What I do and don’t want for Christmas
FROM THE LEFT
Some of my conservative friends have been ribbing me since the election, saying things like “I’m sure I know what you want for Christmas.”  Their reasoning is that since the Democrats have taken control of the House and regained subpoena powers, I am wishing for them to do things that are, in my friends’ imagination, like visions of sugarplums dancing in my head.
They presume, wrongly, that I want the investigations to turn nasty and partisan, worse than they already are and ending with the impeachment of the president. So, with their newfound positions on my Christmas list, I would like to address just what I do and don’t want for Christmas.
While my Christmas list is lengthy, but with less material things because I am so blessed, it certainly does not include impeaching the president.
I don’t want to face the growing reality that my president is a criminal. We only have one president and he is my president too.
I don’t want to witness protracted investigations that will paralyze our country. I don’t want my new year devoted to witnessing an out-of-control Congress debating the impeachment of my president. But I also don’t want a president who is working hand in glove with foreign entities to systematically dismantle our democracy.
I do desperately want to find out that my president did not collude with the Russians to cheat to win the election. You only cheat when you know that you will lose by playing fair.
I don’t want to face the unthinkable reality that there are members of our Congress that may have been party to undermining our elections, that they were possibly complicit in these crimes and that they are endorsing this madness with their silence.
I do want a fully functioning government, instead of thousands of vacancies throughout all sectors and a presidential cabinet room that has a revolving door. I want leaders who stand by the rule of law unmoved by the whims of a president who is trying to impress his dwindling base of voters. I want leaders who are willing to fight for what is right and against all of the turmoil created by those who work to undermine all that our country stands for.
I do want a country where the president cannot threaten to sue or shut down a network or TV show for mocking him. We have enough of those countries who have dictators that continue to do that around the world.
I don’t want a country that tells immigrants to come to our country only through legal points of entry and then closes those points. That kidnaps children and incarcerates them.
I do want a country where good Samaritans humanely leave jugs of water in the desert for human beings crossing into a new life to refresh themselves without fear that out-of control border agents, emboldened by a ruthless president, will not dump them in the sand.
I do want a country free of evil actors that work to take away healthcare coverage from millions of Americans, all the while promising in their campaign ads that they will work to protect it.
I don’t want to watch my country spiraling out of control, with a president who escalates racism and hatred with his rhetoric and then holds rallies so that his supporters can cheer on these policies.
I do want to bring back civility, kindness, and respect.
And most of all, I want a country that we can all be proud of, where the good of its people far outweighs the bad and we know that in the end, the rule of law will stand and that we can expel the bad actors from public office fairly at the ballot box.
So these are my Christmas wishes for our country. I hope that they all come true. I hope that your Christmas wishes include some goodwill for our country as well.
Merry Christmas!