Over & Out
Well, there are three positive aspects to the coming Trump presidency, as far as I can see. First, he’ll put an end to this phony proxy war in the Ukraine. Zelensky will be shipped out to his villa in Tuscany, and that will, thank god, be the end of that whole debacle (Biden’s foolish attempt to resurrect the Cold War). 2nd, in one way or another, Trump will put a serious dent in wokism, and political correctness—long overdue. (Given what he said about turning the army loose on his enemies, he might call out the military to gun them down; which I would regard as just a tad excessive.) And 3rd, in terms of the tectonic shift we’ve been talking about, this victory will be part of that: rejection of NATO, for example, and the steady increase of Russian and Chinese power vis-à-vis the US, which will be part of the erosion of American influence in the world. Trump will botch tons of stuff: the economy and the environment for starters; reinstating the kleptocracy that prevailed during his previous presidency; deporting millions of migrants, and so on. In any case, I do believe that by 2030, America will be in full decline: impotent in the world, and a full-blown disaster at home. We shall be much weaker by the end of Trump’s presidency than we are now, and I’m guessing that few countries will take us seriously. If you understand that historically speaking, the current tectonic shift is inevitable, then in a perverse way these developments are positive; although clearly, Americans will suffer as a result.
In the context of such a shift, we have to ask why Trump won. Here are two telling comments of pundits writing in the NYT:
-“Mr. Trump’s victory amounts to a public vote of no confidence in the leaders and institutions that have shaped American life since the end of the Cold War 35 years ago.” (Since the end of WW2, as far as I’m concerned)
-“Young voters do not look at our politics and see any good guys. They see a dying empire led by bad people.”
In any case, let’s keep in mind that Trump is a fascist as well as a pathological liar. Reality will now be turned upside down. He will have “officially” won the 2020 election. The insurrection of Jan. 6 will be labeled heroic, a “gesture of love,” etc., and most of the offenders now in jail will be pardoned. He will turn much of the government over to wackos like himself: RFK Jr., for example, or Elon Musk. He is big on revenge and retribution, and will go after his enemies, such as Liz Cheney and Jack Smith; and most of the trials/convictions he was facing will be moot, as he will undoubtedly gut the DOJ. Since he will appoint Trumpite flunkeys to virtually all government positions, there will be no brakes on the damage he can and will inflict. (Plus the Senate is now in GOP hands, and the House may be as well.) In short, on the domestic level, we are entering a kind of dark age, as he will be repressive, incompetent, corrupt, and possibly violent.
But for me, at least, the most significant outcome of the Trump victory is a clear declaration, to ourselves and the rest of the world, that this is who we, as a people and a nation, truly are. Trump is us, kiddies; we finally put it out there for all to see.
-mb
ps: For an extended discussion of this last point, check out Carlos Lozada’s article in today’s (Nov. 6) NYT: “Stop Pretending Trump Is Not Who We Are”
ps2: I’m adding this essay of Nov. 6 here on Dec. 1st:
There’s No Denying It Anymore: Trump Is Not a Fluke—He’s America | The Nation
Note to David-
Pls start posting to most recent post, thank you.
I just watched Kamala's concession speech. She was smiling, beaming from ear to ear; as tho *she* had won the election. She said some stuff about the greatness of America, its future, etc. E.g.: "the light of America's promise will always burn bright." Wha? You hafta be brain damaged to believe something like that; or at the very least, a clueless moron. Here's what an intelligent Kamala might have said: "My friends, America is finished, and it's just as well. Historically speaking, the country has been little more than a giant scam. And it is appropriate that our new president is symbolic of that, being the greatest scam artist America has ever produced. And all of us, or most of you, have lived your life as hustlers, to one degree or another--something you know deep down, am I right? In any case, for those of you who have half a brain, and aspire to things like truth, beauty, and a meaningful existence, do yourselves a favor and get out while you can. (And I mean *now*)
Wafers: in the wake of the election, this blog has been deluged by a flood of new subscriptions. I want to express my gratitude; yr all v. kind, really. Like Kamala, I want to continue the fight: but not for remaking America etc., wh/is a fool's errand. No; the fight of this blog, wh/has been operating since April 2006, is but one thing: Reality. My commitment to you guys is and has always been the same: to the best of our ability, to deliver Reality. Personally, I'm not interested in anything else. Here is my Reality Message for today: Kamala Harris is a deluded turkey! (You guys might wanna put this on your latest post-it for the fridge.)
-mb
Jack-
The Dems are an excellent example of what I have called hi-IQ morons. They are completely incapable of reading the American public, and so are out of sync w/it. Schmamala kept talking abt "turning the page," but what page? She was nothing more than the 4th term of Obama, who did 0 for 8 yrs. Then came term #3 of Obama, Schmiden: a genocidal war criminal playing the same old tune. (Plus, a senile doofus and a colossal asshole) So imo, this call to turn the pg rang hollow. Most of the country understood that it was same old same old, and she even affirmed this in an interview when she said that as for diffs w/Schmiden, "nothing comes to mind." Smart! And then Schmiden, unconsciously but deliberately, did a Hillary, and called the Trumpites "garbage." But that "garbage" understood that Schmamala represented the chic people, the groovy celebs, the wealthy, the Power Elite--the people who looked down on them, who really did regard them as garbage--and therefore that 0 wd really chg. Plus, she was never able to answer a direct question (constantly pivoting), and cumulatively speaking, this didn't look v. gd. In any case, there is no waking these people up. No amt of slapping, no amt of urine, will do it. The ultimate diff between the 2 candidates is that while Trumpalumpi offers a relatively fast death for America, Schmamala was offering the same, just a bit more slowly. As for the American public, they remain clueless, as usual. To quote Gore Vidal, "Stupidity excites me."
Look, folks: I am not so dumb as to think that the hegemons that will replace us in the tectonic shift now underway will necessarily be kind or enlightened or better than the West (altho the settler colonialism of the West has been pretty horrific; "mission civilisatrice" my ass). That wd be nice, but if you consider India, Russia, China, and the Islamic nations from the pt of view of human rights, it's not exactly a pretty picture. As Hegel told us 200 yrs ago, History is impartial; he called it a "slaughter bench." It couldn't care less what you or I think, or want. One just has to suffer it, even if it's a Holocaust. And then, somehow, you go on.
-mb