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This is the Time magazine article on Russia in March of 1943. Interesting, even with all the commercials...
This is something I wrote just after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States (11/8/16). It is satire.
The progressive optimist - me…
With the news today of the election of Donald Trump as our next president I fell into a kind of funk. I need to say that I never supported Trump and I don’t believe in much that he stands for. However, he is now our president and this cannot be changed by placing blame, calling people stupid, or exchanging vitriol. We now must move on and do all we can to make the best out of the situation.
So, with the above in mind I’ve created the following list of possible outcomes based upon my newly found optimism: (and no, I’m not on drugs)
The master manipulator - To start with, here’s a real doozie. Donald has duped all of us by getting a gigantic number of people to vote for him by telling them what they want to hear. This would be the knuckle dragging racists, sexists, etc. After promising all the stupid stuff - he cleverly got elected, and now he will just not do what he said he would do just like all politicians. Hell, he could end up being a really cool guy that just out smarted all of us! It could happen…
Climate change - I know Trump is a climate change denier, but I’m not sure how “hard over” he is on this. Let’s say, for example, that Mother Nature sends us a few more subtle hints like the current drought here in Alabama going on for months making people stand in lines at water trucks to get fresh water (I certainly hope this does not happen, but it could). Or, another Sandy or gigantic earthquake in Oklahoma. Or a Haboob in Arizona that blacks out the sun for weeks (I always wanted to use the word “Haboob”). Or an out of control wildfire in a rain forest that cannot be extiguished. Or any number of possible catastrophes that could occur.
If this were to happen, I’d like to think that Donald would understand that the position he has taken is the wrong one. I’d also like to think that as a human being he would do what any of us would do and take action to minimize the impact on all. He is, after all, a human being, right? Notice I am not going to the normal default of calling him names and such.
Health care - Donald in the past has shown some support for a Single Payer health care system. But, this position could not be held by him if he wanted the support of the conservative base so he did not mention it. In fact he proposed what the conservatives want - a watered down bunch of nonsense that is in no way based on any type of reality. Perhaps after settling into the most important office in the world he might come to his senses and conclude that the only way to avoid having millions of people go without any insurance would not be good for them or his historical legacy.
International relations and war - I have gotten the impression that Donald is not really into the imperialist wars that have engulfed us for so long. He even has the balls to say that it might be a good idea to learn to get along with (wait for it…) the RUSSIANS. Now that is a novel concept - to learn to live at peace with a country that could easily wipe out all of humanity. Ditto on China, but he’s probably pissed them off with his campaign rhetoric about them and the Chinese might not understand the simple fact in American politics that says you just have to lie sometimes to get people to vote for you. But, if he’s half the negotiator he says he is, he’ll be able to overcome that.
Infrastructure - Donald likes building stuff. He also knows that this is something that simply must be addressed. I know, I know, where would he get the money? Well, for starters he could flip on the whole military thing and reduce the number of U.S. military bases around the world from over 1,000 to something more reasonable. And maybe, just maybe, stop invading countries to insert puppet governments that will let the U.S. take their oil and other natural resources.
Social security - Of coarse he had to tow the line of the ignorant conservatives that insist it is the seniors in our country that are making us go broke. But, once again, he could flip on this based on the simple truth. It could be, it really could be, that he is smarter than we think.
Education - I have not researched Donald’s position on this so I cannot really speak to it, but once again it is possible he has just parroted the conservative line that all schools should be private and only rich kids should be educated. Once in office he could admit the truth and give education the boost it needs.
Immigration - And this wall thing… I don’t know what to make of this, but if I had to guess it is just another ruse to get the paranoid racists to vote for him. Ditto the deportation thing. Hell, his own wife is an immigrant! And, knowing Donald, there is probably some way he can devise to make lots of money off of immigrants and who makes money better than him?
Conclusion - The biggest thing I can see right now is that Donald Trump is not “bought out” by any of the big corporate players, and really “owes” nobody (not yet at least). He has a kind of freedom that virtually NO other politician in this country has (OK, I’ll remove Bernie from that list). And yes, I do think the almighty Obama is just a bought out politician who will now just be another rich douche bag worshipped by his loyal followers like Clinton. The system is so corrupt it is hard to fathom it.
In my view, Bernie started an amazing transformation that simply cannot be ignored by the puppet politicians - like was done by the crooked DNC. I think Donald knows this, and in his true form I think he could work hard to tap this most powerful force in the land. This campaign was so polluted with name calling, digging up past trash, and lies that almost nothing of real interest was discussed. This then is the state of our political system. Could Donald make this better? I’m not calling myself the progressive optimist for nothing!!
Finally, I will remain aligned with the Green Party and I hope everybody will at least take a little time and check out what they are all about. It just sickens me that through all the bullshit of this campaign, I had to watch a person like Dr. Jill Stein struggle gallantly to be heard - while all the scumbag pundits slimed her.
My long term prediction is if we do not embrace something along the lines of the Green Party, and soon, we may not be around for long.
BTW, this is sarcasm. But, I am the progressive optimist!
Peace to all.
mwj
This is something I wrote just after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States (11/8/16). It is satire.
The progressive optimist - me…
With the news today of the election of Donald Trump as our next president I fell into a kind of funk. I need to say that I never supported Trump and I don’t believe in much that he stands for. However, he is now our president and this cannot be changed by placing blame, calling people stupid, or exchanging vitriol. We now must move on and do all we can to make the best out of the situation.
So, with the above in mind I’ve created the following list of possible outcomes based upon my newly found optimism: (and no, I’m not on drugs)
The master manipulator - To start with, here’s a real doozie. Donald has duped all of us by getting a gigantic number of people to vote for him by telling them what they want to hear. This would be the knuckle dragging racists, sexists, etc. After promising all the stupid stuff - he cleverly got elected, and now he will just not do what he said he would do just like all politicians. Hell, he could end up being a really cool guy that just out smarted all of us! It could happen…
Climate change - I know Trump is a climate change denier, but I’m not sure how “hard over” he is on this. Let’s say, for example, that Mother Nature sends us a few more subtle hints like the current drought here in Alabama going on for months making people stand in lines at water trucks to get fresh water (I certainly hope this does not happen, but it could). Or, another Sandy or gigantic earthquake in Oklahoma. Or a Haboob in Arizona that blacks out the sun for weeks (I always wanted to use the word “Haboob”). Or an out of control wildfire in a rain forest that cannot be extiguished. Or any number of possible catastrophes that could occur.
If this were to happen, I’d like to think that Donald would understand that the position he has taken is the wrong one. I’d also like to think that as a human being he would do what any of us would do and take action to minimize the impact on all. He is, after all, a human being, right? Notice I am not going to the normal default of calling him names and such.
Health care - Donald in the past has shown some support for a Single Payer health care system. But, this position could not be held by him if he wanted the support of the conservative base so he did not mention it. In fact he proposed what the conservatives want - a watered down bunch of nonsense that is in no way based on any type of reality. Perhaps after settling into the most important office in the world he might come to his senses and conclude that the only way to avoid having millions of people go without any insurance would not be good for them or his historical legacy.
International relations and war - I have gotten the impression that Donald is not really into the imperialist wars that have engulfed us for so long. He even has the balls to say that it might be a good idea to learn to get along with (wait for it…) the RUSSIANS. Now that is a novel concept - to learn to live at peace with a country that could easily wipe out all of humanity. Ditto on China, but he’s probably pissed them off with his campaign rhetoric about them and the Chinese might not understand the simple fact in American politics that says you just have to lie sometimes to get people to vote for you. But, if he’s half the negotiator he says he is, he’ll be able to overcome that.
Infrastructure - Donald likes building stuff. He also knows that this is something that simply must be addressed. I know, I know, where would he get the money? Well, for starters he could flip on the whole military thing and reduce the number of U.S. military bases around the world from over 1,000 to something more reasonable. And maybe, just maybe, stop invading countries to insert puppet governments that will let the U.S. take their oil and other natural resources.
Social security - Of coarse he had to tow the line of the ignorant conservatives that insist it is the seniors in our country that are making us go broke. But, once again, he could flip on this based on the simple truth. It could be, it really could be, that he is smarter than we think.
Education - I have not researched Donald’s position on this so I cannot really speak to it, but once again it is possible he has just parroted the conservative line that all schools should be private and only rich kids should be educated. Once in office he could admit the truth and give education the boost it needs.
Immigration - And this wall thing… I don’t know what to make of this, but if I had to guess it is just another ruse to get the paranoid racists to vote for him. Ditto the deportation thing. Hell, his own wife is an immigrant! And, knowing Donald, there is probably some way he can devise to make lots of money off of immigrants and who makes money better than him?
Conclusion - The biggest thing I can see right now is that Donald Trump is not “bought out” by any of the big corporate players, and really “owes” nobody (not yet at least). He has a kind of freedom that virtually NO other politician in this country has (OK, I’ll remove Bernie from that list). And yes, I do think the almighty Obama is just a bought out politician who will now just be another rich douche bag worshipped by his loyal followers like Clinton. The system is so corrupt it is hard to fathom it.
In my view, Bernie started an amazing transformation that simply cannot be ignored by the puppet politicians - like was done by the crooked DNC. I think Donald knows this, and in his true form I think he could work hard to tap this most powerful force in the land. This campaign was so polluted with name calling, digging up past trash, and lies that almost nothing of real interest was discussed. This then is the state of our political system. Could Donald make this better? I’m not calling myself the progressive optimist for nothing!!
Finally, I will remain aligned with the Green Party and I hope everybody will at least take a little time and check out what they are all about. It just sickens me that through all the bullshit of this campaign, I had to watch a person like Dr. Jill Stein struggle gallantly to be heard - while all the scumbag pundits slimed her.
My long term prediction is if we do not embrace something along the lines of the Green Party, and soon, we may not be around for long.
BTW, this is sarcasm. But, I am the progressive optimist!
Peace to all.
mwj