Detaching

Trumptrocities of Note

* Donald Trump calls for an investigation of voter fraud in the election.  Not only is he convinced that 3 – 5 million votes were fraudulent, he’s also certain that he was 100% on the short end of the electoral chicanery. Said Trump, "Of those votes cast, none of them come to me. None of them come to me. They would all be to the other side. None of them come to me.”  This is all a couple of months after Trump insisted that there was no voter fraud when Jill Stein funded recounts.  Sort of reminds me of the old song lyric, “Is you is or is you ain’t my baby.” 

* We’re building a wall folks.  While Mike Pence and an assortment of knaves and cronies looked on in white privileged glee Trump signed a directive ordering the commencement of the wall.  In keeping his promise that Mexico would pay for the wall he cooked up the brilliant idea of slapping Mexico with a 20% tariff – take that Mexico.  Oh wait, that 20% is eventually going to come out of the wallets of Americans. Well, we’ve sure been snookered haven’t we.

* Trump is looking into renewing the use of torture in interrogations. On the use of torture Trump said, “do I feel it works? Absolutely I feel it works." He might be right. After less than a week he’s been torturing the shit out of the entire thinking world.  I know I’m ready to cry “uncle.” 

* Trump signed an executive order authorizing the resumption of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.  Once again Native Americans get screwed but I don’t imagine that Trump is at all phased.  He probably learned the history of the American West by watching John Wayne movies. 

Detaching

Every election year the term “voter apathy” makes an appearance and those of us who showed a half a scintilla of responsibility to go out and vote cluck in derision at those who didn’t.  Personally I don’t think that the word apathy describes what goes on during the election cycle; or what‘s going on now for that matter. 

Take the definition of apathy. 

1. Absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.

2. Lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.

It’s sort of a passive, oblivious thing if you ask me. Kind of wimpy. 

Now consider the definition of detach (or detachment):

1. To unfasten and separate; disengage; disunite.

Why the word games you ask?  Because in the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration, this is what I’m seeing from my fellow ostriches…err…I mean citizens - detachment. Not a passive nonchalance but an actual passionate act of avoidance.  I have friends and acquaintances who fast forward the news to get to the commercials.

I approached one friend and asked, “Did you see the nominations?”

“No, I hate that man. I can’t stand to see anything about him.”

“Oh,” I responded.  “I didn’t know you felt that way about Denzel.”

“What?”

“Denzel Washington.  He got nominated for an Oscar.”

“I thought you were talking about Trump.”

And then there’s Facebook.  A friend of mine lamented that “Facebook is no fun anymore.  It’s like CNN. Blah, blah, blah.” And then there are those who won’t deign to be slimed by politics; “I don’t discuss politics.  It’s just a bunch of name calling and arguing. I’m above all that”

All of this isn’t a new thing but with this administration it seems to be an ever growing trend.  It’s all the rage!  And it isn’t a good thing either. I’ll admit that this active detachment isn’t surprising but it is disappointing – and downright scary.  You see because unless you really like this Trump guy, unless you’re taking that Kool Aid intravenously, you’d better get it into your head that he is NOT going to make America great.  And once he’s done with whatever the fuck it is he’s doing we’re all going to be picking up the poop he left behind.

This new administration is like nothing that America has ever experienced.  It’s almost like a perverse work of art in the way that it threatens science, information, freedom, peace, the environment and just about anything that you could think of that’s good and right in this country. And the cherry on this shit sundae is the fact that our new President is a delusional, paranoiac who tells lies with a reckless and carefree abandon unseen since Richard Nixon.  In fact, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I’d actually prefer Nixon at this point.  At least Nixon had the advantage over Trump of possessing some acquaintance with government, diplomacy and world and national affairs – even if he was a crook. 

In less than one short week in office Donald Trump has exhibited a frightening predisposition to view events from a perspective that is bigoted, small minded and tilted radically towards big business and the rich; completely heedless of any consequences.  And what makes all of this worse are his attempts to stifle dissent from within the government and from without, as he declares himself at war with the press.

Those in my generation lived through two widely unpopular administrations – Lyndon Johnson’s and Richard Nixon’s.  Both ended in disgrace. Johnson’s administration was a shambles after the debacle of The Vietnam War spawned wide spread protests and plunging poll numbers.  In March of 1968, with the election cycle already in motion, Johnson abruptly dropped out of the race.  And of course Nixon, faced with the overwhelming evidence of his own crimes was forced to resign his presidency. 

The difference between then and now is that in those years of the 60s and 70s there was a real press corps that came complete with a sense of duty and a healthy dose of testicular fortitude. Those were the glory days of investigative journalism when newspapers like The Washington Post sank time and resources into doing the detective work that unearthed Nixon’s skeletons.  There was no such thing as alternative facts – a lie was a lie was a damned lie.  

The other important difference is that the American people seemed more engaged.  Maybe in the case of Johnson it’s because people had more skin in the game.  As Vietnam raged and the butcher’s bill soared people didn’t feel like losing a husband or a son in a war that seemed increasingly unwinnable and unending.  My recollection is not of Americans running from the news, burying themselves in sports or sitcoms.  Americans were glued to events. My parents looked forward to every week’s issue of Newsweek Magazine.  They couldn’t get enough information.  They literally thirsted for information about the challenges facing our nation.

Try as they might, Johnson and Nixon in their paranoia, and Nixon with his enemies list, never could pump out enough disinformation to dupe the American people.  The groundswell from press and public was such that both men were toppled in disgrace.  The Trump administration shows all the earmarks of one that could get on the last public nerve and flame out in disgrace.  But it won’t go away all on its own. This is the time to take a deep breath, steel yourself for the unpleasantness and get yourself informed and then take action.  Or as Country Joe McDonald once said, "Bring back the 60s man."  Where's Country Joe when we really need him? 

This is not a time to detach my fellow Americans.  I feel pretty comfortable in saying that looking away isn’t going to make Donald Trump disappear.  But if you insist, then by all means, go ahead and cover your face with your hands. Just remember that when you pull them away you might not like what you see.   

Donald Trump scares the living, breathing shit out of me.  But what really keeps me awake at night; what really haunts me at some ungodly hour of the night staring into the abyss, is the growing American ostrich population.

Donald Trump has allies; a whole posse in fact. There’s Ryan and McConnell and Kellyanne (Eva Braun) Conway and all the other scoundrels.  But his biggest most potent ally is detachment – the willingness of Americans to look the other way.  With it he continues on his merry, malevolent way, carrying America with him to an uncertain bleakness. Without it Donald Trump is eventually doomed.