I Never Thought I’d Live to See this day: Donald Trump

Electors do the right thing.

I was a child of the 60’s. I vaguely remember President Dwight Eisenhower talking to the nation on TV. I watched the Vietnam War on the evening news for years and years. I grieved the assassinations of both Kennedy brothers. I never thought I’d live to see this day. 

I remember Martin Luther King, alive and later dead. I watched in dismay as people demonstrated in this country, peacefully and violently. I never thought I’d live to see this day. 

Most of all, I remember Richard Nixon, forcing to resign from office because of covering up a robbery at the Watergate, I never thought I’d live to see this day.

But Watergate is nothing compared with the corruption, lies, and deceit of this man taking office. He has not one redeeming quality. Not one ounce of goodness. The only emotion he seems to express is revenge.

I also watched with real hope when Barack Obama was elected for the first time.

I thought, our country has overcome prejudice. Now, things will change for the better. I never thought I’d live to see this day. 

At first I laughed when I watched Fox news and heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio. I thought, nobody can take these people seriously. I never thought I’d live to see this day.

I dubiously watched Donald Trump on TV. I cringed when he imitated a person with disabilities, I found his rallies reminiscent of films I’d seen of Adolph Hitler. (Having distant relatives who perished in the Holocaust, I’ve read diaries and stories from that time. I’ve listened to people who were living witnesses to that time. He also had victory rallies.)

There are too many similarities. People thought Hitler was a silly fool who couldn’t possibly last. He suppressed the press, and targeted groups of people: Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, mentally and physically disabled, and those brave enough to resist him. They never thought they’d  live to see that day.

Too many perished because they were bystanders.

Why do people like this man? He preys on people’s fears. They are afraid that “Isis” is coming to their shores, and they think this narcissistic dictator is going to keep them out. They think they will get rich like him. And who really knows how rich he is? No tax return, and he can’t discern between the truth and a lie.

People think him promoting “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holiday shows he’s a good Christian. This man stands for the total opposite of any religion.

Now, I understand how evil people get in power. They masquerade as something they’re not, and work on people’s fears. They suppress the free press. They promise revenge on anyone who opposes them. They tell people they lied to them and they laugh at them. Those followers are so confused they still don’t acknowledge his shallow soul.

Most of all they tell lies, and after a while the lies start to make sense. Say 2+2=5 long enough and people will start to believe you. Read “1984” by George Orwell. It’s all there.

If somehow, any elector read this post, do the right thing.

Are you going to San Francisco? Scott Mckenzie dies. He sang the “Flower Children’s” Anthem

Scott McKenzie very recently passed away. He was ill. At least he didn’t die from a drug overdose. He had such a lovely clear voice. It awakened some of us living  during “the summer of love.”

This was the anthem song of  the 60’s. It made us all want to leave our safe lives and venture out to San Francisco to become “hippies”.

The dream eventually  turned into a nightmare. We were to discover that drugs didn’t really bring peace, love and happiness.  When I was recently in San Francisco, there were a few pathetic people hanging around Haight/ Ashbury . Some people got caught up in the drug scene and never left.

One of the writers of the song, John Phillips, of “The Mama and Papa’s got caught up in the drug lifestyle. His autobiography, Papa John, talked about the endless drugs, and his decadent lifestyle. He wrote the book while he was still using drugs.

Mckenzie traveled around in one of the later “Mama and Papa tours.” That tour included MacKenzie Philips who accused Papa John of some unspeakable acts in her autobiography, High on Arrival. It also included Elaine McFarlane from Spanky and Our Gang.

But, for some of us hearing this song, brings back that idealistic hopeful feeling. It seemed like life was really going to change for the better. Sometimes, I think we unleashed  a Pandora’s Box of drug use.

But maybe you caught up in the 60’s and escaped without wounds. I’d love to hear your story. If you got caught up in the drug scene, I’d love to hear about that too.

Related articles

• Scott McKenzie, singer of ‘San Francisco,’ dies (sacbee.com)
• Scott McKenzie, singer of ‘San Francisco,’ dies (miamiherald.com)
• Singer Scott McKenzie dies aged 73 (independent.co.uk)
• Scott McKenzie, ’60s pop singer, dies (sfgate.com)