Trump Rally – Alabama – 2015
Photo Credit: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

Quest for dominance
calcifies the soul of man
& perverts reason.

Haiku by Rosaliene Bacchus

Of late, I’m having difficulty in focusing my thoughts about life in these United States of America. In addition to following the news on our 2016 presidential campaign, I’m also in tune with the chaos and human misery resulting from our unending wars in the Middle East and North Africa.

The rants from the front-runners of our Republican presidential candidates are disturbing and dangerous. Where is reason in the face of bigotry?

The living conditions of unwanted Syrian and other refugees, fleeing from our bombs and those of our allies in their homelands, wound the heart and soul. Where is reason to resolve this humanitarian crisis of our times?

While our elected representatives pursue a foreign policy of world domination – they call it a War on Terror – Americans live in national insecurity. With our politics of fear, hatred, and violence, we strengthen our enemies and grow their followers. Where is reason to say NO to this endless war?

Fed with daily doses of fear, hatred, and disinformation, we are fast losing our capacity for logical, rational, and analytical thought. Doped on ignorance, we become blind to the real threats to our well-being and survival as a species on this planet.

In his Introduction of The Assault on Reason, published in 2007, former American Vice President Al Gore notes (p.2): “Faith in the power of reason—the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power—was and remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault.”

Sad to say, the power of reason remains under assault.