POLITICAL MIASMA

April 5 , 2017 /

POLITICAL MIASMA

I’ve always liked the word miasma and can’t tell you why except that it may be somewhat onomatopoeic. That’s another word I like and I had to look up the correct spelling because I was sure there was a “t’ in there. Regardless of the trivia here’s my brief take on the current political miasma.

Miasma refers to a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor and here is the use of the word in a sentence: “a miasma of stale alcohol hung around him like marsh gas.” Synonyms include stink, reek, stench, fetor, smell, fume, odor and another illustrative sentence: “the miasma from the stagnant swamp made us choke and gag.”  And this from mid-17th century Greek:  literally ‘defilement,’ from miainein ‘pollute.’

If you are not among those choking and gagging on what’s emanating from the swamp in Washington, D.C. then you don’t need to read any further. However, if you are among the millions or so sickened by what’s taking place in our nation’s capital, then you may need to decide what position you’re going to take if you haven’t done so already.

I vacillate between opting out and actively resisting. I know that in my years of being an activist I would ordinarily find a group with which I resonated and get involved. However, it may be that I no longer have the energy or burning desire to try and make a difference or that I feel hopeless and powerless to make any changes. And I know that’s a danger sign. Part of me says it’s time for others to step up, I’ve paid my dues several times and yet I cannot simply stand by and be silent.   Then this quote rings in my head: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

So, I will continue to encourage and support others, maybe become part of the underground guerilla group gathering intelligence and leaking it to the right sources! Seriously, I feel like I must do what I can although it might be in a different way than previously. I know I have contacted my representatives more often than ever before but that’s simply a token gesture.

I will continue to write some polemics as I see and hear what I believe to be dangerous to a free and democratic society. I will not blindly accept or tolerate the decisions that are primarily in the interests of the privileged and put my values regarding a healthy culture and climate at risk. I cannot stand by silently and watch the systematic destruction of what we have worked so hard and so long to achieve. What are you doing or what are you willing to do?

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