Now there is something you don’t see very often!

After the halfway point on my walk this morning, heading back towards home, I saw something you don’t see every day.  It was a mockingbird chasing a hawk.  The hawk was probably five times the size of the mockingbird.  But the chase was all in the attitude.  The mockingbird was squawking and chirping in a language that would make a sailor blush.  The hawk wanted no part of it and was trying the flee but could not get away from the mockingbird.

What had the hawk done?  What had agitated the mockingbird so much?  Had it been a transgression?  Was the hawk just too close for comfort?  Or did the two have a history.  I was walking a bit later than normal and had not yet seen this routine.  The unusual scene distracted and entertained me as I reflected on a myriad of permutations.

As I’ve felt like the one receiving the squawk most of my life as a leader, I was surprised at how proud I was of the little mockingbird.  Maybe it is because they’re the state bird of Texas, but I appreciated the not-on-my-watch attitude the mockingbird exhibited.

I could only reflect on how the same attitude might be needed now while we watch the fall of the republic.  The decimation of rights on display each day in the news is such an egregious wrong that I find myself wanting the spirit of the mockingbird.  When will we take up our mantle and say not-on-my-watch?

I haven’t lost my perspective and don’t want to overhype the current crisis.  There have been federal vs. state feuds in the past.  But to have the governor of the largest state in the union accuse the current president of subverting his ability to govern feels like something different.

Watching the governor’s full statement, the headlines are under reporting the crisis.  As the son of a major, I learned about Posse Comitatus and the importance of local authorities doing policing.  I am a bit incredulous that no one seems to care about precedents and consequences.  Rome fell when the legions crossed the Rubicon.  Calling up marines seems eerily familiar.

Newsome stated, “there are no checks and balances.”  Unfortunately, he is right.  But the problem is that he did not call out the abuse of power when his side was in power.  The only person I’ve seen do this recently was Rand Paul.  Although I disagree with some of his politics, I respect that unlike most he has disagreed on principle with his own party.  By contrast, the governor’s calling out abuse of power when his side is out of power lacks the consistency to give it credibility.  But it doesn’t mean he is wrong.

The politics are horrific.  Trump needs the reaction to be even more violent to justify his power grab and claim that now is an emergency.  In his calculation the emergency, even of his own making, gives him authorities that the courts left open.  But so far, in the images I’ve seen, there are dozens and maybe hundreds involved in the protests.  Not thousands.  I’ve seen more rowdy crowds at sporting events.  So, it is peculiar to classify this as an emergency.  Are there any constitutionalists left?

And all the while, we citizens are idly watching as we give away our rights to due process.  Where is the spirit of the mockingbird when we need him?

Or have I just been duped by reality TV turned into politics? Have politicians figured out that scaring people raises them more money?  Or are we living in a time of constitutional crisis?  Or the real scary thought and regrettable insights of history is that the promises of the republic have only been as good as “we the people.”

And it is a time when “we the people” have become so selfish and distracted that it seems that we can hardly be bothered by the rumbling as another precedent falls and the tenuous hope of the American experiment of “governance for and by the people” comes perilously close to perishing from the face of the earth.