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Pop Goes The World Joann Ware
“Our so-called leaders speak With words, they try to jail ya They subjugate the meek But it’s the rhetoric of failure” - “Spirits in the Material World,” The Police The other night I dreamed I was at the inauguration of a new president, who was never seen in the dream. I only heard him speak. He spoke loudly and forcefully and the words he used were full of rage.
First he ordered that the flags of all other nations had to be destroyed. His followers began to stomp on and then burn the flags of every nation in the world, even those of our allies.
A new country was emerging, one in which citizens who did not agree with the new regime were murdered either by being bludgeoned with a golden hammer or administered cyanide called Pink Death because of the rose color added to the poison.
Since the other nations of the world did not recognize the new country, U.S. passports were not valid so no one could leave.
I teamed with actor Mike Farrell (It’s possible I might be watching too many “M*A*S*H” reruns) to try to escape. I told the authorities that I was his daughter and he pretended to be patient in a vegetative state. When no one was watching, he gave me ideas on how to escape.
I had the plans to make my escape and I made my way quickly down a long, black corridor. A young man approached me with a smile. Suddenly he withdrew a gold hammer from his jacket. I was too terrified to move. He said to me, “I can either kill you with this hammer or you can die by Pink Death.” I opted for the Pink Death. I was administered the poison and soon everything went black.
I willed myself to wake up then and when I found myself in my own bed, I actually breathed a sigh of relief.
I have always had crazy dreams. Most of the time my dreams are not this disturbing. I go to sleep most nights wondering where my dreams are going to take me. I hope that my dreams never take me to this place again.
Real life is intruding on my dreams. It’s a presidential election year and that’s on a lot of people’s minds. Obviously it’s weighing on my mind more than I realize.
A redux of the 2020 match-up seems to be inevitable and more than a little disheartening. We have one man running on the promise that he will pretty much become a dictator from day one and the other whose mental fitness for the job is frequently called into question.
I am already dreading the debate between these two men. Politicians engaged in debates are more interested in tearing their opponents down rather than offering something constructive and useful on how to solve our nation’s problems. No man or woman running for president has all the answers. They may pretend they do and talk about how their plans are different and more effective than their opponents, without ever really going into detail about what their plans are. If voters are curious to know what the candidates are going to do about reducing dependence on foreign oil or saving Social Security, they can go to the politician’s website where they can also order some presidential election merchandise.
I’m not even sure why either party is bothering with conventions this year. Save the money for something of more importance. I’m sure that both parties have some sort of rainy day fund.
As a voter, I am wary of any presidential candidate who says he’s for the forgotten man. As a woman, I cannot forget how one of the candidates is continuing to pursue demolishing the reproductive rights of women.
Take the utmost care when considering someone to occupy the Oval Office. If we are unwise in our selection, one day we might wake up in a world we no longer recognize.
