Written on Wednesday Nov. 20, 2024 after an extended locker-room chat with a friend at the Southside Aquatic Centre (Woodstock) who is a moderate Conservative and who believes that a Trump presidency will be a good thing for America.
GULLIBLE - easily persuaded to believe something; credulous.
PERSUASION - in a belief or set of beliefs, especially religious or political ones.
Nighty Night
There is a growing movement that subscribes to a serene sarcasm. A beautiful blend; bold with a crisp, satisfying finish. Safe/secure. Reaction & resentment appears to be on the menu so let’s do one of each. Let’s bring it home shall we? Complacency is a pleasant valley Sunday sermon. Later - looking soulfully into your loved one’s eyes on a romantic night out (that you’re paying for), wondering if she really loves you or is just after your money.
Time shift. Ah, if only we could go back. NEWSFLASH: WE CAN!
It’s warm, cozy and familiar. It’s that fairy tale we were told as kids by our Moms after our bath, in bed after dark with our flannel daffy duck pyjamas on hugging Teddy. It’s mommy giving me a hug goodnight, while a tipsy Dad yells at her from the kitchen, waiting for his late supper. It is what’s REAL. What I remember; long for. It’s what’s here now. Now back again.
Praise be.
Reaction vs. Proaction
Denial is so easy. I mean he IS just Daddy; harmless really. Poor man. I don't care about you, I just want your vote - “oh he’s just kidding/joking” or “he’s not being serious”. “He’s a businessman, it’s how he negotiates” and on and on, justifying the jargon, punctuating the platitudes. Ok but what about Project 2025 (asking)? Strained glare ... “He has denied that, fake news”. But it’s his manifesto, drawn up by all his closest people. Long pause. “There’s no proof he had anything to do with that”. Right. Have you read it? “No. I don’t need to”.
Awareness and humility is woke speak for weakness and I’m not weak. Black Lives, Me Too, Taking the Knee? Shove it. Transgendered should NOT be in MY vocabulary (because I am TOLD it should be). You’re either a man or a woman. Period. End of discussion.
This anti-system sentiment is a wonderful distraction and why not? I’d rather bury my head in the sand than look at what’s obvious … that we are being conned? No it’s YOU that’s being conned! There are REACTIVE and PROACTIVE Populists. Bernie Sanders is an example of the latter. Not about HIM but a greater good for all. Trump/Poilievre & most others are examples of the former; all about them ... their electorate? Pawns. Their critics? Enemies. Lock them up.
Far more potent and way more dangerous.
Epilogue: Larger than Life
Is humanity committing suicide? My suggestion earlier on and the jury is seriously OUT on that one. Maybe our American autopsy is just another episode on Springer. Like nothing matters anymore so destroy it. Only it’s way more entertaining. I’ve always wanted to be a rock star. Jesus. Hurts so good. This is actually what it feels like, because when you get right down to it
... being larger than life is way better than life itself.
For some people, becoming larger than life becomes paramount. Sociopathic narcissism has no nationality; no boundaries.
Insecure? Na. Just confident.
music video remixes below/bottom DYSTOPIAN 2125 DEAD END
The Massive Sceptre
It's all about the show. You know that kid in school … class clown. Trickster, grandstander.
Maybe the schoolyard bully who ended up playing lead guitar in the local metal band before becoming Mayor. No wait. The good looking quiet one in the back of the class who becomes a multi-millionaire real estate mogul at 26, marries a trophy wife/high school sweetheart (Playboy bunny), has 3 kids and divorces her at 40, dumping her for someone younger, prettier, hotter - packin’ a massive sceptre and a proper pre-nup. Dude. Always out to prove something. Broad strokes on an empty canvas aching for retribution. Art of the deal.
Boner. I mean bonus.
Thelma & Louise
Donald Trump is in good company as he embarks on his second term as President of the United States. I guess America would rather vote for a felon poser misogynist than a black woman. I mean … come the fuck on! Let’s get REAL! Freedom for ME, no freedom for you.
So what we have here is Trump 2.0. You know, the new and improved version. The one where capitalism becomes unhinged and looks a whole lot more like Russia’s oligarchy than a democracy. The one where humility becomes weakness and everyone is vulnerable. All part of Putin’s plan when he juxtaposed himself into America’s election the first time around.
Now? 2024? Bullseye. In this new world order, there are winners and there are losers. You decide. Oh wait, that decision is no longer yours to make. Oh well. Maybe next time. Oh wait, maybe there won't BE a next time. America's electorate (fuelled by a Russian President and multiple billionaire infused super PACS) has collectively driven us off a cliff and into grave uncertainty and it is a Canadian author saying 'I told you so', 40 years later.
In or Out
Look, this dichotomy is insane, surreal ... heartbreaking. Comatose camaraderie with a side order of inbred inebriation. Trailer park TV, late morning. She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake. Realizing she's almost out of smokes with a call to have them added to her beer delivery. Boyfriend having left for another 12 hour shift at the plant and a rain-soaked TRUMP - TAKE AMERICA BACK sign now partially tipped over on their non existent lawn a week after the election. Texting a girlfriend to see if she wants to party tonight. It's a mood thing ...
I’m in the final chapter of my life - so it seems fitting, that I just unload (not a whole lot to lose at this point). I am so grateful to have been born in 1956 in Canada! The '60s, '70s, '80s & '90s were spectacular decades to be alive. By 2000 the party was winding down and it started expiring heavily. 9/11 officially knocked the wind out of my sails. By 2016 it becomes downright tragic - so ya let’s spill. What’s unfolding/at stake here is a long list - so WARNING: If you don’t really want to get bummed out right now? Don’t read any further. Distract yourself accordingly. It’s a synopsis based on perception. No holds barred. A now or never kind of deal. You’re either in or out.
Ah, you’re in. So let’s do this …
1. MIGRATION/DEPORTATION - ICE on steroids - militarized, as Trump’s new GESTAPO. Official police of the nation (remember Germany 1943? Ok you’ve seen the movies). Feds over-riding state, county and urban jurisdictions. An ALL -IN kind of deal. Local cop? Go home. Families separated, parents sent away whatever. Refugees, legal immigrants? Doesn’t matter. Mass deportations. Incarceration camps. An invigorated crematorium industry silently sewn. End of birth right citizenship. Ban Muslims from entering the country and those here now?
Get the hell out or face the consequences.
2. ECONOMY - It is said that inflation in an out of control economy was the backbone of Trump's campaign and that moderate middle class Americans caved to an 'anti-system' sentiment out of fear and mistrust of the current system. I mean what do we really have to lose by tearing it all down and building it back again right? How can it get any worse and what exactly will he DO? Doesn't matter. Worth a try and Trump is our man. Hints? Oh ya ... dark clouds on the horizon? The term 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' comes to mind.
Ok, let's start with tariffs. Let’s PUNISH Americans first (by making it all WAY more expensive), then China, Mexico and Canada for intruding on us. Trade? Don't make me laugh. Newsflash: Globalism is yesterday's news. Nationalism is today's. Protecting U.S. interests (translation: billionaire campaign donors heavily invested in a MAGA U.S.) coming first obviously!
Lower & middle classes will just have to deal with it - you get out what you put IN. Oh BTW, thanks for your vote - now FUCK OFF! Using public, taxpayer money for private religious & ideologically aligned vocational schools. Additional tax breaks for corporations and the top 5%. Trillions syphoned at the expense of those who voted for this crime of the century con and all out in the open, mid-day (smiling & waving). Elimination of unions and worker protections.
Raising the price of medications so as to benefit big pharmaceutical donors. Taxes up for those lower in the food chain, taxes down for those higher up.
3. ENVIRONMENT/REGULATIONS - Abandoning all initiatives. EPA, FDA, NOAAA designed to protect the public from crony capitalism’s extreme exploitation. The Paris Climate Accord and global climate incentives in 2017 abandoned by America then, now again. Let's put the final nail in that coffin shall we? It's a short term GAIN long term PAIN manifesto, racing down a dusty back road towards the Grand Canyon in a green 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. We’ll deal w/it as it comes. Just adapt. Future generations? Whatever. Objections? Bring it.
Canada’s earnest carbon tax was a good idea, then. Now? Irrelevant. Big business and big oil will prosper. Green energy initiatives all on the chopping block. Canada, now ruled by Pierre Poilievre will fall into line and our resources will be up for grabs in a new willingness to comply and be rewarded as such. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford will be re-elected and his original plan to sell off the Green Belt will now become a reality with wealthy Americans benefitting the most from the new deal, Canada's affluent real estate players a distant second. A minority of Ontarians upset, a majority complacent. Indifferent. Numb.
4. FOREIGN RELATIONS - Turbulence/uncertainty. Arms escalation - more fingers on the LAUNCH codes. A military industrial complex working overtime. Ukraine, Palestine, Middle East becoming a more unstable powder-keg with a shorter fuse. Russia, China, North Korea aligning. WW3 becoming a very real possibility. Especially now. Restraint? None to be had. Ukraine eventually folding into Russia, NATO deteriorating and Israel becoming emboldened with increased support by the U.S., Britain and Europe collectively shaking their heads in wonder of what will happen to them. Hair trigger defence mechanisms proliferate.
Prediction: Trump will hand Ukraine over to Putin like a burnt burger on a plastic platter.
5. DOMESTICS - Here it comes. A national abortion ban? Not quite yet but watch out. Give it a year or two. Trump has stated he will continue to let states decide BUT rogue blue states not complying to a MAGA ideology will be hung out to dry on such issues including transfers, FEMA and grants. The hundreds of billions of federal aid dollars shared amongst states now every year will become more selective, favouring Republican states; excluding/punishing others.
Blue states will hang on for a year or two before caving to demands. More Republicans installed replacing Democrat judges nationally state by state before abortion rights become non existent everywhere. Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, Muslims and minority groups going dark in fear. Civil rights, DEI protections, existing regulations and no fault divorce will end and women will automatically be blamed with no rights or compensation. Existing lunch programs in schools will be eliminated. Domestic violence, hunger and child poverty skyrocketing.
6. SOCIAL SECURITY - The existing social safety net will slowly disintegrate. Medicare will eventually be phased out. Healthcare will radically change with more exclusions and those who qualify will only get access if they have money or are insured. A new wave of privatization sweeping across America and Canada after a Conservative majority government is elected north of the border. The Retirement age will be raised and old age pensions reduced.
Canadian healthcare will go from a single payer model (used in Scandinavian countries) to a 2 tier model with insurance/user pay covering half (incidental surgeries and tests).
7. LAW ENFORCEMENT - Federal and state run police will usurp local authorities. Supreme Court Justices now entirely appointed by the President for the sole purpose of serving him and his agenda. Trump's felonies once initiated by the Department of Justice will be expunged permanently and proponents of such initiatives will be fired, then jailed. Law and government will be joined at the federal level first, then the state second. Municipal policing will triple in size out of necessity. Confined to domestic disputes, increased crime and local order.
Capital punishment will be reintroduced nationally and America’s booming prison industry will expand ten-fold. Military confrontations with protestors will become commonplace with draconian measures being implemented to ensure 'safety' for America's citizens.
8. MEDIA - Fox News will become the official propaganda network for the country with others following or being shut down. Rogue podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels and what’s left of television or on-line alternatives will be weeded out and heavily censored or removed by a new Department of Communication controlled entirely by the office of the President.
FBI and Homeland Security will be defunded and a new Department of Corrections will be introduced. Dissidents and protestors will be targeted/profiled, rooted out and either deported, imprisoned or quietly executed.
Epilogue: The Pendulum
Is there any coming back from this? Honestly, I'm thinking this blog may last 6 months to a year before it is taken down with a large percentage of my content purged/removed from my YouTube channel and Blogger. Free speech will be supported for those who comply, restricted for those who don't. Freedom and free speech will become selective, favouring those continuing subscribers to the MAGA doctrine, even in Canada. Those resisting will be silenced.
Now, all that said, it is quite conceivable that the next 4 years will pass and in 2028 there will be another election that changes everything yet again. It's a serious stretch but hey, anything is possible. I would like to leave this on a positive note. Humanity has prevailed before and can prevail again. It is said that there's this pendulum swinging left, then right - then back again, over decades driven by inertia; reversing course by our intrinsic need for change. It's really now a question if we will be allowed to initiate that change. Maybe. Maybe not.
This could be a final stretch for the swing right and it could be a final conclusion for democracy, universal critical thinking in life & liberty. Optimism is usually a good thing.
We thought it could never happen again after the last one, especially here ... and here we are.
