Is This the Beginning of the End?
And other Musings

Is This the Beginning of the End?

I must say I was deeply disappointed with the results of the election.  The thought that almost half the electorate voted for a man I find odious, detestable, and totally incompetent fills me with deep concern, even dread, for our nation's future.

I cannot fathom the Svengali-like hold Trump has over such a large portion of our population.  Is it something in the water or air?  A genetic defect?  A Republican developed food additive?  A pernicious virus that leaves its victims brain-dead to all things negative regarding Trump?  Whatever the reason, it appears many can no longer distinguish virtue from vice.

The covid pandemic is raging worse than ever, and the vaccination roll out is in shambles. Yet, rather than lead the covid battle, Trump chooses to devote his time and energy to playing golf and hatching one plot after another to overturn the election.  We should nickname Trump "Donald AIDS."  He's an incurable, potentially deadly malady that we must contain and control.  Beware of 2024.

Going forward, if we don't show more wisdom in electing our leaders, I fear that this will be the beginning of the end.

A House Divided Cannot Stand

Trump's big "achievement" has been to complete the long developing division of our country into red and blue fragments.  We now have red news and blue news.  Red speak and blue speak.  And alternative facts not just in red and blue but probably every color of the rainbow as well.  Nothing gets done because red and blue can't communicate.  They can't communicate because neither side believes a word that the other says.  It seems hopeless.  But here's a couple of suggestions:

Set up a national news agency - SANTA (Source for All News That's Appropriate).  No, don't laugh, I'm not talking Pravda.  SANTA would be akin to the Federal Reserve:  chartered by Congress to be apolitical and as independent as possible.  It's editors would have fixed terms and a mandated long term budget to make the agency largely immune to (short term at least) political pressure.  SANTA would be charged with reporting all appropriate news in a factual unbiased manner covering all relevant aspects and sides of the issues.  How could you possibly not like SANTA?  But seriously, if we can't come up with a source of news that we can all believe and believe in, our divisions will just keep getting worse.

Require proof of competence for office.  One big problem with our electoral process is, in general, any damn fool can run for office; so unfortunately, many do.  The requirements are few:  residency, age, and you still have to be drawing breath.  That's it.  You can be illiterate, you don't have to speak English, you can be a complete idiot.   That's the problem in a nutshell.  I suspect a lot of politicians  qualify as idiot savants; their only skill is at weaving and crafting the tapestry of lies which will get them elected.  Once in office they are clueless.   Before seeking office, all candidates should have to prove that are intelligent, educated people who can think analytically, reason logically, have a strong sense of public service, and can cooperate effectively with others to solve the nation's problems.  This me first, blind fanatical loyalty to the party and to hell with anything else attitude has got to be stopped.

For the first time in my life, I have heard people seriously discussing succession.  OMG -- how did it ever come to this?  A house divided cannot stand.

The World According to Red and Blue

The fact that about half the people love Trump and the other half hate him has really got me thinking about how our perceived reality is so relative, and how our senses are so susceptible to manipulation.  In other words, what you think you see may not really be there.  Con artists and hucksters thrive on this fact and are masters of illusion, deception, misdirection, and deflection.  For fun, the pictures below help to develop this theme.

News Flash!! In the pictures below, the skulls are the same color, and all the balls are the same color.
	Some people will probably say, "That's crazy, any fool can see that they aren't." That's just  fake news.  And that will be that. Other people, who realize looks can be deceiving, might say, "Really, could they be?" and investigate further and discover the truth.
We live in a world of illusions.  Often you need to look very closely to distinguish reality from illusion.  I assure you, the skulls are the same color, and the balls are all the same color.  You need to shift your point of view and filter out the non-essential information deliberately meant to distract you and fool the mind.

Once again, it's all relative,
	<<If you are standing on your head or have been strung up by the heels, this is how you might view Trump. If you have your feet firmly planted on the ground, you see something quite different.>>
Interesting, same picture, totally different impressions.  Does reality even exist?

Conservative people, especially those with a religious bent, might take one glance at the images below and conclude it's naughty erotica and not deign to look more closely.  Curious people, might find the images intriguing, and investigate further. They will find that the images are not erotica, but:  weeds blowing in the wind, stick figures dancing, dolphins frolicking, and just a tree.
First impressions can be deceiving and are often wrong.

Continuing the thought:  Some people might glance at the photos below and immediately conclude that I'm posting pictures of trollops and perverts and avert their eyes in disgust.  Others, who dare to look more closely, will see that all the pictures are perfectly innocent.
Always be on guard.  What you think you see may not really be there.  Sort of like Trump and his election fraud rantings.

There's really nothing impressive about Trump.  He's all show and no go.  Some people are fooled by his illusion and how he projects himself.  Others can see what he really is.
In this increasingly complex world with its increasing powerful and sophisticated tools for mind manipulation, it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate fact from fantasy, and reality from illusion.

A few more for fun:
	<< Is this woman naked i.e. sans clothing?  Define clothing.  Does paint count?  They say we're all beasts clothed in a veneer of civilization.  If Trump has even the slightest veneer of civilization, it's as thin as a coat of paint.  Before the 2016 election friends of mine asked why I didn't like Trump.  I said I saw the potential for disaster (was I right?).  Some people look at this picture and see only a pretty arboreal face.  Others look behind the illusion and see the impending storm.>>
We've all been told, don't be mislead or distracted by just a pretty face.

I'll  end with a couple of Magic Eye pictures.  If you can't look below the surface, you will never discern the true nature of Trump.
	<<Trump's view of women.  Caution:  Rated R. What Trump has been doing to this country for the last 4 years (at least)!  Warning:  Rated XXX.>>