A mirage is what you think you see. It is something that appears real or possible but is in fact not so. The word mirage comes from the Latin word “to wonder at” and the French word “to look at.” In science, a mirage has to do with the refraction of light on hot and cooler surfaces. A mirage is a deceptive appearance of a distant object and is an optical phenomenon consisting mainly of false images.
Mirage sightings, as you know, are most common in deserts and we frequently see them on sweltering summer highways. Remember the old western movies or one set in the Sahara where characters struggle though the heat and sand and suddenly see a mirage, an oasis of water, and the hope of something to quench their thirst and save their lives?
There are regular mirages like those and superior mirages. The Fata Morgana is a superior mirage. This superior image is generally based on real objects like the mirage of a far-off ship floating above water, flying upside down, or land masses that are not really there. It has been said that these types of images were used in witchcraft to lure unwitting sailors into traps. Wow, it’s a miracle! No it’s a mirage! The problem with all mirages is when you reach them, they are gone.
In today’s world, there are those who are looking for a political oasis. In their search, many glom on to far right politicians. What they find are mirages that offer no more than distorted images. The Trump’s, the DeSantis’s, the MTG’s, the Ted Cruz’s, and the Matt Gaetz types are all political mirages. They are false images and, when you get close enough, one finds that there is actually no substance there. In today’s world, these sinister politicians and their likenesses are mirages to those who are thirsty for attention and crave someone to follow and identify with. They see what they want to see in these seedy politicians as they are lured in like the sailors by their witchcraft.
It is interesting to ask far-right wing supporters what those leaders have done for them. Their list is usually noticeably short and weird because it often describes things like the ability to carry long guns and handguns without a permit. This also includes being a part of an ongoing civil war. In Florida, it includes allowing veterans and their spouses, with no teaching qualifications or experience, to teach in our schools. This will inevitably result in slanted education with good and qualified teachers leaving the State in droves. Something Florida should be really proud of!
We continue to see hateful people being voted into power. Leading the way is MT Green, the Christian Nationalist, who wants the Republican Party to be called the Christian Nationalists Party. This new breed of far-right politicians are aggressively advocating to put women back in the kitchen, barefoot, and pregnant. Florida Congressperson Matt Gaetz, who is still under investigation for child sex trafficking, said this week at a right-wing student conference in Florida, “disgusting women who look like a thumb” have the “least likelihood of getting pregnant” and have no reason to support abortion rights. “Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb.” He referred to women at pro-choice rallies as “odious on the inside and out.” Gaetz is the perfect model for pure hatred against women. Trump (alias Fata Morgana) called him “a great guy and a tough guy…what a wonderful guy.” And Lindsey Graham said that “Trump is good for the party.” Boy that says it all, gals!
In Minnesota, Matt Birk, Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, calls abortion “evil.” He has stated that abortion leads to women having careers and that prochoice advocates are always playing “the rape card.” In his words, “If a woman is raped, two wrongs don’t make a right.” And in Ohio, GOP Senate candidate, JD Vance, exclaimed that,” Women should stay in violent marriages.” And other right-wing politicians support women as being merely “baby machines.”
While Liz Cheney (WY) and Larry Hogan (MD) are beginning to take a stand on the direction of the Republican Party, we watch much of the GOP still licking Trump’s boots. You really have to wonder what planet we are living on these days for this rhetoric is not even civilized and reeks of oppression and enslavement. How can any honest woman or man stand for any of these misogynist jokers?
What we have coming up in November is no mirage. It is a race for Democracy and real vision, not distorted images. It is about real people with real values. It is about people who put people before guns and real teachers in front of our children. It is about helping children define what their interests are and not suppress them. It is a race to elect people who push forward to maintain a woman’s right to choose, to take any job they care to, and the right for all to marry whomever they want to marry.
It is time for women to rise up for each other and for men to join us. It is time to redefine what freedom really means for all, not just for the chosen. It is time to recognize that freedom for all is having the power and resources to fulfill one’s purpose unhindered. And that freedom is not only for a select population of white supremacists. It is not just for Christians. It is for Jews, atheists, and everyone in between. Freedom does not pick and choose from those who are white, black, brown, yellow, or red, gay, or straight. Freedom is freedom and we all deserve the right to practice it in this country. We all have the right to freedom of speech, open media, honest elections, and worship. And we hold these truths to be self-evident…that this is not a mirage.
Don’t wait – SPEAK OUT, VOTE, and have HOPE
