“A moment please, dear friends and others,” Luke the Dude raised his voice. “I wish to introduce a toast!”
“Well cheers then,” said Jon the Joker swallowing a gulp of his Lager, “not that it matters, but in the spirit of bonhomie, what are we toasting?”
“I say ‘Cheers!’ to the wheels of justice,” toasted Luke, “and the world being moved in the direction of sanity.” He raised his glass and sipped, as did the rest of the usual congregation in the local Pub & Grill, agreeing that sanity was indeed a toastworthy destination.
Except for Big Ben. “Well …” doubted he suspiciously, “I am not sure that my idea of sanity is the same as Luke’s. He could have me toasting the DA without me even knowing it. I’ll never hear the end of that, you know? So, Dude, don’t toast in riddles.”
“I for one don’t mind in the slightest toasting the DA,” smiled Miss Lily brightly, “if you look at the majority of Homo Kakistocrius ruining our country, the DA is a shining light of sanity. Cheers!”
“See what I mean?” grumbled Big Ben.
“Before I ban politics from the bar,” intervened The Governor, “who needs a refill?” Most did.
“My toast is to sanity in the world,” elucidated Luke, “still dawning but nevertheless promising. Not locally, Governor, relax. No light shining here, except, of course, for the DA in the Western Cape …”
“Useless!” grinned Jon the Joker.
“Interesting thought, Lucas,” The Prof cut in. “Your image implies darkness – do you have the forces of fascism in mind, raising their ugly heads in Europe and the Americas?”
“Bull’s eye as usual Prof,” confirmed Luke the Dude. “The forces of autocratic rule. Russia of course, scheming to restore the old Soviet superpower, while home-grown fascism sprouts in countries like Hungary and Italy. And the unthinkable happening in the United States, where Russia assisted with their internet warfare and disruption to get Putin’s Preferred Politician elected to the White House. To their own surprise. And from there the Putin-Trump axis launched their assault on America.”
“You may not have noticed,” lectured Bill the Beard, “that Trump left the White House in January 2021.”
“Made no difference,” nodded Luke the Dude, “the Trumpo-Putin assault on America continues as maliciously as ever. The division of the ‘United’ States against itself and the undermining of Americans’ belief in democracy is being spectacularly successful. That country is now more viciously divided than at any time since their Civil War. ‘1776!’ is a Maga slogan – referring to the Declaration of Independence in the American Revolution against the foreign ruler and now abused to foment revolt against the democratically elected government.”
“So, what are we toasting?” enquired Big Ben.
“We are toasting Justice now shining through,” replied Luke. “The law is closing in on the treacherous Mr Trump from a number of fronts. And in Europe Putin’s War on Ukraine is being spectacularly lost.”
“Here’s to Trump and Putin!” winked The Prof. “May they soon be toast!”
