Captain Nemo - (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)
Trump won! Who'd a thunk it? I sure didn't. But then, I've been wrong about every presidential election since like 1964.
People are emotional animals. During one of those rare times when we think about thinking, we think we are rational, that we are in control of our actions, but then we get tired or hungry or thirsty, or someone startles us, or we see an attractive member of the other sex and we revert to our real, emotion / hormone driven selves.
Our society has evolved over thousands of years and while it isn't perfect, it worked well enough to get us where we are. The last century has seen tremendous advances in engineering and technology and those advances are having a big impact on our society. Now, anything seems possible and some people think we should embrace whatever new and wondrous thing that comes down the pike. Others are more skeptical. Yes, the old ways don't work for everyone, but they got us here, and we don't really know where these new ways are going to take us. They might lead to a Brave New World, and that Brave New World [tm] could be heaven or it could be hell. Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.
I don't think that this change in President is going to have any real impact on this country. The juggernaut that is the established power structure is going to continue on the same course it has been on since the end of WW2. Oh, there might be some small deviation, but it's not going to be enough to have much impact on most people. The biggest impact is going to be on people's arguments, and there's not going to be much change in that either. People who are concerned about this kind of thing are going to continue believing whatever they believe and spouting those beliefs to anyone who will listen. Everyone else will go back to working and trying to make a living.
The government isn't going to fix anything, they are too hamstrung by their bureaucracy and the establishment. If you have a problem, you are going to have to fix it yourself. Best bet is to find some like minded people with similar problems. People working together can accomplish much more than a single individual working alone, provided of course that the people you have thrown in with can actually do anything, and that you haven't thrown in with a group whose main activity is belly-aching and complaining about the government.
Hi Chuck. As usual, you are spot on. You are my "cynic-in-chief" hero. I wanted to mention a data point that sorta proves you correct on the "nothing will change" front.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with 99.9% of everything that President Obama says. I assume that even he disagrees with a good bit of what he says. But way back when Senator Obama was campaigning, he made some very strong promises about legalizing cannabis at the federal level. Then he was elected and what do we have eight years later? No change. In fact, I would argue that it's worse today than ever. Not because Obama reversed himself, but because he never really cared. And once he was in office, the War-on-(some)-Drugs bureaucracy (ONDCP, DEA, CBP, etc) continued its winning ways. In fact, I'd say that Obama cares so little about this issue that the bureaucracy actually got more aggressive over the years. It is my understanding that investigations and raids have actually increased (I wish I could cite something here).
So, if Trump truly wants to "speak for the people" instead of the federal bureaucracy, he should de-fund the War-on-(some)-Drugs and send all those federal lifers to the unemployment office.
After all, if you are a "people" and you smoke dope, you could go to jail. Meanwhile, Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau can smoke dope and still be "leaders". Spare me!
PS. I love your writing. I read it frequently. Seriously. Except how you spell Surprise.
I am often surprised at how many typos I make. Thanks for pointing out this one. Seems like I have been having a harder time with writing the last few months. I'll type a word that I know how to spell and I'll type all the letters, but they come out all jumbled and I have to go back and fix it. It's a different problem from the the ones that I miss completely. The brain works in mysterious ways. Oh yeah, thanks for the kind words.
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