It seems quite apparent that Donald Trump is experiencing psychic distress and is increasingly unable to distinguish between reality and the online fever swamp in which he resides.
My guess is that nearly anyone who has watched and listened to him (and I'm not talking about cherry-picked memes and out-of-context quotes) can see that the president of the United States should not be allowed to continue in office.
We just can't say that. There are only whispers.
We are completely unprepared as a society for an elected leader who is, if not insane, deeply unserious and randomly hateful and harmful.
Forget the news today that his outright threats may result in the hostages being returned by Hamas to the Israelis. I hope that does happen, though I would guess that the people of Gaza have put the pressure on Hamas to just stop it. Israel has destroyed them utterly, and not just physically.
At some point, people just want to live.
Heck, think of the millions of Africans forced into slavery over centuries in the U.S. They routinely outnumbered their plantation owners but the system kept them from combining their numbers and producing lasting change. Some rose up. Most did not. I assume they just couldn't imagine how to summon the strength and strategy to do so.
There are plenty of stories in novels and movies about enslaved individuals finding ways both subtle and bold to fight the system that exploited them. But the truth is that most of the enslaved lived and died in obscurity, hoping to find some fleeting joy wherever they could.
Those anonymous Africans inspire me, as do all the anonymous Gazans who are hungry and homeless and hopeless. They keep living and doing their best, often in a horrible world.
Ordinary Americans are not usually hungry and homeless. I myself could not be more comfortable. Most of us have lots of media options and a wide menu of reporting to explore. Trump is on TV constantly... and issues a never-ending flood of social media weirdness.
No one can say they are not seeing Trump degrade before our very eyes. The emperor has no clothes.
Our nearly 80-year-old wannabe dictator is not going to get better. His cult is not going to surrender power easily. They know that a Trump doesn't come along often and that when he is gone it will be unlikely to find anyone with a similar blind following. Use him while they can is their logical choice.
I am rooting for someone to simply note, candidly, that the man with the nuclear codes is not fully sane... BUT to also describe some clear and concise alternatives to the Republican worship of the very rich.
I am afraid that CBS and the New York Times are just not up to providing that much clarity, and am skeptical that enough of the population would even pay attention if they did.
I am left with a vague hope that the old guy has a stroke or some debilitating disease that simply shuts him up. It won't fix everything but the horrors would slow down. Not a very defensible ethical and moral position.
But I will show up at church tomorrow and sing a hymn about justice rising with the choir and hear vague words of hope and faith. We will light a compassion candle for the latest shooting victims or dying Ukrainians or Gazans.
And the stock market will continue rising...
Good one.
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