Is Democracy dead? Should we name January 20th as a Day of Mourning?

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An Allegory?

Yesterday, a terrific storm devastated almost all the structures I had built for the garden I've tended for years.* The 50 mph winds tossed around the latticework and the shelter for the "Meditation Station" like they were paper.

The only things escaping the ferocious wind were the birdhouse and the red acrylic rock heart. Even the celebrated "Faerie Portal" was demolished.



For San Francisco, the storm was so unusual as to be freakish: trees were down and flood advisories were posted in an indefinite way.

I picked through the wreckage in the rain, looking at each piece as if a part of my soul had been torn from me: how could this have happened? The garden was an homage to fantasy and nature and certainly no target for divine retribution.**

In a strange way, the storm, the devastation seemed like an allegory to me: the election and the transition led up to the devastation of America. And that part of my country's soul - Democracy - had been torn out by a disaster of epic proportions. It's heart, the very acceptance and diversity enshrined in The Statue of Liberty is left, but exceptionally vulnerable to subsequent storms.***

Blame ...

It's easy (and quite frankly enjoyable in a way) to blame Donald Trump for the devastation to America, but let's not kid ourselves: we all made the Trump election happen. Complacency and jokes about Trump's hair, followed by disdain and confusion about all other candidates on both sides led to Trump's nomination.

Then the chaos caused by fear and panic set in. Nastiness was the rue of thumb and the one who played the game the best could win that huge section of disenfranchised voters. Trump's campaign was a smoke screen of crude remarks, impossible bravado, platitudes, outlandish promises and denials. The media and America had never seen anything like it. The neo-nazis, white supremacists and "anyone but Hillary" groups had acquired a voice!

And decided not to listen to any other voice.

Reason Twisted Into Knots

"He's baby Christian", said Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, trying to defend Trump's obvious lack of knowledge of the Bible. Prosperity preacher Paula White (who became Trump's spiritual campaign adviser) professed that Trump had totally come to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. When, she didn't say or for how many shekels. Black preachers and "Bishops" had a hard time hanging on to the Trump bandwagon. And at this date, the American Council of Churches (45 million+) has denounced Trumps cabinets picks.

But who cares about the ACA anyway? The ACA won't attempt to mold Trump as much as Franklin Graham: after all, God had made Trump legitimate. But if God had a hand in the election of Donald Trump, His Word had to be translated from the Russian.

The Christian Right loves Russia and Putin since preachers like Scott Lively are making huge inroads to homophobia.

In Mourning for a Legitimate President and Any Form Of Unity

With no majority popular vote, an electorate whose legitimacy is in question, with countless conflicts of interest and proof that a foreign government tampered with the election, with refusal to release vital tax returns, and with Trump's Presidency may be the most illegitimate in America's History.

And the most divisive. Families have been divided, as well as small and large businesses, neighborhoods and schools.

So there you have it: Congress has ratified the electoral vote and Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on January 20.

We have a lot of things to mourn.

I'll be working on getting things back together. Maybe we should all plan to put things back together.

* The 50 Chumasero Memorial Garden - a sort of tribute to "Everyone who has ever lived and loved at 50 Chumasero" in San Francisco's Parkmerced.

** Perhaps since I'm gay, the Christian Right might differ with that, but I had provided the interior of the birdhouse with a Nativity scene, soo...

***Tweet storms if nothing else.

Authors Website: http://sacredcowsmakethebesthamburgers.blogspot.com

Authors Bio:
Rev. Dan Vojir is has been writing/blogging on religion and politics for the better part of ten years. A former radio talk show host (Strictly Books €" Talk America Radio Network) and book publisher, Dan has connected with some of the most interesting people of our time: Steve Allen, William F. Buckley, Alan Ginsburg, Armisted Maupin, Anne Rice, Grace Slick, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Patricia Nell Warren, and Betty White.

He is also an ordained minister in the ULC and has studied extensively on the subject of the Bible and homosexuality. Additional articles can be read on his blog, The Devil and Dan Vojir.

Future goals and activities: a new ministry focusing on reaching personal spiritual levels without the outside influence of proselytism or evangelism called The Church of the Inner Preacher. This ministry will be included in a new website The Devil and Dan Vojir.

Vojir's main goal: to root out hypocrisy in religion and politics. "If only one person is saved from being killed or bashed by inane bigotry, then I'll have accomplished what I was put on earth to do: To Live and Help Live."
http://sacredcowsmakethebesthamburgers.blogspot.com