Trump Exhaustion
Anyone who's read my previous posts on the subject knows I'm not a fan. In my mind, Trump is and has always represented what's wrong with too much wealth, too little education, predatory business practices and attack politics.
For what it's worth, he's presented himself as one half of a simple, easy to digest binary:
he is all things good - the perfect example of humanity - who everyone wants to be.
Apparently that means rich enough to do whatever you want and dumb enough not to care about the consequences. Which fits, since his record is a short list of successes and a much longer one of failures.
But thinking a tad more critically, it makes sense that he continually slags his opponents. If he is good, then they are bad. There's no nuance here or shades of grey: this is the evolution of George W. Bush's 'You're either with us or against us.' line of thinking. Only now, instead of encompassing an entire country, Trump has boiled that down to a single individual. You're either with him or against him. That's it.
And that's why he dominates the news cycle. And late night television. And the internet. As ridiculous as his continuous display is, as transparent and at times dangerous as his statements are, he gets what he wants and so does the cycle. It's all about attention.
Trump has always said and done what he thinks will either portray him in the best light or get the biggest reaction. I don't know if his motivations go beyond his growth from spoiled child to old narcissist. Maybe he's smarter than he acts. Maybe he's not.
What is clear - what has become clear over the past year and a half we've had to pay attention to him every freaking day - is that his supporters will do their absolute best to justify his behavior (or downplay what's clearly indefensible). Likewise, his detractors will do the opposite - shining their brightest light on each instance of insanity and stupidity, analyzing every tweet or statement or interview until the next one comes out. And the next. And the next.
And this is where my exhaustion sets in. Listening to it every day, seeing the headlines - the constant feed of thought pieces about what Trump's really after and why he's behaving this way - is absolutely draining. What's worse is that it seems like such a simple problem. The guy's a dumbass. He's a bully who peaked early and never had to grow up.
I know we only pay attention to him because we have to. He's the President of the United States. He has the largest military force in the world at his command. He has more nuclear weapons than anyone else. If he was anyone else, we'd dismiss him for what he is and move on. Sure a small buzz of activity would follow him around, his fans would pay attention to whatever he had going on, but the rest of us would be happily free from worry.
Because as it stands, I do worry. I worry that he's going to consign a lot of young people to fight and die with a tweet. I worry that he really doesn't care about anything but his own well-being. Or his reputation - his brand.
Most of all, though, I worry that the only reason he's able to do what he does is because the Republican Party is so happy to be in power that even their moderate members will forgive a racist, sexist, xenophobic imbecile if it means they can hold onto that.
I once said that those who vote for Trump own everything he says and does. I've since expanded that to include anyone who stands by and lets him carry on. Any argument to the contrary died with his reaction to Charlottesville.
There are legitimate avenues to strip the man of his power and influence. There are checks and balances in the Constitution for a reason. All we need is enough brave souls with the courage and integrity to stand up and impeach him.
Enough is enough already - Sincerely, the World.
For what it's worth, he's presented himself as one half of a simple, easy to digest binary:
he is all things good - the perfect example of humanity - who everyone wants to be.
Apparently that means rich enough to do whatever you want and dumb enough not to care about the consequences. Which fits, since his record is a short list of successes and a much longer one of failures.
But thinking a tad more critically, it makes sense that he continually slags his opponents. If he is good, then they are bad. There's no nuance here or shades of grey: this is the evolution of George W. Bush's 'You're either with us or against us.' line of thinking. Only now, instead of encompassing an entire country, Trump has boiled that down to a single individual. You're either with him or against him. That's it.
And that's why he dominates the news cycle. And late night television. And the internet. As ridiculous as his continuous display is, as transparent and at times dangerous as his statements are, he gets what he wants and so does the cycle. It's all about attention.
Trump has always said and done what he thinks will either portray him in the best light or get the biggest reaction. I don't know if his motivations go beyond his growth from spoiled child to old narcissist. Maybe he's smarter than he acts. Maybe he's not.
What is clear - what has become clear over the past year and a half we've had to pay attention to him every freaking day - is that his supporters will do their absolute best to justify his behavior (or downplay what's clearly indefensible). Likewise, his detractors will do the opposite - shining their brightest light on each instance of insanity and stupidity, analyzing every tweet or statement or interview until the next one comes out. And the next. And the next.
And this is where my exhaustion sets in. Listening to it every day, seeing the headlines - the constant feed of thought pieces about what Trump's really after and why he's behaving this way - is absolutely draining. What's worse is that it seems like such a simple problem. The guy's a dumbass. He's a bully who peaked early and never had to grow up.
I know we only pay attention to him because we have to. He's the President of the United States. He has the largest military force in the world at his command. He has more nuclear weapons than anyone else. If he was anyone else, we'd dismiss him for what he is and move on. Sure a small buzz of activity would follow him around, his fans would pay attention to whatever he had going on, but the rest of us would be happily free from worry.
Because as it stands, I do worry. I worry that he's going to consign a lot of young people to fight and die with a tweet. I worry that he really doesn't care about anything but his own well-being. Or his reputation - his brand.
Most of all, though, I worry that the only reason he's able to do what he does is because the Republican Party is so happy to be in power that even their moderate members will forgive a racist, sexist, xenophobic imbecile if it means they can hold onto that.
I once said that those who vote for Trump own everything he says and does. I've since expanded that to include anyone who stands by and lets him carry on. Any argument to the contrary died with his reaction to Charlottesville.
There are legitimate avenues to strip the man of his power and influence. There are checks and balances in the Constitution for a reason. All we need is enough brave souls with the courage and integrity to stand up and impeach him.
Enough is enough already - Sincerely, the World.
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