To the degree that Americans are still capable of reason, Plato’s words here should be incredibly meaningful.
The United States presidency has seen a few bad people in its 250-year history, but none whose character was anywhere nearly as depraved as Donald Trump.
It’s unrealistic to expect every U.S. president to be a Washington, or an Eisenhower, or a Lincoln, or a Carter, but how in hell did we wind up here?
It’s interesting that the head of the Roman Catholic faith routinely voices his opinions on secular affairs. It seems that none of his peers in other religions do that.
As a progressive, I’m thrilled that the last two popes have distinctly humanistic values, but still, I find this a bit strange.
As much as I admire these folks’ courage and positive intentions, part of me wants to recognize that this country has a malignant cancerous tumor in the form of Donald Trump that needs to be surgically removed.
Hardcore Trump supporters are having a great time watching their hero illegally invade other countries and commit whatever moral atrocity he performed the day before.
The rest of the world is in shock over the fact that Trump has turned this country into an authoritarian state.
It’s easy to understand the thinking of the lady in the cartoon here.
It’s not uncommon to hear a top neurologist or psychologist say something like what we see at left.
Human consciousness is extremely complicated, and there is no reason to believe that we’re anywhere close to understanding it.
If you doubt this, think about what happens in our dreams, where we are the star of the show, the director, the screenwriter, and the audience simultaneously. On top of everything, we’re able to surprise the hell out of ourselves, with dramatic and unforeseeable plot twists.
At left are the thoughts and feelings of “Michelle,” who echoes my disappointment in our military leaders.
When/if Trump orders them to invade Canada, Greenland, or Panama, will they obey?
Venezuela made me very sad and angry.
In case you missed it, Mike Lindell of MyPillow fame is running in the gubernatorial race in Minnesota.
Yes, that’s the same Mike Lindell that just forked over $2.3 million when he lost the defamation lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems, with his claim that he had “irrefutable evidence” that they had rigged the vote in the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump.
If Minnesotans want Amy Klobuchar, or the chief postal clerk in Duluth, that’s fine. Please just don’t send us a psychopath. We already have too many.
Instead of getting upset, maybe someone should simply look up the word “entitlement.” It means something to which someone is entitled, because it belongs to them.
If you deposit $100 dollars into a bank account, you’re entitled to withdraw it at any time. In the United States, you’re entitled to retire whenever you want.
As my father used to say, you’re entitled to pronounce your name any way you want. Why? Because it’s your name; it belongs to you.
Let’s not get too carried away here. Essentially nothing has changed, even with the recent news.
Many rich people, especially those heavily invested in Big Oil, are making money beyond their wildest dreams. They don’t care that the consumption of fossil fuels is destroying the planet, and why should they? They’re going to be dead before the collapse of the environment affects them, and the Ebeneezer Scrooges of the world couldn’t possibly care about anyone but themselves.
Most poorly educated working class white Americans are thrilled that Donald Trump is taking over the world’s resources, installing himself as our county’s first dictator, and kicking ass on people of color, women, LGBTQs, immigrants, and other desperately poor people. They may be vaguely aware that they themselves will not profit one thin dime by this, but that doesn’t matter one iota, since Trump is punishing the people they hate.
The idea that Trump is a war criminal means exactly nothing.
Fortunately for this planet, most people in the rest of the developed world despise Trump and may be likely to forgive the United States once this moral catastrophe is over.
As always, the Stoics have nailed it.
This does raise the question, however: What actually is out of our control?
Does the individual American citizen have any control over whether or not a sociopathic criminal remains in office as the U.S. president?
Very little, but we still have the obligation to raise our voices and tell our congresspeople that Trump must be removed.
