The big day has arrived. Donald Trump will be charged with felony crimes in the state of New York by the New York City District Attorney. In fact, he will be charged with 34 crimes when the indictment is unsealed.
The American media will cover the event like a coronation in reverse. Instead of covering the holy oils that will anoint Charles III as defender of the faith the American media will fixate on the fingerprint ink that will sanctify his ascension to accused criminal.
Where are all of the Trump family members for this glorious event? It seems that the story has evolved into a bit of a missing persons story when it comes to Ivanka and Jared. They are suddenly invisible, which is curious given their relatively recent ubiquity. Jared received $2 billion from the Saudi King, which apparently was not enough to sate Ivanka’s sadness around being a persona non grata at the Met Gala.
I looked out the front door this morning, and it was quiet outside. There seemed to be no signs of anything stirring. There was no indication of militia presence, Trump boats, insurrectionists or Matt Schlapp. Perhaps that’s because I’m in Toronto, but it’s hard to be sure. Other news seemed to suggest that other things occurred in America yesterday. Did you know NASA announced the four-person crew that’s headed back to the moon? It’s made up of three Americans and a Canadian, and includes the first woman and African American astronauts who will make the journey. Apparently the TV cameras were glued to a taxiing 757 yesterday, so it made it hard for anyone to know what else might be happening. For Americans of a certain age, the images were reassuring no doubt. Many of us have wondered from time to time whatever happened to the white Bronco. Now we know. It grew up into an airplane with a new paint job, and different scumbags inside.
The entire New York City Police Department has been activated for the big day. All 36,000 officers have been told to report in uniform. They are expecting trouble it seems. It’s still too early to know how many Q shaman are polishing their horns and fluffing their synthetic animal hair vests this morning, but suffice to say, the NYPD thinks there will be some. Maybe today’s event will draw an aggrieved loser or two to its periphery like Timothy McVeigh found his way to Waco in April 1993. His inspiration wasn’t felt for another two years, but it started in Waco.
The Nazi message boards and extremist groups are lighting up social media like its Himmler night at the Bund rally. Every grievance, conspiracy and hatred is landing exactly where it is supposed to. All of the calls for race war, civil war and political violence are being made and heard across a vast interconnected ecosystem of extremist groups. Who will act? No one knows, but when they do it’s a surety that it will be too early to speculate about motive.
The Commandant of the USMC said the Marines aren’t ready to fight in the Pacific because they are at 36 per cent of their combat capacity. The Russians have called up another 146,000 conscripts. The US banking system is shaky, inflation is rising, the cartels are attacking, real estate prices are dropping, and the weather is getting worse, but none of that matters because today is the big day, eight years on. Trump will be arrested. Did you hear?
The great and tawdry spectacle has finally arrived. The inevitable has collided with the present to produce this special episode of reality theater for the American people. We will look into the sewer together and see our future.
April 3rd should be a day that elicits American memories. This day prefaced a great tragedy 55 years ago. This evening will mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s final oratory before sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. His prophetic words announce the imminence of his death and the conclusion of his earthly journey. The 39-year-old minister and father tells his audience that he too would like a long life, but that it doesn’t matter because he has unraveled a great mystery. He tells the audience that he has seen over the mountaintop towards what lies beyond, and it is a good place.
We will get there. Someday. It won’t be today though. Today will be a small and petty day, but tomorrow doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to let it be. It can be something different. Maybe by looking back to a different April 3rd we can find our way back to the trail.
Your articles Steve are not often beautiful because they are gut wrenching and filled with terrible realities but......this one was in humble opinion certainly beautiful and ended ss it should by focusing our hearts on a great human being who tried so hard to keep our eyes on the prize!!
Perfectly contextualized, Steve. I do wish we Americans would get to the other side of that mountain and make the place where MLK awaits. Hearing his words again does -- at least -- tantalize with that possibility.