443 Days
Isn't It Ironic?
Today is the 443rd day of the American hostage crisis, in which this nation and the entire world have been taken hostage by a crazed cult of nihilists, white nationalist fascists, extreme religious fundamentalists, and assorted criminals and gangsters who have occupied the White House and have issued an ever-escalating series of demands. The leader of this cult is the almost 80-year old Donald Trump, whose every utterance is treated with reverence by his followers.
This erratic leader has met with a variety of foreign dignitaries who have hoped to negotiate a quiet end to the hostage crisis and while some have been welcomed, few seem to have been able to reach any clear or stable accord over when comprehensible policies and reliable agreements might become possible again. Authorities with the power to bring the crisis to an end, in the meantime, have declined to intervene forcefully, saying that they believe at least some of the hostages may be working with the cult and that in any event it is unclear whether they have the necessary force to evict the cult from their seat of power.
The situation took a worrisome turn on April 7th when the cult leader threatened to “end a civilization” following a series of aimless bombings directed at the government and people of Iran and confused statements about demands or goals. Considering that the cult is known to have access to powerful ordinance as well as nuclear weapons, this new threat seems to have sparked a renewed debate among authorities about a more assertive approach to freeing the hostages and ending the cult’s control over the seat of government authority. However, our sources suggest to us that they remain unlikely to do more than issue calls for the cult to show more restraint.
Given that the entire world is being held hostage, as well as the American people, there are understandable fears that the cult may visit new and unpredictable violence on their captives at any time. And yet it also seems that the worst damage may be the humiliation imposed on a once-proud people who believed in the dignity of their government and in the moral stature of their country, and on the many supporters and well-wishers elsewhere who once saw the United States as a source of hope and possibility.