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Terry from Derry: Coat of Many Colors

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By Terry Boyle

We’ve come around to that time of the year again when we think about new beginnings. There are any number of advocates to push us to reflect on the past to improve things in the coming year. I’m going to be one of those voices who is going to encourage you to take a good look at the madness of last year and work towards bringing some kind of sanity and peace into 2024.

It doesn’t take a genius to highlight the monsters of the last 12 months. We’ve witnessed endless attacks on our democracy. The former president has taken it upon himself to become the ‘orange Jesus,’ offering us salvation through his vindictive dictatorship.

He has shown his true colours and they are more than orange.  His yellow streak of cowardice shines through in his deliberate attempt to distract us from seeing his actual insidiousness.

This man who would be king cares nothing about this country. He wants to make America corrupt again. In diddling his taxes, he has revealed a blatant disregard for those of us who have shown due diligence.

He is a mockery to those of us who believe in the rule of law because he believes he is above the law. While you and I would be forced into silence, he has shown no humility with no sense of accountability, displaying only a coward’s approach to guilt, blaming someone else, anyone else he can find to act as a fall guy.

We’ve watched numerous others who have believed this man’s lies about the 2020 election fall on their swords for him. Others have had their eyes opened to his egotistical ravings and chosen to honour their conscience instead of his lies.

I would ascribe the colour green to this man. His envy of others who have gone before him is grossly demonstrated in his dismissal of their good works. Obama has made many changes for good and has shown a humility that is beyond this man’s comprehension.

The Orangeman despises the Beatitudes since he regards humility as a sign of weakness.  He has no time for compassion. Those who regard him as their saviour will be damned by his gospel of me first.

The green-eyed god has smiled favourably on this man of no standing. What else can he want? Perhaps he would like to dominate the world. He certainly has admired and envied other well-known dictators known for their absolute corruption. His envy is palpable. Driven, as he is, to be the centre of attention, he’s willing to shove the Ukrainian and Israeli conflict whenever the media forgets to post some of his ravings and become even more despicable.

The Orangeman is not such a great image for a Northern Irish Catholic who has become used to the annual march to celebrate the Protestant King William’s defeat of Catholic James in 1690. Orange signifies for Northern Irish Catholics, domination, and punishment.

The Orange Jesus is a suitable moniker for a man who longs to dominate and control. A reign of dictatorship and retribution is what we can expect should the majority of voters lose their common sense for a second time.

The adage comes to mind, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.  I would like to feel that this country that has become my country of choice will not disgrace itself.

With sorrow, I would also ascribe to this man the colour red. His hateful rhetoric has spurred many to violence. We only have to look at the actions of those who attacked the nation’s capital on January 6th to understand how his words are bloodied. Some have testified that this man’s words incited them to actions they would not have normally undertaken.

January 6

Let’s not forget that blood was spilt on that day of infamy. Members of law enforcement have suffered because this man has shown little or no regard for their safety.  Given the opportunity to intervene and bring peace to the situation, he sat back and watched the proceedings with glee.

He has insulted the men who have dedicated themselves to serving and protecting us with his trivializing of the rioters’ actions. When it comes to who he will defend, don’t expect it to be those in law enforcement. Let him ridicule veterans who have suffered to protect his cowardly soul and play games with state secrets.

Some still love him regardless of his hatred of them. He has privately called some of his strongest supporters’ pieces of shit, and still, this doesn’t deter them from their allegiance to him.

This man has several major court cases to answer to in which he claims to be innocent. Given his track record, white is not a colour he deserves.

Even Oscar Wilde’s protagonist, Dorian Gray, subconsciously acknowledges his guilt after killing his artist friend, Basil, by ordering orchids but refuses to take any white ones. This Orange Jesus is without a conscience.
His innocence is as damning as Cain’s after he’s vanquished his rival. If we listen to the voice of reason, we will get rid of the fake Orange Jesus.

Put him in an institution where he can wear a nice orange jumpsuit and proclaim his innocence to anyone who cares enough to listen. If we want to make a serious change in the world, let’s drain the swamp of the father of lies.

This country deserves better than the far right-wing idiots who embarrass us all with their fake facts, and overt racism.  We have a country that used to be a sanctuary for those who were different, now it’s become a haven for fascists.

Books are banned, drag queens are seen as a threat to morality, despite the immorality of those espousing such ideals, and the currency of the day is bigotry. Is this the land of the free or the land of the deceived?  If the colours of red, white and blue are meant to mean anything, let’s hope it is tolerance, diversity and truth.

Picture of Terry Boyle

Terry Boyle

*Terry is a retired professor now living in Southern California. Terry is originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, and in 2004 he took up a position at Loyola University, Chicago where he taught courses on Irish and British literature. Apart from teaching, Terry has had a number of plays produced and has recently been included in The Best New British and Irish Poets 2019 – 2021 (published by The Black Spring Press). He can be reached at: [email protected]

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