Epstein

All we get to do is comment from the sidelines. He just keeps looking for weaknesses and loopholes, occasionally blowing things up, seemingly proud of the exploitation and overall assholery.

Where is the value in his presence among us?

Epstein

Every new instance of crossing some line is met with initial disgust, maybe disbelief, but then we move on to the next injustice.

The recent news out of Blue Ash, Ohio is particularly heinous and has fomented straight-up and immediate anger. ICE agents are rounding up Haitian immigrants and forcing them to make a choice—either wear an ankle monitor or deport—forcing people who are here legally and with no criminal record to either demean themselves or return to a place they left for good reason, a place with all the markings of a war zone and devolved chaos, a place that our government is strongly warning citizens to avoid.

I’m just gonna jump ahead here. How can died-in-the-wool Republicans, and even MAGA loyalists, still support this behavior, this warped, archaic, hateful mindset and philosophy of life? How can anyone support this rot, this manufactured fear, this trash heap of concentrated laziness and ignorance and mindless obedience?

The disgust is visceral, and the crossed line just keeps getting longer.

Yes, I guess he does live in my head rent-free. But what’s the alternative—to carry on as if he’s not there? Ignore him? That’s impossible.

His sympathizers, er disciples, wonder what all the hubbub is about, wonder why so many of us seem so perturbed by him. But The Base is a lost cause, zombie-like. They have no capacity, no willingness to entertain the reality that their hero is an empty vessel, mostly bark, little bite. They’ve swallowed the hook, can’t wriggle free. They believe what he’s saying, and what they hear on Fox News and the like.

One might think that, by now, they would be wondering why things aren’t better than they are, since he promised to do so much for them on Day 1. It must have something to do with not wanting to admit their error. They’re having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they’ve been lied to all along, that they got drawn in by an appeal to their own bigotry and misguided faith. By an overweight gas bag with an empty sales pitch.

It’s enough to shake one’s confidence. There is a steady stream of half-truths and outright lies, statements intended to placate the public and prop up the markets. There is too much of putting the cart before the horse, too much inexperience and willful ignorance, too much dependence on heavy-handedness and threats that often turn out to be empty.

We can bomb Iran into seeming oblivion and in the process deplete our own supply of armaments and come to realize that they can still fire missiles and drones at us and kill our troops and wreak havoc among our allies.

We witness, on pretty much a daily basis, the intentional weakening of institutions and programs that interpret the law, that monitor air and water quality, that scan the horizon for the next pandemic, that help with paying premiums on over-priced insurance and medicine. In general, we witness the stunning mishandling of responsibilities, shirking duties, all in the name of self-preservation and self-enrichment and vengeance.

“Progress” is a four-letter word, change is anathema, “wokeness” is a misappropriated battle cry. And right now, anything that raises doubt in our ability to defend against cyber threats only serves to increase the likelihood that Donald Trump and his League of Assholes will try to sabotage the November 3 elections, on the grounds that the results can’t be trusted.

The truth is, our own President can’t be trusted. Many of us, a majority of us, have known this for a very long time.

Daily writing prompt

What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do?

View all responses

Cooking, self care, conversation, etc.

For purposes here, I’ll say listening. It’s been getting tossed around the last few years because of entrenched opinions and world views. I’m not sure it’s that people don’t know how to do it, but rather that they purposely choose not to do it. I’m as guilty as anyone in this regard. Once one feels as though they’ve heard enough– or heard it all– then it becomes very easy to tune out, even as there is an insistence that all sides make valid points we should be aware of.

Another more cliched skill is handling a digital device, except this one may be more legitimate, though with an asterisk. People cop out and throw up their hands and say they don’t understand– or can’t understand– but really they just don’t want to try.