It's Just Below the Surface.....

I am disturbed by the mood of our country right now......it seems so dark, and sad....never mind that the DOW just topped 20,000. I am struggling with the news that comes up every morning......government programs cut/eliminated......people protesting. My daughter asked me yesterday if I can remember an election that resulted in these kinds of feelings since I started voting....and I had to say no. Never.

I went to book club the other day. We were discussing The Nightingale. An excellent historical novel set in WWII France. The hardship, the decisions, the secrets.....the nightmare. Based on real events......so while not completely "correct" it was certainly based on fact.

Part of the story follows the Jews in France and when they were told they would have to wear gold stars on their coats for identification. A fact that most, if not all, of us are well aware of. And how their neighbors either supported them in secret, or turned a cheek and looked the other way.....due to fear. As part of the discussion the leader asked each of us to write down a question....without name attached....and she would use them to start the back-and-forth that makes book clubs so interesting.

My comment had to do with the fact that I thought the book was very timely in our today-world. We have so many in refugee camps around the world.....people leaving their homes unsure if or when they can ever return. We have so many countries where hunger is the norm. Many of the themes in the book seem to echo today. And my specific question was "What would you do if the government decided to institute a Muslim registry in the US?"

Almost complete silence. One member rather angrily said "Well let's not go there." and left the group to go use the rest room. Another said "Oh that would never happen here".....and I responded that people living in France certainly never expected it to happen "there" either.

Basically my question fell into a pool of uncomfortable silence.......and the discussion moved on to other questions.

Then I got home and watched a story on our 5:00 news. We have a very nice new gazebo that was build in Coal Dock Park overlooking Lake Michigan. This new structure has been the site of concerts, weddings, family gatherings. (The pavilion was built in memory of two young men who drowned off Port Washington's shore in 2012.) And now the news reported that "graffiti" decorated the gazebo.....in black spray paint throughout the interior on both the first and second floor. Three swastikas, several phallic symbols and the phrase "fule12".

Three swastikas......ahhhh no..."That would never happen here."

But it did....and it is.....and it's not even just below the surface anymore. It's right out there.....in your face.

What will you do if our government decides to start a Muslim registry??