Power

Saturday, January 16, 2021 (On Wednesday, Biden becomes America’s President.)

This Monday is Martin Luther King Day. His ability to articulate, his leadership skills and sheer social bravery, are beacons for savvy Americans. On King’s shoulders, people of color, understanding their social history and fighting for social changes, are gaining in social and political status. The current election season reflects their high influence. A woman of color will be America’s next Vice-President, and there’s the Georgia runoff election. There, people worked hard to get voters of color to cast votes. Their success has granted to Democrats a majority in the Senate.

America’s changing power structure, increasingly becoming populated by women and people of color, upsets a status quo. For eons, the status quo ensured that all the most powerful–socially, financially, and politically–were white men.

I’ve been reflecting on the symbolism that Trump’s family brought to the White House. The President has proved himself to be a bully, disdainful of a non-traditional social order, and focused on gaining personal wealth above attending to social and political needs. His whole family reflects an old order, from the wife always in stiletto heels, to generally unlikeable children who still depend on daddy’s support.

Our larger population has awakened to some 70 million voters who support Trump. We question how this has occurred. I see them as the kinds who supported a long-standing Jim Crow South, who suppressed people of color, and who for centuries disallowed women the right to vote and control money and property. They wish to regain control over a woman’s right to choose, refuse to curb weapons ownership, and hope to keep alive many more evils.

Perhaps their last bastion of hope has been Trump, with whom they share mutual adoration and support. It’s lip-biting to consider the alternative outcome to our recent election cycle. And equally lip-biting to give a nod to Corona Virus which became a long-lasting major issue.

These clues to insight deserve more thought.

Dear Friends: This week’s great relief will be welcoming a new administration. Diana