After the 2004 Election
In tenebras carissima descendit patria
dum super nos nubes congregant nigrae.
Caeci ignotique sua in potestate gaudent
ubi regnat superbe imperii arrogantia.
Quid possumus nunc agere
hoc in tempore triste?
Semper speremus laboremusque fortiter
Quia obscuram post noctem
Certe aurea apparebit aurora.
Our beloved country descends into shadows
while dark clouds gather above us.
The blind and ignorant rejoice in their power
where proudly reigns the arrogance of empire.
What can we do now in this sad time?
Let us always hope and bravely work
For after the dark night
Surely there will appear a golden dawn.
This poem summarizes my thoughts at this time. Countries get the governments they deserve. Most Americans voted out of fear and what we now have is fearful indeed. What will four more years mean, years of increasing arrogance in which we make enemies faster than we can kill them, years of continuing environmental devastation, years without diplomacy, years where domestic wounds fester untended? And yet, as this tribal consciousness deepens, hope rises. Something in all of us wants to grow up. Perhaps it is only when the full force of tribalism is felt that people will long to move to a higher consciousness, a level of reason, of dialogue, and of peace. Our work is cut out for us. Keep the doors open. Let the voices calling us higher always be heard.
By Ron Miller – November 3, 2004