We live in a
strange time when even a puppy receives death threats,[1]
and corrupt leaders are shielded from justice. There are shining exceptions,
but for the most part, honor and truthfulness seem quaint concepts from a
long-ago era. It is easy to be swept into the current cynicism. It is easy to
feel disheartened.
I will never
understand trophy hunters or white supremacists. I no longer try. No matter how many photos
and videos of adorable toddlers, puppies, kittens, beautiful landscapes, and
seascapes appear on social media, the posts of killers and those who apparently
long to kill are also there.
And yes, Secretary
of State Pompeo, I do “care about Ukraine.”[2]
For years, Ukrainians (and Russians) have read my blog and my poetry. Certainly,
if some people in Ukraine are thoughtful enough to read the poems of an unknown
poet, I can care about their safety. And would, if the only thing I ever wrote
was a grocery list. There is a geography of the heart where compassion has no boundaries,
and fairness is understood.
Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated. John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was assassinated. Robert Kennedy was assassinated. But what
could not be killed
is the reality of their personal courage, truthfulness, and honor.
I am
disheartened but I refuse to despair.
[1] Narwhal,
the “unicorn puppy” with a small tail on his forehead, received online death
threats.
[2] “You
think Americans care about Ukraine?” – Mike Pompeo
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