It’s a super hot Tuesday afternoon and I’m racing around Chardonnay golf course like my golf cart is one of those little Go-Karts from Scandia Raceway. I’m giddy, like a weight has been lifted, not because of the stellar performance of my girl’s golf team but because of the text I just received from my son Tuck,

“Did u guys hear that the Democrats are opening a formal impeachment inquiry for the president?” followed by a clapping hand emoji.

These have been tough times for many people (try teaching high school when truth, science, and civility are all in the toilet).  Tough for anyone who respects women, or is a woman (“Grab them by the…” 22 sexual misconduct allegations), tough for Hispanics or any non-whites (“Murderers and Rapists”, Cages, Walls, Immigration Separation, Shithole Countries), tough for really anyone who does not prioritize profits over people. But you’ve read all that before and I’m just as tired of it as you are so let’s move on.

The impeachment will come down to whether the Republican majority in the Senate will change their current support. The Dems are a slam-dunk, ready to put the lid back on the sewer. However since polarization and hate are now the norms, Republicans are feeling just as strongly that the impeachment is another witch-hunt.

“Based solely on rumors and hearsay.” Ken Buck, Colorado Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee.

There have been enough crimes and misdemeanors to get a vote for impeachment from the democratically controlled House but unless things change radically in the next month, the Senate will block the decision; Trump will survive, wounded but still inhabiting the White House. The bad news is this might further separate America, which is no good for anyone. The good news is it gets the ball moving forward.

If you’ve been awake the last two years and you think that things are OK the way they are headed, please stop reading this now, you will happily live in the Ken Buck camp all the way to World War 3 or environmental catastrophe or a world where love, civility and empathy become extinct.

So let’s learn and move on. Stop wallowing in the excrement pool because that’s where bullies want you to be. Ask yourself if you are truly better off today than you were two years ago then ask if we as a country are better off, or even we as a species.

For me, it’s a simple hells to the no. I’m working harder but feeling less effective. Having less positive impact on students and feeling like I’m carrying this giant weight of fear around 24/7. The country is certainly not better; environmentally, economically, morally, plus this polarization is literally killing us. Our status in the world has changed for the worse unless you believe taxing everything and befriending leaders who kill people is an improvement. We can do better, we should do better.

I pull over to my favorite perch atop the seventh green, watching and taking notes about one of the girl’s approach shots.

“Don’t get in your head, let the club do the work, simple is better.” Another stellar lesson from the Walt Williams’ book of cliché golf phrases.

I drive away Scandia-like, smiling.