THE UPSIDE OF FALLING

Democracy Diverted / Collage / 2018 / Russell C. Smith

The world is upside-down. Looking for the upside feels like an uphill battle, at best. When energy’s depleted, get yourself seated. Lay down, fall down, or fall onto a soft landing in a nest of pillows. Maybe a bed, or a couch. Pick up a book or let out a breath. Ask yourself easy questions. Daydream. There’s lots of types of falling we do in our lives. Falling asleep, falling in love, falling into a trance. We didn’t expect our entire country to fall into an abyss. We’re witnessing the fall of democracy happening from within our government. These days, we’re living in a rollercoaster journey into the land of confusion. Living in a country where it’s acceptable to break apart and destroy what people within and without our country have agreed to be true, and be upheld for the good of We the People. Night offers fitful sleep, at best. Weeks pass, that feel like years, and maybe you find yourself falling into a new you. It happens. Be glad, especially if you fall in like with the new you. The technology of our culture isn’t there to catch us when we fall. It often does the opposite, by pushing us off the nearest cliff. Apps and sites constantly wonder about our status. We’re asked to confirm our humanity on a daily basis. When drop down menus drop down, we fall on the ground, become annoyed at the intractability of technology running our lives. Inputting codes into endless forms and falling into a distracted daze. We know we’d rather be living in an era of peace and plenty. And not living in a society where upward mobility with or without mobile phones is a fading memory. Where are our society’s tech geek repair people, taking action, and working to make a lawless administration lawful again. Countless numbers of us are experiencing overload by being historical witnesses and unwilling participants to our quickly falling apart system of governance. Falling deeper and deeper into a world where unknowing is leading us into uncharted awfulness. And yet, we can imagine a better option inside our hearts and minds. We see the masses showing up at rallies from coast to coast, speaking up for the United States and for restoring our democracy, unwilling to agree to this madness. Wanting a way of pressing Enter and stepping back into a rebooted, fully functioning democratic society. Ready to wake up after falling asleep, and upon awakening, once more live in a land where the constitution means something, and the courts matter, and legal rulings are upheld.