I know it’s because we are in the middle of rehearsing for “The
Diary of Anne Frank” that I probably have a heightened sense of paranoia, but I’m
convinced that the threat of extreme right wing power is alive and well within
our borders. Even within the borders of
Waresboro, Georgia where I live in what looks like pastoral peace.
There has always been a Confederate flag or two, and the
incident of our Obama campaign sign being defaced, but today we almost felt
like the invasion had started. As we
returned from grocery shopping and prepared to turn into our driveway, we had
to wait while a convoy of vehicles passed in front of us. There were at least 6 or 7 vehicles, each one
festooned with numerous confederate flags and white power symbols. Our road dead ends and I really don’t know
our neighbors—obviously. I’m guessing
they don’t want to know us either. There
was obviously some sort of event at the end of the road—some scary, large,
white power event. Are we in danger?
As I said, I may be just a little paranoid. I randomly turned to a TV channel while I was
ironing this afternoon and watched a show on the History Channel called “Aliens
Among Us”. This particular episode was
regarding scientific experiments by Nazis at the tail end of the war trying to develop
weapons of mass destruction—and develop time travel. Suddenly it hit me how not so far away and
distant the threat of Nazi-like power is.
Whenever I express thoughts like these, people are inclined
to think I’m being ridiculous, exaggerating, and of course, the ever popular “it
could never happen here”. But when you
begin to live the life of the Frank family, hiding in fear in an attic, it
seems different. Mrs. Frank, the role I
am playing, is very much like me.
Worrying unnecessarily perhaps, fearful for the well-being of her
family, dealing with the everyday chores and annoyances of life. With the exception of Mr. Frank, every Jewish
person in this play died in a concentration camp, shortly before the camps were
liberated. Excuse me if I tend to take
that personally.
I know Confederate flags have been removed from positions of
prominence in our country; I know discrimination is illegal. But believe me my friends, the Confederacy
is alive and well in Waresboro, Georgia.
We have numerous elected representatives whose views are at odds with
our country’s advances and ideals. There
are many more waiting in the wings to have their chance at instituting laws and
policies that enforce discrimination against genders that aren’t traditional
male or female, immigrants, and other races and ethnicities. We have law enforcement officers scattered
throughout the country who are pre-emptively taking action against the dark
faces they feel are threatening them, precipitating out of control violence in
the streets. It’s time to re-visit the
history of pre-war Germany and track the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi
party.
There are those who say the Holocaust never happened; there
are those who say Anne Frank’s story in her diary is fictitious. I’d suggest that those of you who do know
the truth and fear our potential future get busy and realize the importance of
using the rights we still have. In other
words, not only use your vote but try to convince others to do the same!
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