'Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right'

Following up on my last post, America may have entered its "post-shame" period. More revelations about the corruption of Clarence Thomas (a hypocritical lost soul), about Donald Trump (a convicted abuser of women, not to mention a dingbat who can't bring himself to favor Ukraine over murdering Russians), and a long list of cowardly politicians (mostly Angry White People Party types) who keep feeding their base voters b.s. And those voters demand more of whatever lies make them feel better.

America has also become a country that creates policies and laws that place us all in a frustrating prison of "there's just nothing we can do."

There are, of course, all sorts of things we can do. We can feed poor children and families. We can provide health care for all. We can limit the manufacture and sales of the worst sorts of weapons. We can drastically reduce income gaps among our citizens. We can end the problem of government officials refusing to ever leave their positions of power. We can fix social security's finances. 

We just don't want to... and we have stopped even looking for HOW we can do these sorts of things. "Age of Decadence" may be a more appropo term for where the U.S. is right now. 

Most of our wounds are self-inflicted, but we act like everything is a simple act of God. 

At some point, leaders needs to prioritize to address our challenges. Everyone (except some nutcases) thinks it would be disastrous for the nation to default on its debts. But here we are, just a few weeks from doing so. It's a game, after all, though the bulk of citizens will experience the pain, not the leaders. 

The rich and powerful always do fine.

Right now, all our problems feel about the same weight... all streaming through chaotic media that has rejected any "rules" civilized society previously imposed. One outraged post on social media is just as loud as all the other outraged posts. 

CNN claiming that there was nothing that could be done to limit the lies and trolling of Trump during a "Town Hall" that was really just a Trump rally is a classic case of no shame, no responsibility, and no wisdom. CNN just wanted the money, and got it. 

Most sex offenders don't get a free hour of publicity to spread their ugliness... just a day or so after being convicted (I know... Trump wasn't convicted, technically, since this was a civil case, but that's a distinction most of us find laughable). Of course there were plenty of cult members eager to cheer and join in the game. There always are. 

Morons and publicity seekers aren't unusual. They have always plagued us. They always will.

We just don't need to put them on TV.