Political Stuff

I'm worried about the Republican Party.  When I could first vote in 1968, I thought Richard Nixon was extreme!  His "Law and Order" platform against freedom of expression was scary.  This was when there actually were liberal republicans (like Senator "Mac" Mathias of Maryland and most of the New England republicans).  I considered myself a Republican back then (fiscally moderate and socially progressive).

Then came Reagan (aka "Ronald Ray-Guns" to my college and young professional crowd).  He was scarier!  Bush The Elder followed and he wasn't too bad (except that he once stated that he didn't think atheists should be considered legitimate citizens).

Then came Bush The Younger.  I didn't agree with him much, but at least he seemed sane (although a lightweight thinker, an embarassing mangler of language, and apparently controlled by that extremophile Dick Cheney.  "Mission Accomplished" and "Weapons Of Mass Destruction" will follow his administration down through history.  His utter inability to judge foreign leaders (“I looked [Putin] in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy" says it all.

And now there is The Donald.  The scariest Republican yet...  The man is deeply disturbed.  A neutral psychiatrist would have a field day with him.  Not that he is the only person like that, but he is a possible US President and that makes a WHOLE lot of difference.  I would try to describe all the problems, but a cat-blogger I visit said it better than I could and in more detail.  Read it HERE.

People think of Trump as a successful businessman.  He isn't really.  And I don't mean that he is a failed businessman.  Its that he isn't really a "businessman".  He is a marketing genius!  He sells his name.  He is like a Kardassian...  When anyone looks inside his enterprises, all they find is his name.  No substance, no product, no employment.  He is like a terrible driver who leaves a long string of bad accidents behind him and escapes them all.

Demagogues like Trump come along in politics every so often.  They usually fade soon enough before causing too much harm.  And there ARE some signs that Trump is beginning to fade as well.  He has lost a couple of State primaries he was expected to win and the next round of primaries are not suiting his style of ideology as well as the earlier ones.  So he may fade like Ben Carson (another lunatic) did in the past couple months.

One can only hope...

But you know what scares me the most?  His followers...  I don't care too much if some individual politician has delusions of grandeur, makes bizarre unrealistic promises, is ammoral, unethical, and changes views  as often as rock stars change outfits in concerts.  It doesn't fool ME.  But it sure fools his supporters.  And there are a LOT of THEM...

It is THEIR existence that scares me, keeps me awake at night, and worries me while watching the news.  No generally decent civilization ever fell overnight, but there was one day when they suddenly "weren't" anymore.  The ancient Greeks were suddenly Roman subjects, the Romans were suddenly bending their knees to the Vandals, the Visigoths who created Spain were driven down by the conquering Moors, the Incas to the Spaniards, etc.

No country lasts forever, and democracies especially are fragile and need constant vigilance to survive.  Demagogues are ever-present, needing only one opportunity to succeed.

Trump has to lose...