Waiting for the fish to bite
Or waiting for wind to fly a kite
Or waiting around for Friday night
Or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
Or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
Or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
Or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
–Dr. Seuss
Waiting is a predictable part of life everywhere. It can be trivial or immensely life-changing as Dr. Seuss
suggests.
In 1949, Samuel Beckett wrote a tragicomedy called “Waiting for Godot”, a play with Vladimir and
Estragon waiting by a tree for a mysterious man named Godot who never arrives. They engage in
repetitive, meaningless conversations, worrying and stuck in a cycle of waiting with no clear purpose or
resolution.
Fast forward to now, Vladimir and Estragon are us.
Jumping through hoops, going through the required steps, following protocol, following directions…and
to no end. Most times, it is a circular journey to nowhere. We have mass insanity, a dearth of solutions
to common problems, where everything is an emergency, never arriving at the source, never solving the problem, never finding help for one’s particular need. This is everyone’s story in some shape or form.
Life in America is more complicated than it should be.
We’re all merely waiting…
Nationally, our most pressing wait is knowing how Trump’s second presidential term will affect each of
us, our finances, our neighbors, and our personal freedoms. In Texas, we’re anticipating the horrors that await us with education vouchers, increased religious mandates in our schools, reproductive freedom, no fault divorce and the possible deportation of our neighbors and the agricultural workforce.
Texas ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous on tap for January 14th. On one hand, there have been
death threats to some lawmakers over the battle for House speaker, with others, we have lawmakers
focused on the trivial, like banning dildos in CVS.
Democrats are stymied in both Austin and Washington because of their lack of a majority; even though
the Washington majority is razor-thin. And we’re waiting for January; caught in an interminable limbo.
All of us must have a HUGE earth-shattering epiphany. No one is coming to save us; not Biden, not the
courts, not a recount, nor a discovery of voter fraud, perhaps not even the Constitution. There is no
cavalry on horseback as in a Randolph Scott old west movie.
There is a ray of hope, however, if the Democrats can pull it off. Government bureaucracy is on our side
in the fight against Trump and Company, and it will mean an advantage for us if we use it! Jonathan V.
Last of the Bulwark wrote an enlightening piece a few days ago, stating that federal bureaucracy will be
the entity best positioned to slow down Trumpism. MAGA calls it “The Deep State” and they both hate
and fear it.
The only problem is that this resistance will not be televised. It will be an inside job. Think delay, think
pesky indeterminable details that throw sand in the gears…as Jonathan Last stated, “The country needs
them to take the maximum amount of time allowable by law for everything. File every appeal. Make
every motion”. Make them fill out every form; wait for every deadline and then, file an appeal. Judge
Aileen Cannon did this, and in the end, she got Trump off the hook.
Turn the passive-aggressive strategies of the federal bureaucracy against the Republicans. If it’s
successful, it’s the Republicans who will be waiting for Godot, not us. A marathon, not a sprint.
Until that time, we will all be waiting.
