Author: lauralburkett

I have been raised to respect authority and my elders. I remember, even as a young child, I naturally assumed that every adult — teacher, doctor, professor, lawyer, newscaster, politician — was infinitely smarter than I was. They had to be. It was the natural progression of things:

more age + more education = more wisdom

A fundamentally flawed math equation that I started to catch a glimpse of when I was 5-years-old and my kindergarten teacher gave me a snowman to color — on white paper, with a black outline. I handed it back and said it was already done. She fought with me and called me stubborn until I yelled, “snowmen are white because snow is white, the paper is white! It’s DONE!”

My mistrust of those around me that were supposed to be “in the know”, actually knowing started young and continued throughout the years. And, I’m not talking about an intellectual arrogance. I am certain there are millions out there that could breeze through a quadratic equation or fully explain why the fundamental constituents of the universe are one-dimensional “strings” rather than point-like particles. I know those people exist. I am talking about the people with basic, common sense. Where the Hell are they? I’m talking about the ability to look at a situation as a whole and perform a predictive analysis on it and act accordingly. Where are THOSE people in leadership?

I have come to the sad conclusion … they clearly do NOT exist.

I struggle with worrying that the leaders are actually this dumb or if they are playing this dumb and I can’t reconcile in my head which is worse. Think I am wrong? Let’s go through the insane list of intellectually sound conclusions they try to talk and dance around trying to make the truth … not the TRUTH:

1. Viruses spread. It’s what they do. At rallies OR protests. Once you ignore that fact, you are either dumb or corrupt. Choose one.
2. The most likely source of the CORONAVIRUS was the stinking virology lab in China that was studying CORONAVIRUSES … you morons. You were either painfully dumb or woefully corrupt to even try to float that one.
3. Mail-in votes were going to welcome cheating, chaos and confusion. Say I am wrong? No one, no ONE with half a brain has confidence in elections anymore. Say I am wrong, you are either dumb or corrupt. Choose one.
4. If you censor only one group of people because you don’t like what they say, you are a tyrant and a bigot by definition. If you say differently, you are either stupid or corrupt. Choose.
5. If you think voter ID’s are racist, but vaccine passports are cool … you either ride the short bus or are crooked as a scoliosis spine!
6. If you say “follow the science”, but think there are more chromosome pairings than TWO … XX or XY … you are either can’t add 1+1 or are corrupt. Choose one.
7. If you PAY people not to work, they won’t. Say I am wrong, you are either dumb or corrupt. Choose one.
8. If you pay people not to work and they don’t work, then it creates a work and supply chain crisis that creates inflation. Say I am wrong and you are either dumb or corrupt.
9. If you have perhaps one million people descending on Washington D.C. to protest an election result … you MIGHT want to assign additional security (PELOSI!!!!). Say I am wrong, you are either dumb or corrupt. Choose one.
10. The term “insurrection” is reserved for an armed overthrow of a government. No one that isn’t dumb or playing dumb on tv thinks a group of unarmed people were going to overthrow the damn government. No one think Horn Hat Guy was going to end up our new supreme leader. Use a different word for January 6th (like riot) or you look dumb or corrupt. CHOOSE one.
11. If you think Burisma paid a known crackhead millions for his in-depth, non-existent, knowledge of the energy sector rather than for INFLUENCE with what is now the most powerful person on the planet … you are either dumb or corrupt. Choose.
12. If you think Hunter Biden’s paintings are selling for $500,000 or more because he is talented … well … then you are just an idiot.
13. If you vaccinate the older population, it will then jump to the younger population that has a higher survival rate because (I REPEAT) … viruses SPREAD … it’s what they do. If you report only cases and not deaths you are either stupid or corrupt. Choose one, please. Choose one.
14. If you open the borders during a pandemic to over 2 million people, it’s going to look like you don’t care about the spread of the virus. Say I am wrong and you are most definitely either dumb or corrupt.
15. If you COMPLETELY pull out of Afghanistan while the Taliban were literally standing by licking their lips to takeover … you might be the biggest, dumbest, corrupt idiot of all. OF COURSE they were going to overthrow it!!!

So, here we are … living amongst the decisions made by either the dumbest or the most corrupt government we have probably ever had. What I fear, is it is probably both. It isn’t even political at this point to say this. We undeniably have people with IQ’s ranking somewhere right under that of Forest Gump with the ethics of Bernie Madoff running the show. The “political” argument that can be waged is whether this is all planned OR the end result of dumbing down America, giving everyone an Iphone, Instagram and a trophy for being mediocre.

Are we this dumb or this corrupt? And, does either answer really matter now? Because with the Taliban releasing all imprisoned Al Qaeda members and our border being quite notably open … it SHOULDN’T take Stephen Hawking to figure out what comes next.

Because whether dumb or corrupt … the end result is going to be the same.

Do you want to tell me again which lives are mattering here? I don’t want to hear it, not for one more second, that we are trying to save lives. How can anyone say that when we all seem awfully concerned about who dies from this virus but not so concerned with people getting shot in broad daylight by kids on scooters or people overdosing alone in the streets!?!

Do those deaths COUNT?

The whole world seems to have gotten collective amnesia since the goal of “flattening the curve” was promised as the goal for the lockdowns. Look at the chart above, that curve is beyond flat. It’s bottomed out. More people are getting murdered weekly than dying from COVID. It’s a fact! It isn’t political, it isn’t partisan, it isn’t twisted. It is MATH, the universal language and the most basic of truths. So, if 230 deaths is going to scare you into your house, are you going to hole up to avoid being the next mass shooting casualty? Are you never going to go to New York City, the South Side of Pittsburgh or NOLA? Because just last week, more people died of violence there than of COVID. Does only one kind of DEATH scare you? And, if we have decided to all live so afraid of death that we have become afraid to live and emboldened to tell others how they should live or die … then, I need to be informed that everything that was said previously is a lie and that I no longer have one ounce of freedom.

Which deaths matter?

The media keeps talking about increased “cases”. But, they are also saying that the Delta variant is more highly contagious, testing has increased and the vaccinated can get sick, but not so sick they will die. These are THEIR talking points. THEIRS. And, by their own words, freaking people out with words like “surge” or continued threats of additional lockdowns and the return of the masking is absolutely ludicrous and people are beginning to see it. Bring the tickers back on the side of the broadcasts. But, don’t track COVID cases, track current COVID deaths. And, while you track those deaths … track the murders, the drug overdoses, the car accidents, the lightening strikes, the cancers, the heart diseases, the diabetes.

Track ALL the things that people do to themselves and one another that can cause their deaths. Track it ALL. Numbers and math never lie, but people do in the way they present them.

And, this is what the math tells you … you had more of a chance of getting shot last week than dying of COVID. A sad reality brought to you ironically by the hatred, division and chaos the virus, the policies and the lockdowns have brought us.

Which deaths matter? Which numbers matter? How much more are we willing to sacrifice to get to zero deaths from COVID? Because zero was NEVER the deal. And, if you lied about that, too … then, it’s time to be honest and give people the choice on how they want to live and die from this point forward.

I choose life, I have always been on the side of life … it just seems we all have different definitions of what living really is.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/07/gun-violence-rising-united-states-archive.html

https://health.ri.gov/data/drugoverdoses/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/nation-fire-weeks-glance-gun-violence-ripping-america/story?id=78852666

Britney Spears face while watching Jeff Bezos take off in his phallic rocket. She had to be thinking, “and, you guys locked me up for over a decade over shaving my head? This dude is bald and shoots penises into space with his money!”

I haven’t taken much interest in the billionaires – Branson, Bezos and Musk and their ego-fueled race to space. I still feel like there may be something more to it and they are looking for a decent exit strategy to the crap storm Earth has become … but, then I always circled back to it is probably mostly about a cock fight between rich guys. Welp … the Bezos “rocket” may have just proven that.

I do not now, nor ever, begrudge people for making a decent living or even an extremely good living. But, the lockdowns from the pandemic destroyed many small businesses and drove people to order on-line from Amazon … so, this kind of feels like a giant sack to the face to those people that lost their business to him. Although, it’s odd how few see it that way.

They seem to find this an odd distraction, as they do with the freedom of Britney Spears.

I personally care more about the freedom of myself and those around me more and long for small businesses to return and Amazon trucks not be the only things circling my neighborhood. But … we are all different.

The one similarity that we all seem to share is we all, collectively, as one united country and world … looked at Bezos’s rocket and went, “yeah … that looks like a package.” I guess I will take all the unity I can get these days.

Vietnamese in the Bay Area, Cubans in the streets, Taiwanese standing up to China … and, right there … our flag … STILL standing for freedom.

Now, in OUR country we have disrespectful, spoiled athletes turning their backs on it. Entitled brats with helmets that call themselves ANTIFA while acting exactly like fascists burning our flag. And, sanctimonious, drama-queen newscasters “feeling threatened” by Americans that wave them from the back of their trucks.

Don’t listen to them. Not for one more minute. Tune them out. Shut them down and Rise UP.

Do you see what America stands for in these other countries that have either been repressed, attacked or fled from communist or socialist regimes? They know. They know the end result of the socialist policies being pushed on us are. They have watched or fled from it in their own countries. Because it ALWAYS leads to two classes — very rich and very poor — and deep, deep oppression. ALWAYS.

When the news finally broke in that Biden “won”, I was in a local nail salon owned by Vietnamese immigrants. The televisions all cut out and the few English-speaking workers conveyed what had happened to the others. They went wild with anger — yelling amongst themselves in their native language. It was a sight to behold. The owner pointed to the television and said, “That is propaganda. They lie.” Another said to me, “we did not come here for socialism.” They knew what so many dumb Americans were refusing to admit.

I put Biden “won” in quotes because he didn’t. I honestly could care less who calls that a conspiracy theory at this point. The polling regarding the suppression of the Hunter Biden story stated that enough votes would have swung the other way if the story was allowed to be played out prior to the election.

No proof of fraud???? THERE’S YOUR FRAUD. The media PICKED the President.

You can gaslight that truth until you turn blue at this point, but people are finally not caring what you say and they are rising up.

Not just here, but everywhere.

You lied about the “armed insurrection”. – no guns were found, hard to overthrow a government without a weapon … you dramatic babies. You think we take you seriously on that after you watched cities burn over the previous summer and called it “mostly peaceful”? Please, sit down and eat a cookie. We aren’t listening.

You lied about how many were killed on 1/6. Reports said 5. It was only one — a Trump supporter, female veteran shot in the head while unarmed. Who killed Ashli Babbitt? Is who shot an unarmed vet, even if during the commission of a crime, not a question worth asking or answering? Hmm.

You are keeping the rioters in custody with no trial or due process completely violating their civil rights. Is that American? Legal??

You rejoined the WHO that clearly lied and covered for China on COVID … which is the biggest lie one could ever tell! Why would you give 100’s of millions of American taxpayer money to an organization that lied to us? You keep Fauci around who clearly knew about our funding of gain-of-function testing in Wuhan, but he lied to Congress and laughed off the question. Seems like a pretty big deal being that this virus disrupted the WORLD! No? No interest in solving that mystery? Hmm.

You are trying to demonize and cancel all political opposition. Calling people “terrorists” with absolutely zero evidence because they have a different political position is dangerous and horrifying. What’s the next step with that? Because we are certain there is one. Does that make you free to spy on them? Imprison them? There is clearly a next step here, don’t think we don’t see that.

Social media has become your political wing, no different than any other propaganda machine. You only choose to silence conservatives and conservative males in particular. You are profiling. Is that legal? It shouldn’t be. How long before “Facebook jail” becomes real jail for our sons, brothers, uncles and fathers? Is being Conservative now a crime? A Conservative male the biggest?

You are fleeing your state in Texas to try to stop common sense voting rules be put into place. It’s not legal. And, I can’t wait for you to return and get cuffed. Then, you can all get your next photo op like you did on the plane (unmasked … hypocritical phonies) and act like the victims.

You are making ridiculously hyperbolic claims that wanting voter ID is like the Civil War. The ONLY thing “like the Civil War” WAS the Civil War … you geriatric, corrupt, career politician. Way to foster that “unity”! No worries, we all laughed when you said that, anyway. The smart knew you were lying through your capped teeth.

You are, not-so-subtly, warning people that having guns would never stand up to F-150’s or nukes. That’s great .. I feel safe. I’ll keep my gun, but thanks.

You are opening our Southern borders to drugs and enriching drug cartels, while our own director of Homeland Security … a Cuban immigrant for God’s sake … is refusing to allow Cubans fleeing actual oppression in by boat. How humane of you, hacks.

There is only one answer and you see it in the streets of other countries that have lived under this kind of rule for decades. Socialism doesn’t work. Tyranny DOESN’T work. Hating America doesn’t work. Don’t let them shame you into thinking patriotism is bad. Turning your back on America and calling us systematically this, or existentially that is BOGUS. Don’t let them make you hate yourself or where you come from. Rise up.

These people taking to the streets are risking their lives by waving our flag. They are calling for the people that still occupy this country that remember the goodness, the freedom, the liberty, the Constitution, the specialness that we had that these leftist morons have tried to shame you into giving up. Answer their call. We are still here and there are more of us than them. Don’t give it up. Don’t let them silence you, shame you, scare you or cancel you. Honor the people waving our flags and rising up by rising up yourself.

They are counting on us. Don’t let them down. Rise up.

What happened to Me Too? Are they done? Did all the sexual predators get outed and caught? Have the founders of the “movement” retired to the Hamptons to sip Moscow Mules and rejoice over the freedom women now feel to come forward and accuse their attackers without shame?

Oh yeah, that’s right. That hasn’t happened or come CLOSE to happening. What is the point of the modern day “movement”, if it doesn’t actually move anything?

We politicized rape. I am going to keep that to three words for the troglodytes to clearly understand.

We politicized rape.

I fought this battle when I watched Kamala Harris say she “believed” the Kavanaugh accuser. Yet, when Biden’s sexual assault accuser came forward, she was silent. In fact, she ran with and adoringly looked at Biden during the entire accusation period. Now, that period lasted FAR less time in the press than Kavanaugh’s did. But, her actions said either she was lying about believing the Justice’s accuser or she actually really could care less and wanted the power more than the principle. Neither of those reasons is good.

We politicized rape.

Any time a man comes into power or is on the verge of it … it is now almost expected that women will start accusing from everything from inappropriate comments to flat out drugging or raping. This has caused the exact OPPOSITE effect of what these idiotic “movements” say they want to accomplish. And, they all have that same result; creating more of what they claim to want to destroy. It lessens and weakens the belief people have in what has actually occurred. So, the everyday woman that is being sexually harassed by her boss or raped by an ex-boyfriend … she remains in fear of coming forward because she may not be believed. Great “movements” these morons created. Maybe is wasn’t actually ever for women, right? Are you waking up to that, yet? How could it be when ….

We politicized rape.

And, as the same greedy “movement” creators move on to another path of destruction to self-profiteer … lives lay in the wake. Men that are guilty saw jail, men that were innocent got destroyed, men that were guilty got off, men in the real world were left afraid to even tell a woman she looks nice. What a victory it was … for the politicians and press ONLY that used it all for fodder, ratings or power. Because …

We politicized rape.

Don’t EVER believe that every movement is not for some head of it to self-promote and self-enrich or defame and destroy political opponents. Because …

We politicize EVERYTHING.

And, that’s sad. Because as a woman, I would love to “believe her” … and, her, and her and even her. But, we can’t thanks to these “movements” that take legitimate human suffering and crime and use it for their own political gain.

We politicized rape. And, we should definitely believe that we should be ashamed of that.

The Hollywood adaptation of the Tony Award-winning, “In the Heights” cast in happier times … all of 6 days ago. That is, of course, until the Twitter mob/cancel culture/offended-by-all crowd claimed the cast wasn’t “brown” enough. Did we expect something different? I sure didn’t.

When we go looking for offense, we will never be dissappointed.

The story of “In The Heights” and it’s evolution from campus play to Broadway to Hollywood is an interesting one. It began at Wesleyan University with attendee, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda, after attending the prestigious Wesleyan and being awarded the McArthur “genius grant” went on the create and star in Hamilton. Hamilton went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and gross close to a billion dollars. Miranda’s current net worth is somewhere around $80 million. He was and is, of course, oppressed.

This message was never made more clear than when Vice President-elect, Mike Pence had the audacity to want to attend Hamilton. He was booed by the crowd and then verbally called-out in a blatant attempt to shame and embarrass Pence while with his family. From stage, actor Brandon Dixon proclaimed,

“We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold are inalienable rights, sir. But, we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us.”

They were beautiful words because that is what writers and actors do best. I often wish more politicians were as eloquent in stating their cases … they are often not. So, we get caught up in the beauty in the words and often don’t question whether what is being said is crap.

It was crap.

We allowed, condoned and even applauded how the crowd and the Hamilton cast behaved towards the Vice President. Yet, the same people complain to this day about a disrespectful and toxic political climate. They are hypocrites in the deepest form and deeper than that … bullies. They take zero responsibility for their role in the divide. Is that a strong accusation? Yep. But, what proves it is just as the schoolyard bully that gets away with rude behavior will ALWAYS then increase the intensity and find new targets; that is now what has occurred with “In The Heights“.

Nothing will EVER be good enough for those seeking to be angry and offended by everything. Ever. If they don’t have a current target, they will eat their own if necessary to fill the “cancel” void. And, it’s very difficult to muster up an ounce of sympathy for those that criticized to now be attacked by those that they felt were solidly “on their side” (whatever that is).

One of the most basic laws of the Universe is that what goes around, comes around. So, I will simply watch it and shrug.

As I was walking into the local grocery store last Sunday with a mask on, a man came breezing in behind me with his mask in his hand. The masked guard at the front door asked him to put it on and then immediately said, “Monday. The requirement stops Monday.“

“Will they be allowing you to take yours off, too?” I asked, interjecting into the exchange.

I asked the question because I truly hate when I see the requirements lifted for “customers”, but not workers. There is something so odd and indescribably demeaning to me about seeing people walking around stores maskless and the “workers” rushing around with covered faces. They are all understaffed at every type of location from markets to restaurants. The idea that people that are making the solid choice to work during these times while so many are at home, maskless and collecting more on unemployment than working … I guess I find the added layer of keeping them masked annoying. Well … until I got the guard’s response.

She replied nicely, “Well … I am vaccinated and they are going to allow me to take it off. But, I am still deciding what I am going to do.”

Upon hearing her response, I was glad that I was wearing my mask because I’m hoping it hid the telling expression on my face that most people can read from space. And, the unspoken words written across my blank stare were:

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, LADY?”

Instead of screaming what I thought, I nicely nodded and walked into the store thinking, “She seemed nice. I have no idea what she means by what she said. But, she is clearly not one of us.”

It kind of shocked me that I thought in terms of “one of us” now. That has never been a thing before in my life. It got me thinking about how none of us were really on the same page throughout this entire pandemic. People split up into camps that did seem to break along political lines; but I think it went much deeper than that. Our faces the battleground, the mask the flag in between. One side screaming to follow the science and completely ignoring that the science was all over the place.

Only N95’s can work.

Wearing one could do more harm than good by giving a false sense of security.

No, wear a mask it is your patriotic duty.

Actually, wear two if you want to be an extra achieving virtue signaler.

Oh forget it, take them all off.

God FORBID you questioned any of the ever-changing science or asked any questions. You were labeled a science denier and a conspiracy theorist and the constant barrage of insults drove the mask contrarians further into their stance. They went from questioning the efficacy of masks to outright refusing to wear one to become the star of a viral video over it. Yet, those that pushed those buttons with their constant attacks on anyone questioning anything are seriously clueless as to the hand they played in the mess.

The irony going on right now is that the EXACT same people that screamed to “follow the science” are now ignoring the CDC announcement to unmask if vaccinated. Do they NOT trust the science that the vaccine works? Some of those lunatics try to say, “well, people are going to lie and walk around unmasked even if they aren’t vaccinated.” Ummm… again, do you not trust the science that the vaccine works? If you have the vaccine, why exactly would you care and still wear a mask? And, don’t get me started on the people continuing to run outside with masks or drive alone in cars with a mask.

They aren’t in this together with me. I don’t know them. I don’t understand their brains, their motives or their neurosis. I feel like I have been controlled and belittled by it for over a year, though and I am quite over it as are the rest of us on the “other side” of this. I am at the point where I am more than willing to co-exist with those that are still driving alone in a car with a mask on as long as they stay on their “side” and no longer swerve into my lane. Your mental illness will not become my mandate ever again. But, know that your refusal to do so only shows me that it was never about following science for you … it was about enjoying telling other people what to do.

That’s not the kind of people that will ever foster togetherness.

I remember being mesmerized by the first Terminator movie. Beyond the fact that Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese was probably my first and only celebrity crush; something about the mind-bending, time traveling, race to stop a technology-driven apocalyptic future enthralled me. And, by the box office result and subsequent sequels … it had the same effect on many.

What’s the plot?

A technology company, with no real intent beyond making money becomes out of control, run by the machines, those machines decide mankind really isn’t worth it and poof … naked Schwarzenegger popping into the past to do away with the leader of the resistance.

Hmm? Why does this now not seem like fiction, anymore?

Facebook and Twitter have permanently banned the former President of the United States from posting his opinions. They don’t call them opinions, though … they call them “lies and misinformation”. They are now The Ministry of Truth because apparently Orwell was also writing a non-fiction book that we all mistook for fiction.

People can argue about what is and isn’t “truth”. But, truth has been a concept that has been debated since Plato. Who’s truth? Theirs? If I ask you who is the greatest band of all time and you answer, “Nickleback”, can I call you a liar? Surely, that is ridiculous and not “true”, Nickleback is an absurd answer. But, if it isn’t MY truth, does it make it a lie? It is a deep discussion, a philosophical one, one to take very seriously when determining WHO becomes the Ministers of Truth.

I mean, unless you are Facebook or Twitter. Then, you just take that role with zero recourse left to anyone on the other end of the argument. And, whomever controls the “truth” or the information … controls the country.

This was bought and paid for through donations to campaigns. Democratic campaigns in 2020 saw record donations coming in from “Silicone Valley”. They were coy with what that truly meant. Billions of dollars buying election results. Big Tech companies deciding WHAT is the truth and WHO will be in power. Then, once they seized power, they began to decide who and what would be allowed to be posted or discussed on social media, which sadly and easily, has replace the “news” for many people.

Facebook, Twitter and the like are not only run by people … but, by algorithms that many whistleblowers have come forward on the dangers of this runaway technology. Those with the deepest knowledge of the companies have testified before Congress as to the ethics involved in not only the information the “machine” collects off of us, but how it is used.

So, when you cheer because a former President of the United States is now banned from these sites … did you also root for Cyberdyne Systems in Terminator? You are so relieved that you don’t have to read mean tweets anymore that you are pathetically oblivious that you just let an algorithm-driven “machine” buy the most powerful position in the world … the keeper of what they deem true or false and the King maker to politicians.

And … like the movie … what becomes of you if they decide humanity isn’t really worth it?

Because that won’t look as pretty as Kyle Reese.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about why a 13-year-old boy was on the streets with a gun at 2 am rather than being tucked safely in his bed on a school night.

Someday, maybe …we will talk about why 16-year-old girl was ready to stab another child to death in broad daylight rather than picking out a dress for Junior prom.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about why 22-year-old boys are choosing to perpetrate mass shootings rather then meet their friends at a bar for a drink and a laugh.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about why two teen girls were more concerned about retrieving their cellphones from the wrecked Uber driver’s car they carjacked than they were by the fact that they dragged a husband and father to death.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about how we pushed to mask and vaccine for safety while we murdered each other in the streets.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about how technology allowed us to see everything and blinded us to it all.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about why it was so important to remove the pledge and prayer from school at a time when patriotism and a higher power seemed needed so desperately.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about why we made daddys seem so much less important than they truly were.

Someday, maybe … we will talk about politicians in mansions never really cared about anything other than keeping those mansions.

Someday. Maybe.

But, not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow and maybe not even in my lifetime will we talk about it. Not now. Not without getting labeled, silenced, canceled.

Maybe someday we will talk about how we knew that. But, how we sat silently, not speaking. Any conversation a fight to avoid. The words of a free dialogue weaponized. Those brave enough to use them, pummeled and most sitting in a quiet, fearful nothing beyond occasional nods of agreement.

Someday, maybe … our children or great-grandchildren will sit in the ashes of what was — picking at the burnt shreds of blue, the stained scraps of white and tattered strips of red and talk about the United States and what they can remember of how it was, and what they had and what they lost.

And, someday … maybe on that day .. they will finally … just talk.