The Death of Reality

Submitted by Lindsay
Melbourne Australia!

After such knowledge, what forgiveness - TS Elliot, Gerontion, 1920

(2/2019) I guess the people who wrote the constitution never imagined they should cater for a time when the president became insane while in office. Or, horror of horrors, was already insane when elected. They surely saw that someone might become ‘unfit’, whatever that means, but certifiable insanity was less likely than an Australian Aborigine getting the job.

But it has happened. Possibly before this, but now? Absolutely. You scoff. Answer this: Who in their right mind would declare that the best way to keep terrorists out of the country was to complete the building of a 2000 mile wall between a neighbor and trading partner? One who had not threatened, had taken action to infiltrate the government or try and bring it down? Who essentially was an ally that had done badly on all the deals that were guaranteed to make them better off?

It’s not as though the wall would be impregnable or would do the job – no one could ever guarantee that – or that it would pay for itself. No, the many billions (the actual cost keeps varying, but it’s about seven. Reducing this by using steel instead of concrete makes no difference) would be paid by the taxpayer because they’d be better off. How, exactly? They’d suddenly find their take home pay was up by 20 %? Not likely. Oh yes, they’d be safer in their beds. No more nine elevens.

And 99% of the refugees waiting to get in are migrants – illegal because they do and do not have papers, who mostly come from untold tyranny and death squads or utter poverty, and hope for a safer and fairer time in the US – but terrorists? How many, pray? Yes, there are criminals and baddies, there are in every group on earth, America having more per capita then most countries.

But, I say again, terrorists? The current American definition is ‘The unlawful, (that is, not sanctioned by the government), use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians in the pursuit of political or religious aims.’ There are many variations, and legislation can be used to change it whenever deemed necessary – or expedient. In previous times if someone drove you out, or locked you up because of you religious beliefs or practices, you were being persecuted. It’s been happening since the beginning of civilization, but to now call it terrorism is confuse civil and state crimes.

Even more to the point, how many Mexicans have been convicted of terrorism in the past forty years? Sure, drug running, people trafficking, murder and so on, but these are not terrorism. The answer is one. Yes, one. Most terrorists are Saudi and Afghani’s and Syrians, countries never mentioned in his earlier rant about the source of terrorists. Many were members of ISIS, and many of the deaths they caused were religious based. In America, however, the greatest number of religious based killings were by Americans taking their grievances into their own hands – fundamental Christians killing those who promote abortion, for instance. Far better to call the NRA a terrorist group, since they are responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians. Oh, sorry, that’s liberty, freedom of choice, and other perverted values.

Back to La Donald. The rhetoric (sorry, the rants) go on and on, exhibiting one of the classic signs of mental breakdown. It’s called delusional paranoia. People with it finish up in for whatever passes today as asylums, given medication and maybe shock treatment. All his tenure to date has shown this in the confusing tweets, of-the-cuff boasts, arbitrary decisions and the self-congratulatory raves about his genius. His belief that anyone who disagrees or simply doesn’t like him is out to get him is classic paranoia.

He is living in unreality, something he has created and lived with over his career, and it has taken over his reason. He is also sneakily clever. At least he thinks he is. The disease allows nothing else, just as it sees total normality in lies. Last count there were several thousand of those, some variations on a theme, and truly the only thing he could be proud of is the inventiveness of his statements.

But, as I said last time, he is a messiah figure to an astonishing number of his supporters, who remain blind to the reality of a nation in decline, of a nation that has become a wild card in international affairs, no longer dependable, no longer a power that attempts to redress some of the worst crimes and atrocities in the world.

He’s tried playing at being a diplomat, strutting the stage, a magician with his underpants showing, a puppet spouting the subversion fed to him by Putin and others. His whole attention is now centred on a wall, a delusion that also helps divert attention from his cover-ups and crimes.

The true problems are ignored. Drugs, incarceration, infrastructure, lack of aid and support, poverty, education, climate change – the needs of the nation are so great, but are ignored because he didn’t cause them. On the other hand, he believes he is solely responsible for the growth in the economy and jobs. The fed would have other ideas – it was they who held interest rates near zero until things picked up, and that gave industry time to recover from the crash.

And the ultimate proof of his insanity: Using the lives of civil service employees as bargaining chips to get money for that ridiculous wall. The repercussions of this will be felt for years to come, and will put America even further back in trade negotiations.

In the meantime, the real world goes on. States do what they believe they are best at, local issues, (although it’s too often gerrymandered collusion), local councils ignore Washington and try their best to create vibrant and wholesome communities, and the most of the media try to present balanced reporting.

Many Americans, particularly his supporters, seem incapable of any critical thinking. Even well educated, savvy folk are guilty of that. Sad, but they are too self-absorbed, too safe, too lazy – and they are Trump’s trumps.