Below is a blog I wrote a couple of years ago that shows just how naive I was about the Republican electorate, which is saying a lot, because I held it in pretty low regard back then. Clearly I had no idea just how attractive Donald Trump would continue to be to those who are punch-drunk on distorted patriotism, the Religion of Whiteness, and the gun fetish that they all share. Most of all, though, I didn't have a deep enough appreciation for the staying power of their maniacal poster boy, whose sole purpose seems to be to wreck things in the name of ratings and constant media coverage. The Greatest Showman on Earth, indeed.
We Americans are in deep trouble because a critical mass of our fellow citizens have championed a country that valorizes violence, excuses troll-like behavior from its leaders, and turns it back on its schoolchildren--that is, on its future--in the name of "freedom." I'm grimly amused by the irony that the same political party that supports the life of a fetus turns its back on that fetus once it becomes a school-aged child. Who in their right mind thinks that more guns = more safety? Show me one country, one state, one city where such a fiction has come true. Show me one.
And now to the blog I wrote a couple of years ago. I believe I diagnosed the problem correctly, but boy did I underestimate the cure. I'm just hoping the legal trouble he got himself into over the debacle mentioned below will finally be the thing that takes him out of contention as future president. Or maybe this is just another example of wishful thinking.
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The Devil went down to Georgia He was lookin’ for a soul [election] to steal He was in a bind ’cause he was way behind And he was willin’ to make a deal.
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia," Charlie Daniels Band
Most of us over 40 recognize the lyrics of this song even though we never thought the words would come to such pointed specificity by the actions of a sitting President who, most of us know, is willing to make a deal with the devil to gain an advantage. No surprise there. What I think surprised so many of us was just how artless he’d be in the process. It's not like he’s ever been sophisticated in his attempts at subverting the law, but the call to Georgia the other day marks the low point of his Presidential artlessness, which is saying a lot for a guy who has brought artlessness to... well, a new art form.
What his actions also tell me is that he’s far from over in his efforts to get back in the saddle of power so he can once again, like the bull in a china shop he is, wreck everything around him that gets in the way of his foaming at the mouth lust for power and more power. It’s all about power, really, and Trump’s ambitions know no limits. So he will be sure to create enough oxygen with his endless hot air, fanned and flamed by his feckless supporters, to give the Biden presidency a run for its money when it comes to media coverage, with his cacophony of daily/hourly/minutely Twitter spews and all. Poor Joe.
The rest of us would do well to pay no attention, as hard as that will be. Like a fortune cookie once said, “A lie is like a big fish on dry land. It flails about for a time, but sooner or later, it dies.” So take the troll's oxygen away. How? By not giving him your attention. Pay him no mind. And when noon EST Jan. 20 rolls around, let’s all agree to at least one thing: leave the irritating bastard to the pages of history and move on with our lives.