It’s gone.
My beloved older neighbor’s “Gun Owners for Trump” rear-window sticker is gone from his F-150. Poof. Vamos. Gonzo.
I noticed its disappearance a month or two ago, when gas prices started surging — George, let’s call him, is a truck driver, and the whole world knows he was feeling lots of feels once the unnecessary don’t-call-it-a-war against Iran started and everything went to even shittier shit.
Haven’t talked to George in depth yet, but did not the 34 felonies throw you, buddy? How about the numerous pedophilia accusations? No? Not that either? Oh, gas. Yeah. That’s what it was. That’s what first began to clue you into the overarching malevolence of this oligarchy burgeoning on a dictatorship whose 1% leaders could not care less if you lived or died.
Early results of these midterm elections are promising for possible change in the right direction.
George is no dummy. This may not seem like much, but back when the world was kinder and gentler — thanks, Obama — we played a lot of Pictionary together with fellow neighbors, and George ruled. Not only could he draw, but he could diagnose a teammate’s scribbles in seconds. He’s also a man’s man who has helped us out dozens of times with tools we’ve needed, life advice (he lost his young son to a motorcycle accident and wife to cancer), and even the occasional Bud Light or three — it’s Miller Lite now for obvious reasons.
The one thing I felt held him back from choosing himself and his remaining family over punishing others unlike him was his faith. I don’t get it, either. Nowhere in the Bible — which I’ve read since Catholic kindergarten through Catholic high school — does Jesus say, “Punish thy neighbor for not thinking exactly like you do.”
The Old Testament says, “Thou shalt not kill,” but does that only apply to the embryo and not the woman feeding it? Or apply to the embryo after it’s born? It doesn’t seem to, because after 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was shot and killed by the authorities, the only people upset about it online were lefties …
Maybe it comes down to that for George, that one political line item. I understand that, too. I don’t agree with it, but I can see why a spiritually unsettled issue matters so much when choosing our country’s leaders. We might only be able to reach him and others like him through the pulpit, and, sorry, but there’s big business in keeping everyone angry and afraid.
Overall, it’s not that hard. Hopefully, you voted for the people who will make your lives better, richer, and more fulfilled, not the people who will make life harder for those you hate or “hate” in the abstract sense. Hate is a burden, and it kills from the inside out. I get it. A Black or brown person may have hurt you or someone you love or admire in the past. Now, you resent the whole bloc. Understood, but hopefully we all realize that seeing nine bad apples out of 10 does not mean the 10th is also bad. As Ben Franklin once said (and I’m paraphrasing here), It is better to have 10 guilty men free than one innocent man in jail. Painting with a broad brush does no one any good. People are individuals, not gangs or cohorts, much in the same way I won’t dismiss any conservative as just another Nazi without hearing from them first. I have to say that most times I’ve conversed with conservatives, including George, I’ve left feeling way more agreement than disagreement. We have a lot more in common than we all may think.
We don’t always have time to hear from them, but I will afford them the benefit of the doubt first before judging. You should do the same.
Here’s to hoping for a better, brighter, more inclusive, less sexist, less racist, less bigoted future today. — Anthony Mariani, Editor
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
