You have entered: The Patriot Zone

You have entered: The Patriot Zone

There is something quite beautiful in this (filtered) photo I took with my new iPhone 11 Pro Max last night. The light at sunset, the quietness of the flags almost at rest from the infrequent breeze— just a whispered warm moment in time, beautifully lit by the setting sun: the twilight’s last gleaming.

There is something disturbing about this image too.

I now live in Lacey Township—a bastion and republican stronghold. Yes. “Patriots” abound. They sure like to prove their patriotism by the flags they wave. Though flying a flag alone does not make one a patriot or patriotic, and you’d be hard pressed to convince these folks otherwise.

A true patriot would not strap a flag to the back of their American made pickup and fly it until it’s tattered and shredded and still not take it down. Or those who are too lazy to take their unlit flags in after sundown. Or leave them out in the rain. The colors may not run—but that purported patriotism and associated rhetoric sure does.

I never (read hardly ever) talk about politics in my blog. But living here during the reign of The Gang Of 45 & living in Lacey has certainly made me more vocal in ways I have not been before—it has also made me more frustrated with, and frightened of my neighbors. I’ve expressed this fear and written about it previously—and it still remains.

Some might call me unpatriotic for voicing these concerns. Some might say I read too much into all this. But I think not. Whenever the right wants to distance themselves from those confronting them with truths, they wrap themselves in the flag and its associated patriotism. Therefore if you speak out against the latest talking points, lie, conspiracy theory, sexual misconduct, racist remark, etc, etc, etc emanating from The Gang of 45 or the President himself—you must be a rebel, unpatriotic, silenced and or ridiculed.

All I can say is: FUCK THAT NOISE!

Questioning everything. Starting a discussion. Shining light in dark places. These ARE parts of being a patriot and required by a healthy republic and supported by the Constitution.

My health and my finances may require me to live in this god-awful place for a while longer. I still have to find a way to connect and feel at peace with my surroundings and my new home—or not. The only thing I can do is wait for a 2020 storm, reprisal and housecleaning via the next presidential election.

Until then—I’ll keep my eyes wide open here in The Patriot Zone.