The large brown device appeared as a leather albeit lethal chair. Perhaps the intention of the company who produced it. At first notice, no one would confuse The Chair as a conduit of life eradication. The older woman, laden down with guilt, defeat and wrongdoing, walked unsteadily toward this apparatus which would eventually deprive her of her last thought and breath. She looked at The Chair, placed her body upon it and waited for the end. The grinding gears of the machine gently tilted her back, while at the same time lifting her legs into position. There, it was done. She no longer needed to inject herself into this thing called life. All the hopes and dreams dashed by those she could not control. As she slipped away, unaware of another day’s adverse headlines, these thoughts confronted her: What could she have accomplished if her journey had not been cut short? Why was she sent to The Chair with no significant warning? If only she could turn back time. The dread of The Chair engulfed her as her mind numbed. This must be the end.
And it was. For you see The Chair is my recliner and I am the old woman. Filled with guilt I may not have done enough or had an impact through 46 years of teaching. Defeated as I have been trolled on social media and slammed in any exchange of my personal beliefs. Helplessly watching the wrongdoing of a society who constantly rails at me that my God and my Bible are obsolete. So rather than fight, I could use The Chair as an excuse to sit idly, while the party in power consumes itself with redefining gender, marriage, race and creed. But I will not succumb to the boisterous voices of a few! My journey has not been cut short. I may be old but I will not be silenced. Whereas The Chair, through Covid, replaced my hopes and dreams of writing about my passions, I am ready to stand and commit myself to my country’s survival.
Sound dramatic? Perhaps not when considering those who would do us harm gleefully sit back and watch our internal debacle. This very well could be the time America’s enemies choose to strike. And why not? How they must role their eyes in contempt of a country who insists people define themselves by their pronouns and their sexual preference. But what about the checks and balances. Checks and balances? The executive branch is consumed in placating the radical socialists of its party. The legislative branch cannot find common ground even if that ground guaranteed a saner country. Since the legislative branch is so inept, the judicial branch decided years ago their new found job description was to insert themselves into the legislative process.
America’s leaders have turned its people into self loathing, feeble minded and corrupt members of a complete cultural breakdown. My recliner allowed me to accept the pablum of their insipid conversations denying all of us of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Justice? Domestic Tranquility? Common Defense? General Welfare? Blessings of Liberty? From the back down, feet up of my recliner, I forgot about the words of this esteemed document. There is no justice if one group of people say hateful things or act unlawfully with no consequences. Domestic tranquility cannot take place in a republic who is constantly being shouted at to look at the color of skin rather than the character of the individual. This country cannot defend its people against an open border of illegal aliens, astronomical deadly drug shipments and the abhorrence of our border laws. General welfare can best be described as “in absentia” where gun purchases surged 60% in January of 2021 (USA Today). Liberty does not exist when freedom of speech and thought is controlled by mainstream and social media. What is the answer?
Get your ass out of that recliner! Write a blog, develop a website, speak boldly. The people who love this country, in spite of its flaws, need to realize that the fight for the mere existence of America has been handed to us on a warn out, rusty platter of socialist platitudes and platforms. Apathy will allow these historically unproven ideologies to take root, flourish and eventually destroy us from within.
Paula Baack is an author, educational consultant and vocal coach. Her book “Rescue the Teacher, Save the Child” won the 2020 TopShelf non-fictional book award. Ms. Baack’s work in education has been recognized nationally as well as singers who studied under her. You can find out more: rescuetheteacher.com or peakperformancevoice.com.