What May Come

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I haven't posted in some time for the simple reason that I've been in the hospital. No, it wasn’t COVID-19 related, but the problem with my innards was nasty enough to knock me down for the count, requiring emergency surgery.

|Subject: Crowd of Trump supporters marching on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, ultimately leading the building being breached and several deaths. | Date: 01/06/2021 | Photographer: TapTheForwardAssist | This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International |

I remember Logan, my nurse for that shift, asking if I'd been watching America's stupidity on the news. Since the hospital didn't have MSNBC, I turned on CNN and watched a horde of morons lay siege to The Capital Building in the name of patriotism.

Keep in mind, these zip tie baring bastions of righteousness attacked their own government in order to nullify the results of a legally executed election.  There was nothing heroic or patriotic about what they did.  These beer-fueled face-painted morons staged a failed coup d'etat killing five people.

As I write this, D.C. police and the American military have our capitol city in lock down as they prepare for trouble.  As Washington D.C. mimics a middle eastern warzone, armed self-proclaimed militia members are taking up arms, and positioning themselves outside state capitals across the country.  We wait with bated breath to see whether a typically simple ceremony will serve as a catalyst for our country to erupt into idiotic chaos.  

Coupled with this uncertainty is the anxiety we share over COVID-19.  More than 400,000 Americans have already lost their lives to the disease, which  was unheard of two years ago.  We hope, but are not assured, that new leadership will be able to facilitate distribution of life saving vaccine.  We hope, but are not assured, that the death tolls begin to drop.  We hope, but are not assured, that our country returns to some version of normal.  

None of us know what the future holds, but let us pray it is not paved in pain and loss. 

Addendum Added 01/20/2021

Well, the inauguration is over and nothing extraordinary happened.  Trump gave a farewell speech, which nobody cared about.  His followers didn't attack anyone.  Nothing significant occurred.  Of course, we'll never if nothing happened because nothing was planned, or if planners were deterred, at the last minute, by the multiple kilometers of razor wire topped fences and the 25,000 troops adorned Washington D.C..  

Some will point to the deployment as an overreaction.  Others will point to it as a deterrent that worked,  I neither know, nor care why the proceedings were peaceful.  What's important is that a new day has dawned for our country.