Yes, my friends, we are in the dark days of the year. The very longest night and shortest day have passed; but while we see a vague lightness lingering until 5 p.m. now, the sun did not begin to appear earlier in the morning until mid-month and the daily addition of light seems nearly indiscernible.
The lengthy January thaw cleared a lot of the earlier snow, leaving large patches of bedraggled grass and fields exposed. As depleted as they appeared, one thing was subtly apparent: there is still the green of life — not just grasses but a few precocious blades of iris, some hardy primroses are visible.
With returning snow in the last few days, the landscape changed again. Lack of wind and barely-freezing temperatures allowed the snow to decorate every surface, enhancing shapes and softening the texture of the woods. Early on the snow highlighted the forest floor, clarifying where there were downed trees or thickets, revealing available pathways. Later additional slight but persistent snow began to obscure and hide. An evening drive home was complicated by the disguise of the usual visual landmarks. The next day, despite freezing temperatures, just enough sun liberated some moisture to form sparkling droplets further decorating branch and leaf.
Our national landscape is cold, but bare as bare can be. The cold-blooded murder of Renee Good in Minnesota, followed by the administration’s blatant lying and blaming the victim for her own death at the hands of an insecure and trigger-happy ICE agent who felt threatened by a 37-year-old mother of three, contradicts all moral, civil and legal codes. The administration answers the moment with more troops, demeaning and harming residents, voiding all legal requirements and threatening even more assaults. In contrast, thousands of Minnesotans have rallied to form community watches and support circles for their neighbors. Our weekly Northfield standout, last week followed by a candlelight vigil and tolling of the bells for the more than 30 people lost to ICE abuse and violence this past 12 months, had three times the usual attendance, like many other places. This is likely not the cowering reaction hoped for by the administration.
But the deaths to date are not enough. Our president threatens to assassinate the very alliances and international agreements that have safeguarded international order for nearly three generations. His absurd fixation on “getting” Greenland reveals the compulsive lack of control over impulses and appetites. He sees Greenland (or Gaza for that matter) as just a piece of real estate, a way to get more money for personal gain. Another feather in his power cap. Without any effort to understand the consequences, and without any moral or ethical constraints (based on evidence to date I think we can rule out the possibility that “his mind” will provide any), this president is not only demolishing crucial alliances and jeopardizing national security, but quickly shifting international advantage to China and Russia, two repressive totalitarian regimes.
The depth of this president’s unfillable hollowness was embarrassingly evident when he hosted the exiled opposition leader of Venezuela, Maria Machado, so she could present her Nobel Peace Prize to him as thanks for the “removal” of Maduro. All the while he is dealing with the remainders of Maduro’s anti-democratic government to abscond with the country’s oil. Reportedly the plan is to stash profits in off-shore accounts, not the U.S. Treasury. Now Venezuela remains under its prior murderous regime, without its oil, and has also lost its opposition leader who foolishly assumed giving away her prize would secure her power. Weirdly, the president has linked his failure to receive the Nobel to unleashing his “right” to seize Greenland. Being overlooked has apparently relieved him of any necessity to focus on peace, making aggression fine. This warped “thinking” is an alarming call for emergency action. European allies are openly questioning the president’s sanity.
Attending Davos, the annual gathering of financial elites from around the world, he will presumably present his personal gain as somehow legitimate and resetting standards for the world. There’s little hope that these leaders will take a stand; more likely they will stand around looking for a way to profit from the situation.
Winter persists. The brave and stalwart residents of Minnesota and all those Americans willing to stand up for the Constitution, are the still-green grasses under the layers of snow and ice. Yes, it is now dark days, and more cold to come; but the days are lengthening minute by minute.
Judy Wagner lives in Northfield.