Two birds with one stone -- Brexit and Trump as disrupters

[devifemme]

I just read a terrific analysis of the Brexit fiasco. It comes from the well regarded Anglo-American author Zadie Smith, in the current New York Review of Books

Comments

[ggary]

I have to say that I wavered for a long time in sending that particular response, as I also treasure your friendship, and it could seem as though I was just being bloody rude!

On this side of the pond the majority of people hope that Hilary wins. Very few people seem to have anything good to say about Trump, as they understand that whatever happens in the USA has repercussions in the rest of the world. He has nothing to offer anyone but razzamatz and bad manners.

The problems of the coal miners and steelworkers of the Mid-West have parallels in the North-East of England. There have been attempts to revive the area, and there has been a boom in people going into higher education there from all over the country. On top of this there have been some smaller, punchier hi-tech companies making their headquarters there. But still...it's a problem where there isn't one simple answer, and that needs government to not only help out, but to let every one know that they're helping out. The knowledge that they haven't been forgotten about can be worth a lot.

But, like I was saying, I'm glad that you didn't think that I was being a complete arsehole!

[devifemme]

Hey, no problem! Politics is not only "the art of the possible" bur also infuriating in what it reveals about human nature. The "paralysis of analysis" also fits in there someplace.

It's been instructive to watch Hillary trying to cope with the Trump phenomenon. (Not that she's NOT part of the problem!) She and Kaine were on "Sixty Minutes," one of our big talk-shows (the media, likewise, being part of the problem!), last night.

They performed brilliantly -- giving one the impression that the cursed elites are rallying effectively. (The Washington Post -- both media AND elites -- yesterday carried a MASSIVE lead editorial, scorching the proverbial earth in refuting Trump's every wretched characteristic.

And Philadelphia no doubt will continue the Dems' vivid counterattack, turning it into a holy crusade. Sustaining the fever pitch for three months will be a challenge...