He's Baaack! Here We Go Again! And I Just Can’t!

I am still and will remain dumbfounded, horrified and depressed that a convicted felon, career con man, pathological liar and narcissist, petty vindictive demagogue and would-be dictator was again elected president, not only in the electoral college, but also by popular vote!! It is a sad and tragic testament to the appalling apathy, short memory, political (and general) ignorance, shortsighted perceived self interest and gullibility of a (slight) majority of the American electorate. Of course, it is also a testament to the effectiveness of nonstop right wing political propaganda and relentless negative messaging, fear mongering and scapegoating. And yes, of course there were a lot of other major factors, including Biden‘s fatal error in judgment regarding running for reelection, Harris‘s inherent disadvantages of being an incumbent and unable and/or unwilling to significantly distance herself from Biden in an overwhelmingly anti-incumbent environment, as well as her much too truncated campaign duration. And central to all of this was the pervasive deep dissatisfaction with the effects of inflation and living cost issues, compounded by mishandling of the border situation and refusal to acknowledge that. Even so, the willingness of the electorate beyond Trump‘s cult base to vote for a criminal villain who tried to overturn the previous election and who is promising and likely to institute all kinds of antidemocratic and regressive/repressive policies as a reaction to that dissatisfaction is still something I find mind-boggling and depressing. I believe that we get the government that we as an electorate deserve, but it’s tough to share that blame with so many people who I believe are grossly misguided and generally shockingly uninformed, to put it mildly.

And beyond that, I still find it absolutely incredible and appalling that Trump has managed to get away with virtually everything he has done, except for the felony conviction in NYC, which got him nothing more than a light tap on the wrist and conviction on paper, and which may still be overturned on appeal! It just proves that with sufficient power and money it is possible to game the legal system and get away with nearly anything! Especially when one has the corrupt Supreme Court majority on one’s side!! I agree with Biden that appointing Merrick Garland as AG was a big mistake. Had he not wasted a full year in initiating investigation of and charges against Trump, things might have turned out VERY differently! It has all been a nearly perfect storm in Trump‘s favor, including his being able to very effectively use his legal issues to reinforce his eternal mantra of being a victim, in this case of the deep state! And the failed assassination attempts certainly helped him as well.

So there goes the country, and the planet, for at least the next four years and likely far beyond! This has all left me and most people I know of similar mindset depressed, disillusioned, discouraged and wanting to withdraw from the political sphere, which is exactly what the ruling party is counting on and justifiably celebrating. It’s going to be a very bumpy, and possibly worse, four years, with real danger of irreparable harm to our democratic institutions and norms, such as they still are, as well as to a free press, such as it still is. There will likely be further undermining of public confidence in government and media, and likely science. And of course, there is the likelihood of all kinds of major unforeseen crises with such an inept president and cabinet in place. I wouldn’t be shocked if we end up with a bird flu pandemic within the next few years, and it would be the height of irony, as well as potentially catastrophic, to have Trump in charge during a second pandemic, especially if RFK Jr. is in charge of HHS!

All of this is meant to convey that I just don’t think I can bring myself to do this blog regularly for another four years. The first time it was mostly just an exercise in self-expression and I ended up mostly just talking to myself (for the first few months, the largest number of readers were actually in Russia, and I doubt they were just curious civilians!). It feels like being stuck somewhere waiting for a four year long hurricane to pass through, with no idea about how bad the damage will be, and what (and who) will be left when it’s over! I may be motivated to do an occasional post, but I’m not making any predictions or commitments about that.

So here’s hoping that things don’t get anywhere near as disastrous as we think they may, politically, socially, environmentally and otherwise, even though many of us are fearing and/or expecting the worst! As the French say, qui vivra vera (whoever lives will see)!