January 20th ...

[kishenehn]

Given the date, it’s pretty much impossible for me not to be thinking about politics ... so I’m going to go for it. Some of you may not want to read it, and anyone who does read it should be reminded not to take it personally, whether we agree or not.

Comments

[tx_cronopio]

Agreed on all counts. I managed, with just a couple of slips, to avoid FB today. Not that I'm not full of heartbreak, anger, and despair, but it seemed best just to not play in that particular cesspool today.

Maybe I will not play there anymore.

I have no idea what will happen. I think our time is over, frankly. America was a great dream, but if Trump can convince this many Americans that he is not a buffoon, we're done.

But...doggies! Doggies always good for sad days.

[kishenehn]

Heh ... I know FB is like crack to a lot of people, but it sure doesn't help keep the level of discourse up, and no individual is really able to change minds there with their bickering. I'm honestly pretty certain that if FB hadn't been invented, we wouldn't be saddled with Trump today.

As a historian, I know that no country's day in the sun lasts forever ... otherwise, I imagine the whole western world would be speaking classical Greek today. I agree that our time is likely past, and the real reasons for that have absolutely nothing to do with the bile related to "make America great again." We'll just follow the Brits and the Spaniards and the Dutch and the Romans into the sunset of comparative irrelevancy, and hopefully enjoy the ride. :)

[tatjna]

From over here, I've concluded that the best thing I can do about this situation I can do nothing about is:

1. Avoid reading about it where I can and try to avoid thinking about the poor bastards that live there
2. What I do see, tell myself it's satire
3. Hope to fuck they don't bomb us.

[kishenehn]

Well, if Trump bombs NZ it will only because he got himself both angry and thoroughly confused at the same time ... which, come to think of it, isn't really all that unlikely. :/

If I lived outside the US, I'd say the only thing to do would be to sit back and laugh at us ... if anything, it will make the next four years go by faster. Oh, and move to higher ground!

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[twicet]

From the other side of the border, I tend to agree with you, I hope we are proved wrong, but I rather doubt it.

I've now seen it several times where many things are promised, but never fulfilled. The Scottish Referendum, and Brexit to name just two, it will be interesting to see who he blames when things don't work out.

[heleninwales]

I'm sure that Trump will try to blame everyone but himself when it finally becomes obvious that he just can't carry out his promises.

Regarding Brexit, it's really dispiriting to see the same jingoistic attitudes playing out on both sides of the Atlantic. It's being referred to as "populism" now, but it's the same old "my country's better than yours and I'm the boss of you" attitude that I hoped we had grown out of. :(

[kishenehn]

Oh, he absolutely will blame everyone else ... and the really sad thing is, his followers will believe that. :/

And the populism wave across much of the first world is really disconcerting -- especially in present-day western Europe, where we Americans generally look for relative sanity. For the sake of the planet, I hope the pendulum swings back to the left very soon.

[kishenehn]

Yep ... I rather doubt it, too. :/

Each of those three scenarios is pretty different, and in a perverse sort of way it's going to be interesting to see how each of them plays out ... but I fear the the consequences for Trump are going to be particularly dire, because of his total disregard for anything but corporate privilege. The whole planet is really going to suffer for that.

[odyssey_road]

We all need to keep ranting. This is not normal.

Very eloquently written.

[kishenehn]

Thanks. I hope the voices of thought and reason can loudly maintain their opposition to all of this ... though it's a long shot in a way, it's our only hope.