For my friends and family who have followed my ranting, ruminating and rhetoric regarding anything Trump, over the past two years, you may have noticed a slight absence of hysterics, hyperbole, and my steady march to identify and send hypocrisy. I have pontificated loudly, and proudly regarding the politics of this nation and indirectly of this world, due to a very important lesson I learned from my parents, growing up, that values, morals, and integrity are not necessarily the nature of your DNA, but certainly are formed by the nurture of the DNA of those who love you. Since May of 2018 my family has witnessed the deaths of three relatives; in particular for me, my sister, Maxine, my brother-in-law, Jerry and this past week my nephew Josh. My family had been jolted and jarred, dismayed and depressed, shocked and saddened by the passing of three people, who for MY family made important differences in ALL of our lives. This past week, I spent time with my sister and her family, my children, my other nieces and nephews and the friends and acquaintances of those who were lucky enough to have loved my nephew Josh. I share this information, for numerous reasons, but one, in particular, is something I refer to as AFTERWORDS!
My nephew's wife and his parents decided to have a celebration of life, instead of a funeral, a dirge of sorts where the morbid, reminders of a life once lived are drowned in the traditional Jewish form of sitting SHIVA. It was decided to celebrate and educate all in attendance, about the beauty of my nephew Josh, his accomplishments, not necessarily as a professional, but as a person, as a son an uncle, a husband, a nephew, a cousin, a friend and as a human. Many of us used the power of our memories to share insights into the complicated incomplete life of a young man conspiring to become the best he could, including an entourage of loving souls along the way. This third passing of a life of a family member within seven months of a morbid 2018, hurt, but it provided some frank discussions on a variety of topics, from God, the purpose of life, and why bad things can happen to good people as well as understanding the mere minutes of mortality, and the most to be made while living.
I am back in LA, returning to my angst, anger, frustration, and fear of anything Trump, finally understanding, or should I say with more clarity why it is I find Trump and the enabling Republican Party and his Crime Family so disturbing and disgusting. I knew and now KNOW for certain, its the sheer lack of empathy, sincerity, compassion, and substance that kick me in the gut, and sheer amount senseless shit, trump, and his cohorts spew and are made from. I learned so much more about my nephew than even I had supposed. And I discovered that AFTERWORDS, albeit spoken on such a sad occasion have much power. And it is from that human experience, that I now UNDERSTAND, much easier, why I must write words that may not stop Trump and his Con Artists of Demons from continuing to destroy the concepts of equality and freedom…but I do not want to wait until the passing of our democracy to speak out and speak against the tragedy which has been initiated and motivated by those who seek only evil!
