Random thoughts about the American situation and the Media
I've been keeping my mouth mostly shut about out political situation because I find myself disagreeing with much of what is said on all sides. Trump is clearly delusional, and generates his own "alternate reality" which is how he has managed to get this far. Humans are susceptable to anyone who has certainty, and tend to adopt the views of a person who knows the truth. This is the secret of gurus everywhere. Be certain and people will believe. It doesn't matter if the truth they know is not true. All it really needs is truthiness and regular repetition to be adopted.
Only 26% of registered voters actually voted for Trump. That 26% includes several people who are dear to me, whose thoughts and opinions I respect. The most common reason cited for their vote is hating Hillary. In most every election that I've voted in, I've voted more against someone than for. Only when I vote for 3rd party candidates can I really say I'm voting FOR someone. Both the Dems and the Reps are corrupt, and have been so for a long time. Every candidate who gains their party's nomination does so by agreeing to tow the line, to serve the corporate donors and perpetuate the corruption that has our nation's nuts in a vise. Ethical candidates will never get those nominations; they must compromise with greed. The Republicans elect dummies, actors, class clowns and now a narcissist. It's embarassing. Obama was smart and thought he coud do some good but had to quash his own ethics to serve as a Dem. He tried to do no harm and it cost him dearly.
I worry that Americans are so idiotic as to really believe Trump's denigration of the media. Our media is not perfect. They parrot each other, and stories become more simplistic and less nuanced with each repetition. Few outlets do deep investigative reporting, but some do! They will be hard at work in the years to come making sure that somebody actually understands what is going on. If you are one of those who believes that all media is corrupt and Trump's twitter feed is the source of truth, your IQ must be <85. A friend of mine recently reminded me that "half of everybody is below average", well that may be true but even the less bright can have bullshit detectors that work. I hope everybody's BS detectors are getting tuned up on this nonsense.
I also disagree with the out-freaking I hear from the Democrats. If our nation and institutions are so fragile that one demagogue can tear them completely apart, then it was never going to stand in the first place. America is an experiment, not a guarantee. Nations come and go. Species come and go. We may not be one of the longer-lived species. We have no hope of competing with cockroaches or horsetail. So lighten up already. Laws are made and repealed. Nations are created and fall. The planet is already infested with us. Ten out of ten people die. This is the way of the world, and freaking out doesn't do anyone any good. Be an activist in the resistance if it suits you, but don't have a stroke. Let's all just take a deep breath, and then a few more.
The group that I do not hear speaking up today are the once-upon-a-time small government anti-corporate libertarians. Where did you go? Why aren't you speaking up? Are you holding your nose in the back row of the Republican party? Perhaps you are simply happy that so many regulations will fall, that every bureacracy under the executive branch will be decomissioned, and that government will indeed shrink. Do you not care that the new form will be fascism? Do you not care that your fishing streams and forests full of game will be poisoned by industrial gasses and runoff? Subsistence survival gets a lot harder when the environment is destroyed. We might need those rivers for something other than kayaking.
Only 26% of registered voters actually voted for Trump. That 26% includes several people who are dear to me, whose thoughts and opinions I respect. The most common reason cited for their vote is hating Hillary. In most every election that I've voted in, I've voted more against someone than for. Only when I vote for 3rd party candidates can I really say I'm voting FOR someone. Both the Dems and the Reps are corrupt, and have been so for a long time. Every candidate who gains their party's nomination does so by agreeing to tow the line, to serve the corporate donors and perpetuate the corruption that has our nation's nuts in a vise. Ethical candidates will never get those nominations; they must compromise with greed. The Republicans elect dummies, actors, class clowns and now a narcissist. It's embarassing. Obama was smart and thought he coud do some good but had to quash his own ethics to serve as a Dem. He tried to do no harm and it cost him dearly.
I worry that Americans are so idiotic as to really believe Trump's denigration of the media. Our media is not perfect. They parrot each other, and stories become more simplistic and less nuanced with each repetition. Few outlets do deep investigative reporting, but some do! They will be hard at work in the years to come making sure that somebody actually understands what is going on. If you are one of those who believes that all media is corrupt and Trump's twitter feed is the source of truth, your IQ must be <85. A friend of mine recently reminded me that "half of everybody is below average", well that may be true but even the less bright can have bullshit detectors that work. I hope everybody's BS detectors are getting tuned up on this nonsense.
I also disagree with the out-freaking I hear from the Democrats. If our nation and institutions are so fragile that one demagogue can tear them completely apart, then it was never going to stand in the first place. America is an experiment, not a guarantee. Nations come and go. Species come and go. We may not be one of the longer-lived species. We have no hope of competing with cockroaches or horsetail. So lighten up already. Laws are made and repealed. Nations are created and fall. The planet is already infested with us. Ten out of ten people die. This is the way of the world, and freaking out doesn't do anyone any good. Be an activist in the resistance if it suits you, but don't have a stroke. Let's all just take a deep breath, and then a few more.
The group that I do not hear speaking up today are the once-upon-a-time small government anti-corporate libertarians. Where did you go? Why aren't you speaking up? Are you holding your nose in the back row of the Republican party? Perhaps you are simply happy that so many regulations will fall, that every bureacracy under the executive branch will be decomissioned, and that government will indeed shrink. Do you not care that the new form will be fascism? Do you not care that your fishing streams and forests full of game will be poisoned by industrial gasses and runoff? Subsistence survival gets a lot harder when the environment is destroyed. We might need those rivers for something other than kayaking.