But it's not. President Mr. Magoo has found the key to the bomb locker, in both the Near East (Syria, Afghanistan) and the Far East (Korea). The crap may or may not hit the fan in a major way. But if it doesn't, I'm pretty sure it won't be because President Mr. Magoo has any awareness of the hazards, or the consequences.
This isn't a new problem, by any means. For the better part of a century, All Respectable Opinion has held as axiomatic the very questionable notion that the world is something to be "managed" from the general neighborhood of Chesapeake Bay. As a result, we've pretty well destroyed the Near East. We're maintaining a goodly supply of uniformed hostages in South Korea, whose whole purpose is to be killed while serving as a human Patriotic Outrage tripwire. Can't hardly get into a decent war without secular martyrs, you know.
So why didn't I vote for Hillary? Because that would have been a vote for war. Oh, so I must've voted for Trump, then? Nope. As we can see so plainly, that, too, would've been a vote for war. No, in modern America, no candidate is permitted within sniffing distance of the Oval Orifice unless he or she is a known friend of the Grim Reaper. And the only way to not vote for war is to not vote, period. (You get war anyway, but at least you don't have to blame yourself for having asked for it.)
Good luck to us all. We're all gonna need it.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Sunday, March 26, 2017
The Trump Vexation
As I've written a couple of times now, I'm a non-fan of the Trumpster. I'm reminded of this every time I read a quote, or hear a clip from a speech, or am subjected to a Royal Tweet. Assuming his words mean anything at all -- and that's assuming a lot -- he worships all things military, and is determined to have the greatest biggest baddest bestest World War II-fightin' Wehrmacht ever. If he has any problem with the ongoing all-seeing surveillance of every single American, he's keeping his disquiet a secret. Maybe he doesn't want wars with North Korea and China and Iran, but if so, he should quit saying he does. His stated fealty to The Precious (Israel) is even more florid and absolute than is customary in US presidents, which is saying a hell of a lot, really.
These things are not the source of my Trump Vexation, though. True, all that stuff is quite annoying to me. But it's hardly Trump-specific. He's basically a much-less-polished version of all postwar presidents in those regards. Style different; substance substantially the same.
No, my vexation is this: for all his numerous and glaring faults, damned if he doesn't have nearly every single one of the right enemies. The courtier press, the collegian nihilists, the tech billionaires, every single Democrat, ninety-nine out of a hundred Republicans, the stalwart advancers of contemporary culture (ha!), the Intelligence Community, the judiciary ... have I left anyone out? If so, it was unintentional, I assure you. The whole rogues' gallery. There's little they can all agree on, except: Let Trump Be Anathema.
Now, I swear that I am immune to the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" fallacy. Good thing, too, or I'd have voted for that Twitter Jester Extraordinaire. Or I'd have been tempted to, anyway, even though I know quite well that voting is a destructive and antisocial vice.
The corruptness and antidemocratic character of the American permanent government becomes more and more obvious, as its contempt for the intelligence of the great American football-fan population has convinced it that there is no longer any need for it to make even token attempts to conceal its activities. The next few years should prove interesting indeed.
These things are not the source of my Trump Vexation, though. True, all that stuff is quite annoying to me. But it's hardly Trump-specific. He's basically a much-less-polished version of all postwar presidents in those regards. Style different; substance substantially the same.
No, my vexation is this: for all his numerous and glaring faults, damned if he doesn't have nearly every single one of the right enemies. The courtier press, the collegian nihilists, the tech billionaires, every single Democrat, ninety-nine out of a hundred Republicans, the stalwart advancers of contemporary culture (ha!), the Intelligence Community, the judiciary ... have I left anyone out? If so, it was unintentional, I assure you. The whole rogues' gallery. There's little they can all agree on, except: Let Trump Be Anathema.
Now, I swear that I am immune to the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" fallacy. Good thing, too, or I'd have voted for that Twitter Jester Extraordinaire. Or I'd have been tempted to, anyway, even though I know quite well that voting is a destructive and antisocial vice.
The corruptness and antidemocratic character of the American permanent government becomes more and more obvious, as its contempt for the intelligence of the great American football-fan population has convinced it that there is no longer any need for it to make even token attempts to conceal its activities. The next few years should prove interesting indeed.
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