The Emerald Ash Borer

A brief thought on this hot July night. . .

Having noticed many dying trees in our neighborhood this summer, I asked an arborist what was wrong.  He said that the Emerald Ash Borer is killing ash trees in north Durham, and for some reason I thought of Donald Trump. 

Like this metallic green beetle, President Trump destroys rather than renews: he's dismantled our Constitution the way the ash borer disrupts nutrient pathways, and he's managed to do this in 3 years--the time it can take for an ash borer to kill a tree.  He's small (minded) and shiny like this nasty bug, and evidence of his subversion can be found both directly and indirectly.  He's on the move wherever ash trees can be found (and beyond).

Where the analogy doesn't hold up?  The ash borer is a non-native species.  Donald Trump, unfortunately, is as native to this country as you and I.  He sprang from our values and thrived in our culture, understanding how to wreck the very systems that helped to create him.

I hope that we're more successful in defeating him this November than we've been in defeating his Coleoptera counterpart, for it will take more than insecticides and hardwood quarantines.  It will take votes and votes and more votes.