Today, our democracy stands at a precipice, facing the final stretch of a long ascendancy toward progress on one side, and the shattering of our Constitution in the gully below. We have climbed here together; some encouraging others forward, some throwing stones at our feet, trying to drive The People back.
Trump and Putin stand at the top of the mountain, taunting us with their shields of power and swords of corruption. Vultures perch on their shoulders, hissing in their eagerness to scavenge off the poor and the sick. Between them, Lady Liberty lies broken, with appendages strewn across the fireweed.
Putin is flanked by an army of bots and trolls, each holding faux news signs, trying to confuse and send us in the wrong direction. His pockets overflow with rubles, grotesquely painted with the mocking faces of his Oligarchs. Behind him, crouching in the bracken, the Russian mob waits in ambush.
Trump is flanked by FOX News on the right, hypnotizing many of us into believing we are not climbing a mountain at all. Bill Barr and his army of lawyers stand at his left. He proclaims Trump the King of the Mountain and vows none can touch him.
This is a rocky mountain, with sheer sides and rough ground that shakes and crumbles with each step we take. When we peer over the edge of the ravine we see a rushing river far below. Sunlight sparkles off the wild water, and we glimpse tiny rainbows, tantalizing us and enticing us into the cool depths. But when the sun dips low, and the water grows dim, we see the reflection of our democracy on the glassy surface, as though it has already careened over the cliff. We console ourselves with the belief it is but an illusion, created in the gray of twilight. But some of us wonder if it is real, and if we have already been mesmerized.
We are but a few miles from the top of this mountain after a long and arduous journey. We have gained treasures of wisdom along the way. But it was not free. We've had to barter our trust and naivete to survive so far. Weary, we pause and strategize about how to best claim the peak. We must pass both their evil armies to knock Trump and Putin over the edge.
We grip staffs strengthened with justice, we wear helmets padded with truth, and we bear shields forged of compassion. Aching, and heavy of heart, we pause but a moment to drink from a pond of knowledge, then we march on, chanting, "Rule of Law, Rule of Law, Rule of Law."
Our foe is at our backside, trying to trip us, screaming profanities in a language we no longer understand. But our resolve is strong and our purpose clear. We are The People and we will not stop until we have reclaimed the top of the mountain.
We will wield our staffs of justice, and knock Putin and Trump off the peak. Let them sink in the river depths, amidst the scattered reflections of our democracy. We will reclaim the reality of our democracy at the top. Though it is obscured in mist, we know it still lives. We hear its heartbeat in our own veins, flush with drops of blood gifted from our native, immigrant, and slave-owned forefathers who battled to live equal and free. It is this shared inheritance that fills our heart and powers our lungs with breaths of fresh hope.
We will take our democracy back. You can't steal it. You can't strip it from us. You see, it wasn't a gift from our forefathers at all. No. Their gift was even more valuable. They taught us the power of self-determination.
That power is immense and is not bought by wealth or stolen with guns. It is a power so vast it has toppled every civilization that has disappeared from our songs. That same power has birthed each nation anew. It is realized by our combined will. We get to create our shared vision of the future, and with our shared action, we make that vision come true. Self-determination is the actualization of the Will of the People.
Hark Putin and Trump! We call on you. Come down off that mountain top. We are The People and we will make it so.
When you are gone and the mist finally thins, the voice of our democracy will ring clear across the mountain side, spilling into the valleys below and lifting up toward the sun. Our land will be protected by a wall of laws made by The People. And at the peak of the mountain where you once stood, defiling it with your corruption, we will repair our Statue of Liberty. Then we will light her flame anew with the fire of our love, so the weary traveler can find her, and so the world will once again see our shining light on the hill.
We will win because we Will it so. Never will we capitulate to a government of force. Our Will is to be ruled by laws, created by the chorus of all our voices and for the shared benefit of all. We will not be ruled by the fickle and selfish will of one corrupt man, backed by a murderous dictator.
We embrace self-determination. We are The People and our shared future is ours to make.
By Lisanne Lombardo
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I hope you enjoyed this inspirational piece. Remember, to effect change we must act. As Elijah Cummings would say, one day our grandchildren will ask what we did in this moment. Did we sit on the sidelines or did we act? Register voters, volunteer as an election monitor, join a call bank, find some way to act that works for you.
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