I May Have Just Seen the Future

After living in Spain for 11 years, we returned last March to live in the US. Ever since that move, I have been increasingly disheartened about the future of my country of origin. It seemed there is a hopeless division in the country that has been exploited by Trump and his party without effective opposition from those who would want to bring us together. I have begun seeing all the earmarks of totalitarianism, with military in the streets hauling people away for little or no reason and no forces of sanity able to counter the lawlessness of a runaway federal government.

I had begun to think that the best place for me to end my days on this planet might well be abroad. We still have long-term Spanish residency, so living abroad is an option that we have that many, if not most, of my fellow US citizens do not have. As I contemplate that possibility I do so without joy. As much as I appreciate and enjoy the culture of Spain and the ease with which we travel all over Europe, it is deeply painful to feel that I would have to give up being an American. As much as I see the flaws of this country, including how it has callously exploited the resources of the planet, and the wounds of systematic racism and sexism that show little signs of healing, it is, after all, my country of origin. It is the only world I knew for most of my life. How sad to have to give it all up—to be a former American. I have salved my sadness with the thought that I, at least, have a way out of the growing authoritarian chaos—by living permanently abroad.

Now, out of the blue, I have seen what I hope to be a better harbinger of the future for this country. It comes in the person of a young woman from New York who is given the acronym of AOC. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a 30-year-old, first term representative from New York in the House of Representatives in Washington. She delivered an unassailable blow to the forces of this misogynist, evil power structure that has a strangle-hold on our government. I believe that every US citizen owes it to themselves to hear her entire speech. You can find it here:

https://www.themarysue.com/in-scathing-speech-aoc-calls-out-cultural-misogyny-and-the-power-of-privilege/.

Go there now and listen! I don´t even care if you find your way back to this blog post to finish reading what I have to say. Just go there and listen.

Why am I so overjoyed by this short speech? Here is my list:

1.     The speech is a perfect gem that can´t be countered except with the same misogyny that it calls out so clearly.

2.     It comes from a person of the next generation. This is what leadership in this country could look like in the years ahead.

3.     It has almost no rancor or even expressions of anger. AOC even closes by thanking Florida Rep. Ted Yoho for bringing the evil of institutionalized misogyny to the fore so obviously.

4.     It comes from a person of color. We desperately need to bring the cultural diversity of this country together or we are destined to fail.

5.     With leadership like this, the future feels considerably brighter to me. It might even be a country in which I can comfortably live out my final years.

Please bear in mind that, although I am a lifetime liberal and, sometimes, even a member of the Democratic party, I don´t view this as simply a victory for that party or for women. I truly believe that it may turn out to be a victory for everyone.

AOC´s speech makes me proud to call myself a citizen of the USA.