So how stands the city on this summer afternoon? How stands this citadel of democracy?
How stands the city now?
Some of our own fellow citizens walk through our streets, covered in camouflage, armed and watching and tanks have rumbled down our avenues now, presumably a show of power.
How do its residents feel? What is it like to get daily stories of people illegitimately removed not just from their jobs, but from their careers and passions? How stands the city now now that its and citizens are left without their livelihoods?
How will our city look in a dozen years? Will it be just a historical attraction, mainly for show? Will it be a place like Bethlehem, PA or Youngstown, OH, where once there was a whole way of life but now shadows of their former glories?
How stands the city today? Its streets are turned into a harbinger of authoritarianism rather than streets of beautiful discourse and discussion. The young and idealistic workers and politicians of 2010 seem like they are long gone.
The cherry blossoms will still come in Spring. The colors will change in the Fall. The bicycles will still course down Rock Creek Park. The city will still stand. The monuments will still shine in the sun. The edifice of its marble of the Capitol will still turn salmon pink on the summer evenings as the sun sets;
They call some of my friends “The deep state”; I call them my compatriots;
Many are experts in their fields, with expertise honed over decades; some of the most humble yet intelligent people I know;
How stands the city on this summer afternoon? The sun shines warm and bright but by our feet, the murky fog rises; this is the murky fog of fear, despair, and disbelief.
How will the city feel when afternoon fades into evening, twilight takes over from the evening and the city is handed to the night? Where will the sun be then? Will its heat still warm us, or will the dark cold night take not just our warmth but our spirits?