Press here for Peace.
The world's humanly decent must right now prevail.
A WHOLE CIVILIZATION WILL DIE TONIGHT
By Michael F. DuBois
My own son needs lunch, and I have
to put his backpack together,
but a whole civilization will
die tonight, so I’m wondering
if they’ve closed their schools.
Like, a snow day, maybe,
except instead of snow it’s
”keep your children home
so if you die, you die together” —
instead of “we’ll open back up
once the plows have cleared” it’s
”we don’t know if we’ll be here
tomorrow, so hold your babies tight.”
It’s just ‘talk’ I’m told,
which I’ve been told before.
”It’s how the president makes his deals.”
But I’ve never heard anyone talk about
other human beings this way, and I’m
not certain I can look my son in the eyes
if we all agree to stomach it one more time.
A civilization will die tonight,
but as I zip up his backpack and
kiss him off to school I think:
if this is what we call leadership
then I’m not entirely sure that ours
isn’t already dead.
I woke up to the above piece, the day after Republican’s “Tuesday Countdown”— to committing (even more) war crimes against Iran:
The “developments” this week in Iran brought me back to thoughts from my own piece last week, “The Duchy of Cornwall & The Fisherman’s Friends.”
In case you missed, it gives a glimpse at how our friends in the U.K.’s (other-worldly beautiful) Cornwall suddenly see us.
So a partial replay— from last week’s piece:
“During my time in Cornwall, the U.S. invasion of Iran came up constantly in conversation. I apologized for my country ongoing in chats with locals, with the gracious Brits always responding: “Maria, it’s not your fault.”
You are correct, I thought privately.
It is instead entirely the fault of the 77 million Americans— who voted for him— in 2024.
To quote George Orwell: “To see what is front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
In Cornwall, “they” see certain Americans for exactly who they are, and what they are…and, they struggle, against (the troubling reality of) what they see. In them.
During our drive back down to Rock from Port Isaac, my friend suddenly blurted out: “How could the U.S. Catholics vote for him? This has all— from the start— quite simply been about right vs wrong, good vs evil. Can they not see that?”
This, from an English-born mother of four, who self-describes as “a far right Catholic.” One who makes an annual mission trip to France to care for the terminally ill.
This same friend then shared her upset over the Republican-lead Paramount Bros. merger.
In turn, I provided her with other “developments”. To include the Republican’s fever dream SAVE Act, which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in February, and is now up for a vote in the Senate. The Save Act’s passage could disqualify tens of millions of American women- U.S. citizens all - from being able to vote in this November’s (critical) U.S. mid-term Elections.
Stunned, she stared at me, and said: “What kind of person — and what kind of man — could ever vote for him?”
I had another memorable chat. This time with a “Loafered Londoner,” a gentleman whose political views likely skew (quite) Conservative, who made the following, completely unsolicited, comment to me:
“If I were living in America, and learned that one of my best mates voted for him, I would have to distance myself from that friendship. For my mate’s shocking absence of judgement, and lack of humanity.”
As the U.S.’ toxic mess now spews even further outward, Cornwall holds its collective breath: for American military members could soon be sent off to war in the Middle East, for these same service members’ families, for the U.S. economy, for the global economy, for the safety and security of every country.
I shared with my friend, the Cornish mother of four, that (decent) Americans keep a mental record ongoing of who around them voted for him: once, twice, “thrice”.
I told her that we all soon expect them to start to say: “I didn’t vote for him.”
When we all know they did.
She nodded knowingly, and said:
“Whether they admit it to the rest of you— or not— they did what they did.
They will never be able to outrun the consequences of their actions, since these stains on their souls are indelible.”
Now, on to this week’s “updates”:
* JD Vance made a “Campaign trip” this week to Budapest-where he stumped in support of Victor Orbán. POTUS called JD’s mobile during a major rally, JD put him up to the microphone on speaker, so the (in theory) leader of the free world could implore the crowd gathered to re-elect the right-wing populist Prime Minister of Hungary. (Whose side are “our people” on anyway? Russia’s peut-être?).
* Also, the Pope told us this week that he received threats from The U.S. Pentagon. The American-born Pope is so spooked that he has cancelled plans to spend July 4 Stateside to celebrate our country’s 250th Birthday. Pope Leo also added that he will not visit the U. S. for the remainder of the Trump Administration. Inquiring minds want to know which side U.S. Catholics will decide to support. Pope Leo and the Vatican? Or Dear Leader, for whom they voted? Stay tuned!
* Finally, Melania’s impromptu press conference yesterday, during which she shared personal thoughts on the Epstein Files. No words. It does make you wonder though if they trotted her out to be a distraction- what with the Republican’s (most recent) war going so (existentially) off the rails.
Where we are now:
Too many Americans long ago morally abandoned the rest of us- in voting for him once, twice, thrice. So the humanly decent must right now take back the power.
If you believe in the American Dream, it’s up to you to act. Ideas for support:
Las Casas ESL is a volunteer-based non-profit organization providing English language classes to low-income adults in Oakland, California. And it is a
sponsored Ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose. Shoutout to my wonderful Georgetown roommate Sally G. for her life’s commitment to this incredible work.
Breakthrough Collective, a national organization committed to helping under-served students achieve post-secondary success— to unleash their talents and abilities as leaders and advocates. Shoutout to my wonderful Georgetown friend Traci H., for her leadership behind this amazing organization.
Studio in a School is a New York City-based non-profit partnered with public schools to provide visual arts education to underserved students and their families. Studio in a School has long been a lifeline to so many families since its founding in 1977, especially now as these families face fears of ICE, and other existential threats. Launched by Philanthropist & Art Patron Agnes (“Aggie”) Gund and Dorothy Lichtenstein (wife of Roy Lichtenstein), my wonderful Georgetown friend Amanda T. now leads their critical fundraising efforts.
Finally, if you quietly ask around, you will find that many American churches are (again quietly) running off-campus “Asylum Clinics” to offer support and resources- legal and emotional- to families seeking sanctuary in the U.S. Volunteers and families-in-need would both welcome your help- it is not just legal that is needed, but caretaking too. No time like the present to do something to help those who can’t do it alone. Especially in this moment, when Republicans double down on their efforts to strip these families of agency and support.
