I walked down Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica this morning as the newest Target store was boarding the windows. Election protection. Anticipating the unrest of the results. I thought about this post I wrote on 9/11. I felt compelled to post it today. I have updated the numbers.
This historical day. The images of the planes hitting the towers is forever branded in my memory. The collide. The explosion. The shock. The screams. The cries. The leaping off of buildings. The bodies hitting the pavement. The collapse. Symbolic of what America was just moments before. The ash. The people running in horror, covered in debris. As if on an automatic loop in my mind. The fire. The pain. The terror. Us as a country coming together to fight against a common enemy. The one that threatened our freedom. Our democracy. Our lives. To dust off the pain and unite. To rebuild and pick each other up.
I see images of the fires that are ravishing the west coast. Like Rome, watching us burn. Watching the wild life flee with no where to run. The people evacuate, the homes destroyed to charred rubble, the dreams lost, the lives gone. With little to nothing said by the president. The man in charge of protecting the American people. Responsible for uniting us in tragedy. To bring us together to fight. To connect us with a common goal.
The president we now found out knew about the virus that would soon rock our country on February 7th in an interview with Bob Woodward. When he claimed China was transparent. Realizing China was only transparent to Trump. Trump chose to lie to the American public.
His defense, “Why didn’t Bob contact authorities if he thought it was so bad?”
Because, as he explains in his book, he had no idea why Trump was talking about the Corona Virus. He hadn’t asked. He thought the interview was going to be about the acquittal of his impeachment. He thought the virus was only in China. Not even on our radar yet. Yet, the president knew it was coming. Knew it was airborne. Spread by breathing, “Deadly, tricky stuff. 5% deadlier than the flu." A statistic we now see is accurate. But we had no idea in February. The president did.
But what authorities was Bob supposed to call? Should he have called 911 on the President of the United States? The number reflecting an emergency. Who we call when in need. On the man who is the authority of “law and order”. Is that what we all should do as we witness him break the law or constitution? I want to. (As she dials)
“911. What’s the emergency?”
The emergency is our nation is on the brink of collapse. A divide created by our commander in chief. By not taking a pandemic seriously. By not wanting to believe in the inconvenience of science. While some have lost their homes, their jobs, their lives. Consumed with worry of how to feed their families. How long their savings will last. If they have savings. When he knew. Denying us the right to prepare or protect ourselves. Being the only president in history to cause a separation instead of bringing us together to fight a war against a common enemy. A virus. Like we have proven we could unite on every other attack on our national soil. A risk he still takes with our lives. Our businesses, our children. As he threatened defunding counties and schools that didn’t reopen only as more kids get sick. As young teachers die.
What is the emergency? The denial of global warming as we are ravished in flames. As hurricanes increase and demolish the south. As more pandemics will rear and take over our lands. Everything happening that the scientists have been warning us about for decades. Yet we sit back. And literally watch as our nation burns. Like Rome. The collapse of a great empire. While the president is silent. Denying. Deflecting.
No one realizing how fragile freedom is. A nation only if we have land left. A democracy only when all are heard. All are considered.
He says, “Things can’t go on as they are.” As they have since he has been in office. Taken an oath to defend. Four more years would destroy everything we have fought so hard to be. The tension and passions growing against him. Against his lack of leadership.The looting, the riots, partly because he is the one sitting in the oval office. Behind the Resolute desk. Claiming he doesn't want to spread panic, as he threatens the national demise. "That suburbias will be gone. Looting will continue." Spreading fear and panic quicker than the virus itself. When he is a weed causing such division. Feeding the hate. Igniting the fire. And allowing the engulf of flames.
Closing a blind eye to the bigotry. The signs. The venom bubbling. The virus spreading. Only acknowledging the attention or lack thereof he gets. People rising and fighting back. Against "grabbing 'em by the pussy". Against the refusal to denounce white supremacy or acknowledge systematic racism. As unarmed black men are killed and white gunmen are shown consideration. Against the ancient theories that we know from history are wrong as we relive those moments. Knowing what the right choice is. Knowing the pain and suffering that has occurred. While others want it to continue. To stay the same. To involve church with state, when that is the reason why our forefathers fled. In the name of freedom. So everyone could believe what they wanted.
Thankful for the unions who stood up, Governors that refused to feed his denial. Who wouldn’t bow down. The people who have defended us. Who protected us against a man who told us "it was under control." Who “downplayed” the threat. The risk to you or your family. Because he “didn’t want to cause panic”. Instead he caused mass death, and continues with his rallies. As he still shows little regard for human life. Still not mandating masks. His followers serving as a prop on his screen. An actor portraying what he wants you to believe. Except telling the truth.
Once again, recognizing we are living in a moment of losing who we once were. United. Who we have always aspired to be. Breaking our unity so deeply it could become unrepairable. When he knew. Before anyone else. On February 7th. Risking us all getting sick to save his economy and election. An economy that will never recover until this virus is under control. All trust now evaporated in the lack of truth. The increase of lies.
How did we get here? From a place of uniting over the death of 2,977 innocent people on that historic day, 9/11, to an indifference of over 228,000 innocent lives in a pandemic. A number today that has increased. A number that is touted as being over exaggerated when the CDC states there are 100,000 more deaths year to date than last year. Possibly meaning there are more deaths than recorded. How did this happen?
It has been happening for a long time. Slowly. So slowly it hasn’t been detected by many. Except the scientists. Except the economists. Except the truth seekers and the freedom riders. Except those teaching about global warming and climate change. Those speaking of inequality, wage gaps and racism. If you haven’t seen it before this moment, I beg you to look. Today. 911. We are once again burning. We are on fire. Like Rome, we are on the verge of collapse. There is a virus that can be deadly to someone in your life. The President knew this before the medical journals did. Because China was transparent… to him. He is the one who lied to us. On this day, 9/11. A historical day of American’s being attacked, I ask you to open your eyes. We are under attack again. We have an emergency. That emergency is occupying the white house. Threatening our democracy and our lives. This is a 911. Vote.