American Carnage?

Yesterday during his inaugural address, President Trump spoke of "American carnage." As someone who exists within reality, I was trying to figure out what he meant. Then I saw this quote in today's Strib.

"This is history. I heard everything from this guy that I wanted. And I got to see Obama fly away"
--Keith McKinzie, a car salesman from Two Harbors, MN, attending the inauguration.

For folks like McKinzie, the last eight years have been dark. They've watched as liberal policies have run rampant, improving just about every sector of American life. They've seen a president (a black Muslim) with approval ratings in the high 50s. They've seen Americans happy, warm, accepting and open to new ideas. They've seen violence at it's lowest point in decades. They've seen people united in the face of anger, hate and fear.

They've seen a deep embrace of progress and it scares the living hell out of them.

This is the carnage of which Trump spoke. Progress. Change. Things that they don't like. People being responsible. Trump supporters like McKinzie want to be able to do whatever they want and not have some PC bitch telling 'em what to do. They want a consequence free environment in which they can steamroll over anyway who gets in their way. How perfect, then, is President Trump.

The media has been obsessing over how Democrats and smug elites need to pay more attention to rural, white voters and their needs. Essentially, what they are saying is that we have to accept their paranoid, fever dreams that America is falling apart (it's not, btw) and "the other" is all to blame. It's like they all believe in some sort of bizarre stereotype from the 1970s of inner cities.

I completely reject this vision of our country and refuse to placate hate filled nonsense. It bears no resemblance to reality. And it's going to be very interesting to see how they govern without recognizing what is actually happening.

"We Have To Do A Good Job"

In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's victory last November, one of the first things he said was, "We have to do a good job." As he takes the oath of office today, I'm wondering if he will admit when he's not. I think that's the biggest concern on the mind of most Americans today. How long will his ego hold out in the face of reality? His words and actions up until now, as well as the words and actions of his supporters, say they are going to continue to ignore facts.

But he does have to do a good job, right? More than anything, he wants to be loved by everyone. He seems to have a deep need for affirmation. Being our first right wing blog commenter commander in chief, his insecurity runs as high as his bullying. He can't stand it when someone on the internet is wrong. He can't let things go. Perhaps he can turn that into doing a good job for the country. I'll be the first to admit when he does do a good job and would be happy to be wrong in my predictions for disaster.

Many of my liberal friends are feeling pretty hopeless right now. I share some of their feelings but the one thing I have that they don't right now is some relief. President Trump and his supporters have to be responsible now. They are in charge. Hillary Clinton lost. The Democrats, though gaining seats in both the House and the Senate, are not in charge of Congress. The onus is now on the GOP and their new leader to deliver. No longer can they blame liberals, progressives, Democrats, gun grabbers, the media, Barack Obama and all the other folks they say are destroying the US. It's on them. Are they up to the challenge? Can they govern without whining and blaming others?

Will the fucking own it?

Something tells me the answer is going to be a great salve for current liberal woes:)

Supporting Our New Presdient

As I listened to the testimony of Donald Trump's nominees for his cabinet this week, it struck me how opposite they are in terms of policy from the man that is hiring them. Trump tweeted that he likes people that disagree with him and challenge his ideas. Well, Mr. Future President, that's going to be me as well.

There are many liberals out there who are hiding their heads in the sand and pretending this isn't going to be real. Others have started support groups and the like on social media. Hey, whatever folks need. Me? I don't need any of that because, while I think the next four years are going to be a disaster, we still have to figure out a way to work together and here's the main reason why.

Russia has carried out the best propaganda campaign and psi-op in the history of the world. They have installed a man who they have dirt on in the White House. Donald Trump is going to start off, anyway, as their pawn. The Russians have also successfully used conservatives, especially right wing bloggers and commenters, as conduits in their propaganda campaign. They knew full well that these folks hated liberals more than anything and would easily allow their irrational feelings consume them to the point of voting for a man who is immensely unqualified to be president on a myriad of levels.

Yet, the Russians also knew that our country would be pissed about this. They knew that if they were successful, we'd be split and angry at each other. Considering they are already going to erode our power in the world with what they have done so far, why help them anymore?

I'm not saying we have to support everything that Trump does. Nor am I saying we can't be critical. What I am saying is that we can't give up and hide. We have to hold him and the GOP in Congress accountable. There are still many good people on both sides of the aisle that are going to fight hard for our country's place in the world. Let's help them do it!

The Russians are counting on us being fractured. Let's dispel that shit right now. One of the best things about this county is that we evolve out of our disagreements and thrive on our antagonism towards one another. Let's use that positively by, say, getting more people to the ballot box in 2017 as well as 2018. Pissed of at Trump? Go vote. And then get your representatives on a local, state and federal level to offer something better.

All indications are that Trump's presidency may not even last the whole four years. The investigations into Russian hacking and connections to the Trump campaign will continue. If he is booted out, Mike Pence would at least be a more qualified and experienced leader. Pence definitely has a better temperament and I say this disagreeing with him ideologically in just about every way. Until that time, however, we have to figure out a way to be more united. We have to figure out ways to help out our future president.

The Russians may have won this round but we can't let them win the next.