Lawrence Hall
An Orderly Transition of Power, They Say
Is’t night’s predominance, or the day’s shame
That darkness does the face of earth entomb
When living light should kiss it?
Macbeth II.iiii.9-11
On the 20th of
January in the capital of the United States there should be children waving
sparklers, avenues of light, marching bands and Boy Scouts in formation, merriment
along streets scrubbed clean and bright, hot dog stands, souvenir shops selling
shiny tat in red, white, and blue, and a good and happy citizenry in love with
their nation and practicing good will to each other.
But in the present unhappy
reality the capital on Inauguration Day will be a mottled scape of soldiers,
concertina wire strung between Corinthian columns, secret service, chain-link
fencing, police, checkpoints, soldiers, roadblocks, secret service, rooftop
marksmen, police, missile batteries, soldiers, no-go zones, secret service,
lockdowns, police, lockouts, soldiers, security gates, secret service,
identification checks, police, radar, soldiers, radios, secret service, body
scans, police, x-rays, soldiers, sniffer dogs, secret service, permits, police,
passes, soldiers, patdowns, secret service, badges, police, questions, soldiers,
suspicion, secret service, bollards, police, armored vehicles, soldiers, and
all the other menacing apparatus of a decayed state.
In our nation’s capital on
Inauguration Day the dominant emotion will not be national pride or joy or even
relief, but fear.
Fear.
Why?
-30-
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