It has been difficult not to be consumed every day by the riveting drama unfolding in our nation’s capitol, where lawmakers still don’t seem capable of addressing the problem of a President who incited a violent insurrection last Wednesday. Nothing like this has ever been done by a sitting President, and why he has not been removed from office before now continues to amaze me. At least the House will be voting on articles of impeachment tomorrow, and even Republicans like Chris Christie are on record as saying, “If inciting an insurrection isn’t an impeachable offense, I don’t know what is.”
We keep watching the images of those rioters storming the Capitol building on January 6, some of whom have apparently been apprehended. They were so bold that most of them were not even wearing masks, and so their faces have been publicized by the FBI and recognized by their friends and their families and their Facebook followers. Sadly, we know of at least one resident of Highlands who attended the rally. Whether or not he was among the rioters I do not know, but he very well could have been.
This morning I have been reading about Lizard People, a subject of which I confess I was completely unaware. According to an NBC News article, though, the recent Nashville bomber was one of a large number of people – some of whom might have been among those who stormed the Capitol – who believe an insane theory that a race of reptilian beings invaded Earth and created a genetically modified lizard-human hybrid race called the Babylonian Brotherhood. These beings are plotting to take over the world, and they include Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, Alan Greenspan, and Mick Jagger. (Queen Elizabeth?!!) I could believe that a handful of lunatics might believe this science fiction, perhaps even a few hundred. But according to the article, a 2013 Public Policy Polling survey found that 12 million Americans believe in this Lizard People conspiracy! Why have I not heard of this before now? Also among the rioters were many QAnon supporters, who believe that "Satan-worshiping pedophiles like Hilary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi" have taken over our government, and only Donald Trump can stop them.
Lizard People. QAnon. How many people who live down the road from me believe in Lizard People? In QAnon? I’m not sure I want to know. What I do know is that critical thinking is the vaccine against this kind of ignorance, that truth is the vaccine against lies, and that justice and accountability is the vaccine against insurrection. That kindness is the vaccine against cruelty, and love is the vaccine against hate.
So the days go by, and we continue to live our lives in the midst of this madness, praying that more violence will not consume us before January 20. We escape from time to time from the spell of cable news. We still run our miles, we walk on the beach, we read our books in the evening. Children still build their sandcastles on the beach and they wash away in the incoming tide.
And in Highlands, January is in full swing. This morning Martha read on Facebook that Highway 28, the road we take from our home in Clear Creek to Highlands every day, was a solid sheet of black ice. And it snowed just the other day. We would not be running or hiking very much in January in Highlands. We are thankful to Martha’s Aunt for letting us stay here in her condo, where just now, as I am writing, and after a night and a morning of showers, the sun has broken through and is shining on the ocean and it is a balmy 47 degrees.
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