Mourning...

 

I'm in mourning.  

I mourn the loss of doctors, nurses and medical professionals (and they ARE professionals) working with me to make healthcare decisions instead of insurance companies and big  brother government.

I mourn the time when a stranger could knock on your door and you could open it and not be afraid that they would grab you, drag you out of your home and take you away without any due process.

I mourn the day when you could knock on a stranger's door and ask for help and not get shot in the face.

I mourn the time when you could send your child to school and not worry about them being caught in a mass shoot.  A time when teachers taught and classrooms were places for learning and not where you hid from a gunman.

I mourn the days where we respected our leaders, because they served us, the people, and they earned our respect.

I mourn for those ripped from their families and treated as if they were not human.  I grieve for those who have been injured or died as a result of cruelty.

I mourn the loss of humanity.  Where people were treated with kindness no matter what the color of their skin, what sex they were or what language they spoke.

I mourn the days when places of worship didn't have to lock their doors to keep gunmen out and could open their doors freely to all.

I mourn the loss of my right to make decisions about my body.

I mourn the loss of truth.  It used to matter.  Lies were once called out and corrected. When the news was investigated and represented the truth.  When we didn't have to dig and research to make sure that what we were being told was true. 

I mourn the passing of decorum, when people acted with decency.

I mourn the loss of innocence.  When children did not live in fear of being gunned down in schools or ripped from the arms of their parents or guardians.  Where they did not have to worry as to whether their loved ones would be savagely torn from their homes or workplaces.

I mourn the loss of law.  There was a time when no one was about it.  That if the law was broken there were consequences and it didn't matter who you were.

I mourn times of civility.  Where people could speak and share ideas without being shouted at or shunned or even worse.

I mourn the day we lost fact and when it became acceptable to accept whatever someone said or posted on social media without accountability of factuality.

I mourn for nature and our planet.  I long for the time when we cared for it and did what we could to make sure that it would survive long after we were gone.

I mourn  (and long) for the time when we were the UNITED States.

Was there ever such a time when all of the above didn't need to be mourned?  Probably not.  The world has always been imperfect.  That's something we used to acknowledge.  (I mourn the loss of that too.)  We are not and have never been perfect or truly great, but we have slid down the slope from reaching for the stars and are now clinging to the branch of sanity and hope while dangling over a pit of despair and cruelty.

I long for the days of calm.  Where there were problems, but there was hope that we might overcome them.  That we might work together.  A time of support; where we could rely on each other, no matter who or where we were.

I long for the boring days.  Where there was less shouting and shoving.  Where people claiming to be law enforcement, WERE actually trained in the law and cared about the community they worked (and lived) in.  (I know that this still exists...sadly they are overshadowed by untrained and unfeeling brutes.) When people could gather without fear.  When retribution was not a form of government.

I pray for calm.  I pray for sanity.  I pray for unity.  I pray for humanity.  I pray for the future of this world.

Even as I mourn...I pray.  I pray that good will return and so by example I try to be the good.  I pray for common sense to return and so I try to exemplify common sense.  I pray for kindness; so I am kind.  I pray for compassion; and so I am compassionate.  I pray for justice, as I try to be just. I pray for a time when I will no longer mourn.  I pray for a time of harmony.  Let it be.  Please let it be.