On the cusp of the New Hampshire primary, here in Colorado I’ve been snowbound. It has snowed six of the last eight days. Back-in-the-day (forty-nine years ago to the day), such a barrage of snow would not have fazed me. In fact it would have invigorated me. Then, I was living in a cabin in New Hampshire,
off the grid, and very much engaged with the task of staying alive – which meant getting out and cutting wood, hauling water, and, occasionally snowshoeing three miles into town for supplies.
My task now is simply self care. Living solo requires that I be good at that, made much easier by the latest technology. Not the least of which are our ubiquitous screens and internet connections’.
So yesterday I spent the whole day watching and reading “stuff” on my screens. Mostly about current affairs: Taylor Swift’s bio-doc, Miss Americana, on Netflix; Democrat presidential candidates speak in New Hampshire, live on CSPAN; a conversation between Malcolm Gladwell and Ezra Klein about Klein’s new book, Why We’re Polarized, on YouTube; and lastly The Oscars, live on ABC, where I saw Brad Pitt accept the award for his role in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
In between I would read blog posts here, on WordPress.com. and Goodreads.com., from folks that I follow (“friends”), commenting on all of those current affairs.
Amazing! and a far cry from what I was doing forty-nine years ago. What’s also amazing is that “current affairs” haven’t changed. Or better said – the human condition hasn’t. Despite all the technological advancements.
What I surmised
was that all I heard and read had one thing in common. Everyone and everything thing that appeared in front of me, assisted by search engine algorithms, wanted Trump out. It’s not a stretch to say everyone hated him. That may have been the underlying impetus for Swift’s film?
Trump Derangement Syndrome
certainly was for the presidential wannabes. I watched Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, and Amy Klobuchar speak in front of (mostly) supporters at town halls, house parties, and rallies. Maybe the saddest, and oddly funniest, was Biden – who had The Bullpen, as his theme song at his event.
Irony, or Infinite jest
on so many levels I laughed out loud. (lol) Biden’s “inferiority complex” might be worthy of a stand-alone blog. Hey Joe, that’s not the way to attract “young voters”.
Malcolm Gladwell can’t even bring himself to say “Trump”. And Klein? (omg!) Both are “intellectuals”, but so misguided, ill-informed, and ill-educated. Which isn’t funny. Not as sad, or bad, as Biden, but informative of what’s gone wrong.
What is going on
I explain in Election 2016: The Great Divide, The Great Debate.
