, nearly all of them have lucrative options.

They are cowardly shiftless traitors to their oath of office.

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The clock is ticking and anyone who thinks that we can wait Trump out is playing a dangerous game.

“If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.” ~ Albert Einstein