Insanity
Redux
Whom the gods would
destroy, they first make mad
Euripides
I don't
think Euripides was talking about really ticking people off. He was
probably talking about making them insane. In some cases there may
not be a lot of difference.
I had my
own “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” moment a day or so prior to the
election when I tendered a column with Hillary Clinton as the
President-elect. My editor was kind enough to suggest that it might
take some reworking. I replied that I didn't think just a reworking
would do the trick. Of course, being an opinion writer I have
certainly held many opinions since the election but I hope that I
have reached a stage of life where wisdom has overtaken youthful
exuberance. Don't get me wrong. I would trade it all for another go
at youthful exuberance but that's not the way it works so wisdom it
is. I am acutely aware that many of you will laugh mirthfully at the
idea of me having any wisdom and that my heart is broken because of
the realities of the election. I'm going to try to put down a few of
my thoughts and feelings and then I will move on.
After
last Tuesday I couldn't bring myself to even watch the news because
it was too painful to consider Donald Trump as President. After a
few days Juanita expressed some concern at my quietude and said “you
act like there's been a death in the family.” I told her that is
exactly what my feelings were like. That I was mourning the likely
death of all of the progress that we had fought so hard to achieve,
tiny bits at a time, over the last 50 years of an active, politically
aware life. Voting rights under attack not only in the south but in
Wisconsin of all places. Civil rights being threatened by white
supremacist rhetoric and hateful acts on display using Nazi symbols.
Equal rights ignored with Muslims the focus of hate speech and hijabs
being pulled off. Alliances built over 75 years given cause for fear
of abrogation. The signature program of President Obama, the
Affordable Care Act, threatened with instant repeal throwing 21
million people out of access to health care again. Mass deportation
of people seeking the American Dream. Greater focus on militarism
with more resources going into the war making machine. Promises to
bring back coal mining and blue collar jobs, both of which are
spurious promises because those jobs do not and cannot exist any
longer. Automation has done them in and natural gas has pushed coal
out of the market. Then to cap it off, a rejection of the science
that supports climate change and a return to reliance on fossil
fuels. Then I told her the kicker. I likely won't live long enough
to see the return of these advances in our society.
Truthfully,
I believe that it won't be long before Social Security and Medicare
are under attack leaving the disabled and elderly in the place they
were in 1932. These are the stated goals of the President-elect and
the people who swept him into office. I don't think for a minute
that the millions that voted for him considered the ramifications of
their votes. I believe that they saw, correctly I might add, that
their government had allowed the people's welfare to decline while
more and more power and money rose to the top. Donald Trump promised
to bring back the jobs and they said “what the hell” let's give
him a shot.
I hope
he does well. I hope he is able to proceed with the giant
infrastructure programs that he has touted. I don't even care if it
was President Obama's proposal and that the Republican Congress that
promised to not allow him to do anything can take credit for it. I
hope he is able to create middle class jobs by using the same tactics
that Presidents Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 used. It bears
mentioning that those tax plans and the Great Recession are what
generated the multi-trillion dollar debt we now enjoy and that
President-elect Trump's plans are projected to create another 10
trillion dollar hole. I hope that's wrong and I live long enough to
see those fruits.
My Take
is that the best we can hope for is that he is as faithful to the
truth in keeping his promises as he was truthful on the campaign
trail. To steal a quote, “better buckle your seat belts, it's
going to get a little bumpy.”
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