By Ernie McCray

Flickr photo by Stephen D. Melkisethian

I was watching Stephen Colbert the other night, laughing away at his brilliant witticisms and daffiness, and a segment came on wherein a visual, referring to Trump’s “ban,” read, in part, “…a five year old was handcuffed…”

I stopped chuckling for a moment in reaction to such a terrible statement, trying to picture a five year old being shackled. But Colbert was on a flow so I had to let that go and next up on the show was White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, commenting on the little boy’s inhuman predicament with these words: “To assume that just because of someone’s age and gender that they don’t pose a threat would be misguided and wrong.”

A wave of tears came to my eyes. I’ve never seen such obscene behavior as that displayed by Trump and his aides. They keep talking about keeping the country safe and secure when I have never felt so unsafe and insecure in my life. Up until recently I’ve never even been concerned about safety and security other than in brief moments in a few situations every now and then over time.

When people in very high places can dismiss a child who is being abused by intimating that he can be dangerous to society – well, I start becoming extremely concerned about my general well-being in this society as it stands today. It’s scary, this bullshit we keep seeing. Spicer was speaking for our president, “the leader of the free world” a man whom I’ve decided, must be satan, considering the bizarre reality he’s created throughout the world. Yeah, that satan: Lucifer. The devil.

Hey, think about it. Our president set the tone, hoping we’d all come to hold such a cruel disregard for the welfare of children if they are from what he deems the wrong country. That’s devilish.

My religious days are over, but I’m thinking back to when I was a little boy, like that little boy, sitting in Sunday School, listening to stories of a character we were to always avoid, at all cost, a demon who was sneaky, not to be trusted at all, a creature whose every word comprises the biggest of lies. A scoundrel who saw himself way bigger than he was, always talking about “ascending” (one of our vocabulary words) to heaven and making himself the Most High.

Anybody who endangers a child unnecessarily bears watching. Closely.

Well, is there anyone more sneaky than this reality TV star we’re stuck with? Has he ever spoken to us without alternating a bunch of facts? Over and over, in fact. Does he not see himself as the savior as he claims he’s going to take care of everything, all our nation’s and the world’s problems – when he can’t keep a casino afloat? We’re riding in a non-seaworthy boat.

In Sunday School satan was portrayed as having horns and spooky wings and weird feet but I’m seeing him more as soft and puffy and white and orange. He wears a tie that looks several yards long and where the horns would be is a head of hair a scarecrow would say ‘nah’ to. He spreads hate like a machine sowing seeds on a never ending estate. The dictionary says that the definition of satan is the chief evil spirit; the great adversary of humanity; the devil.

Anyone who could frighten a little boy and label him as somebody needing to be watched, somebody who puts us in danger, is high up in the evil spirit world, an adversary of humanity, indeed, the devil.

“But Mr. Chandler, my favorite Sunday School teacher, would say, “Wait a minute,
now. Let’s be fair. He believed that we should serve the Creator by being of service to Him and to other human beings, asking nothing in return, so the world can be a better place. So I could hear him asking, “This Trump fellow, is he one who serves others for the better good of everyone?”

I’d have to answer: “This man serves nobody but himself. He put a child’s life at risk with his signature alone.”

“Hmmm,” I could hear him say, followed by, “Do his followers appear to be on the up an up?”

“Can a penguin fly? His press secretary, like him, seemingly could care less if children were to die as some might if they had to return to a war torn country because our country won’t let them enter or re-enter when their papers allowing them to be here are in order.

There’d be another “Hmmm” and the affirmation “I think you might be dealing with the devil, young man, as God so loved the children.

I loved it when I could sell Mr. Chandler on an idea.

Hey, I started putting these words together as a little silly play to allow me to cope with what’s going on in our nation. But then I started remembering Mr. Chandler more concretely. He’d have something to say about all this “sinning” that’s going on. He was big on combatting sin and he always encouraged us young ones to submit to our better selves as a way to avoid being sinful. So much goes over your head when you’re a child, but that resonated with me and has kind of kept me in check on occasion. Such an idea, I’ve found, can be both secular and religious. I think if we as a nation submitted to our better selves, as we more and more seem to be doing, we wouldn’t ever again put ourselves in the situation we’re now in. We’ll become more astute at seeing through deceptions and lies that distract from the “truths” in our lives.

I read a piece highlighting Trump’s psychological profile that asks us to stay wise, “to keep busy building a firewall between Trump’s ‘maniacal ego’ and the democratic institutions that define and protect the public interest.”

I agree because it’s that “maniacal ego” that brings out the satan in him, a persona which can’t possibly make us safe and secure and one that stands in the way of any notion of creating a better world.

We’ve got to stay ahead of this Devil. Anybody who endangers a child unnecessarily bears watching. Closely. That boy in handcuffs should never be forgotten by us.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Ernie McCray

I was raised in a loving and alive home, in a black neighborhood filled with colorful characters in Tucson, Arizona. Such an environment gave me a hint that life has to be grabbed by the tail as tight as a pimple on a mosquito's butt. With no BS and a whole lot of love. So, from those days to now I get up every morning set on making the world a better place. On my good foot*, and I hope my writing reflects that. *an old black expression

Latest posts by Ernie McCray (see all)

• Should Democrats, like Superman, Seek ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’? - December 10, 2018
• Saying Goodbye to a Friend Who Gave Me a Helping Hand - November 28, 2018
• An Awakening - November 21, 2018