The Day America Died

As my country spins farther away from reality I wonder just how far we can go into the netherworld and just how much more I can grieve.

So, there we were, a hot Sunday morning on July 14. It was 6:45 a.m. and Donald Trump decided to start attacking four U.S. congresswomen, using the same tactics he's used against Obama and many others. He fired off his hate Tweet and started a major social media explosion across the land.

His current hate campaign against the congresswomen is not only racist, but he downright lies about what the congresswomen have said or he takes words completely out of context, which is a form of lying.

I thought U.S. politics had already hit the bottom when Karl Rove and Ralph Reed developed their "win at all costs" model, but Trump has taken politics to an even lower point where there's no turning back.

I believe that to save ourselves and planet we must rely on our higher-evolved attributes like altruism. But I'm watching the man in the White House take us in a different direction, where he triggers the primordial emotions of simple-minded thinkers to advance his own political goals. To hell with the country and the damage he has done because this five-time draft dodger is going to keep manipulating the country with the favorite tool of the right-wing lords — fear.

The Response

Of course, I'm talking to Trump supporters this week who tell me that his hate Tweet was an act of genius. Some say he sent the Tweet to unify the Democratic Party so he'd only have one target in 2020, while others say he's trying to drive a wedge. After all, Trump must be a genius because no one else could be so stupid.

Now, I'm not one to question, but if you can believe a man lived three days in a fish, you can certainly believe that Trump is a genius. And if you can believe two kangaroos hopped 8,000 miles from Australia to the Middle East, for a ride on Noah's Ark, well, crap, you can believe anything. The fact that the kangaroos had to travel most of their journey over water makes me believe in your power to believe anything even more.

And, wow, the timing of his bash-the-congresswomen Tweet was genius. He sent it just as his evangelical base was waking up for Sunday School. Now, in addition to the pastor raving that Trump is a "man of God" and "anointed by God" he can now brag about how Trump bashed women, people of color, and Muslims all in one Tweet. Since no one seems to know what socialism is, let alone democratic socialism, he can drop that little word too. As the evangelicals adjust their beehive hairdos and shine the hood ornaments on their Mercedes', they search their Twitter feed and see the Sunday morning message from Their Man, you know, the guy who's going to save them from the morally-deprived Libtards, and North Koreans, and Iranians.

It only takes an hour before the potty-Tweet spreads throughout Twitterland, a ghoulish place, and then to the corporate media, which cares only about ratings and feeding their cattle the crap that they want to eat. Nancy Pelosi is at her hairdresser when she reads the vitriolic and divisive Tweet. She stands up and starts throwing furniture around. This is going to be a tough week.

My Reaction

As for me, I'm just too darn sensitive, and I am sick to my stomach when I see Trump destroying the last remnants of civility, respect, and dignity in our country. What is especially sad is that when this life-long conman throws out the bait, everyone snatches it without thinking. Everyone's emotions are just too worked up to think clearly. Two days later at a press conference he is suggesting that Rep. Ihan Omar married her brother. And then at his MAGA rally in North Carolina, the crowd is chanting, "Send her back." At long last we don't have to hear "Lock her up" anymore or "Drill, baby, drill." See, the Republicans are making progress after all.

Trump's Accomplishments

I did read Trump's 1987 book "The Art of a Deal," and just recently learned that it was a creative work of fiction, according to the book's co-author Tony Schwartz. Calling Trump a "genius" is fiction too, and saying that he's "doing a great job" is even more fantasy.

Since taking office his only true accomplishment was to support a bipartisan prison reform bill. For that I credit him. His other two accomplishments were to help push through a tax cut bill for the rich and he stacked the Supreme Court with a nice beer-guzzling party boy.

I don't consider executive orders or regulatory actions as accomplishments, since these can all be reversed in a few weeks by the next president. True accomplishments are when a president works with Congress to pass legislation. Or when the president puts a judge on a federal bench, like Kavanaugh.

When people tell me "look how well the stock market is doing," that just tells me that American corporations have gotten better at screwing over workers. These same people turn silent when the stock market is in a slump. And when someone tells me about "job growth," I'm wondering just how many people want a career as a hamburger flipper.

As always, it's all an illusion, and people simply believe what they want to believe.

Funny how Trump supporters never talk about his failures. Mexico still hasn't paid for a border wall. And Trump got many votes in the heartland by promising to revitalize the coal industry. It hasn't happened, but that's okay since people have short memories.

Socialism

Trump and other leaders always love to throw around "socialism" as their favorite scare word. When I was growing up the scare word was "communism." If only people would read the works of Karl Marx they'd realize that socialism isn't so bad. I agree that socialism has problems but that must be weighed against the ruthless excesses of capitalism. Capitalism might work, but it needs major reform. However, my gut feeling is that no economic system is sustainable except, perhaps, one that runs on altruism.

I'm not sure why we'd want a billionaire as president, as these are the people who know how to manipulate the political system and the mindless masses for their own personal gain. Every time I hear someone using "socialist" as a scare word, I'm wondering, "Why are you doing the bidding of American billionaires?"

What I see is my beloved country turning into a fascist banana republic where the politicians are bought and controlled by the rich, at the expense of the poor. The latest example is the recent corporate tax cut, and now our political leaders are saying we have to cut Social Security and Medicare too. Why, because old people are not big money spenders. It's time to set them adrift on an iceberg and let them die.

Making things worse is the Supreme Court's decision to treat corporations like people. Corporations have no heart at all and only care about making money, and they know they can make more money by exploiting the working class and the environment. They are locusts that eat everything, and leave the rest of us with dirty water, dirty air, and a fatally damaged climate. If there are a few young, brave congresswomen who stand up to this nonsense, then they have my deepest respect and admiration. I hope that all the hate and lies thrown against them will strengthen their resolve, and that each member of the "Squad" will become a future president.

As For Me ...

If I hear one more person say that the moon landings were staged I think I will blindly run into a street while screaming. Is there anyone left in this world who is still sane? If there is you have a strong responsibility on your shoulders because you are the only ones who can save us.

I do realize that Trump supporters will still support him no matter what he says or does. If I engage these people in a conversation I will be deluded with deflection, and as they ramble on I will count how many times they say "Hillary" to break my boredom. My only respite is that I get to see hypocritical evangelical Christians sink deeper into their hypocrisy as they desperately try to support the immoral, race-baiting, gas-lighting manipulator in the White House. As you pick the dog hairs off your MAGA hat and rub holy oil on your living room portrait of Donald Trump, I only want to ask, "How low are you willing to go?"


Photo: Sharon McCutcheon