Is Impeaching the President an Act of Bravery?

Is Impeaching the President an Act of Bravery?

by Ernie McCray

Bravery,
like beauty,
seems to be
in the eyes of the beholder,
bearing in mind that
those republicans
choosing impeachment
for the president
regarding his role
when tyrants
struck at our democracy’s
very soul
weren’t being “brave,”

as some people say,

as much as they

were merely being

human beings

having had

the so-called living daylights

scared out of them.

Getting at the culprit

in something like that

is a natural reaction.

And it just so happens

that what happened,

suddenly,

gave them

something in common

with other folks

who’ve lived in fear

of Donald J’s actions

like the Puerto Ricans

pleading

with the man for help

when their island

was devastated

by a Category 5 hurricane

only to have him

throw paper towels

at them

like he was playing a carnival game,

making them fear that

their well being

was in the hands

of the wrong man,

one who had no shame

or who was incurably insane;

like the Brown skinned

mamas and papas

at our southern border

whose children

were torn from their arms,

crying and screaming,

and then put in cages,

leaving everyone concerned

living lives

of horrific uncertainty,

lacking any idea

of what might come to be their destiny;

like Muslims everywhere

who’ve felt the brunt

of a menace to society

beating

the steady rhythms

of xenophobia

Islamophobia

and racism

in his never ending

ranting and raving

like a mad percussionist;

like people of color

seeing him

fan fires

of White supremacy

that had been relatively dormant

after all the terrorizing

of Black communities

for centuries,

going back to slavery,

making its proponents

feel footloose

and fancy free

to fully unleash

their pent-up rage

and proclivity

for fragrantly

disturbing the peace

of loving people…

And their hate

descended thunderously on

Senators

and Congressmen

and women,

rendering them victims

of a madman

like others

who have gotten in the way

of this socio-psychopath’s

sordid evil-minded footpath

of unadulterated wrath,

placing them in a situation

that could have been an

unprecedented bloodbath

and, in their fright,

they acted out of the

human instinct to fight,

to get at whoever

had them huddled

with their colleagues

in their place of work,

listening to the maddening roar

outside their chamber

and their office doors,

portals that were

no match for the

menacing hordes

rampaging through the halls,

grunting and pushing

and shoving and tugging

and beating and chanting

“USA! USA! USA!”

making some of them

text or phone their loved ones

with their fears

that this might be their last day,

that their words

might be the last they read

or ever hear them say.

So, I’d say

rather than being brave

they emerged from that hell

feeling their own rage,

more than ready to

take on the perpetrator

of the sins against them

in any way within their reach

and that was the power to impeach,

just a matter of “Yea”

or “Nay”

and the yeas

won the day.

Simply humans being humans
and, if they keep operating that way,
who knows,
maybe we can make
America truly great
someday.

It’s worth a try
I’d say.
And, as a P.S.,
maybe
their colleagues
who chickened out
that day
will find human decency
in themselves someday.