Tuesday, November 05, 2019                                           1:26 PM

Cling to the Fantasy   (2019Nov05)

I was against Trump as a racist, misogynist con-man and ignoramus. That seemed a bad choice for President. But even I, who expected the worst, am surprised to find that Trump is a criminal conspirator and a traitor.

I was against the Republicans as being wholly in the pockets of the wealthy. That seemed quite un-American to me. But that is nothing compared to their willful blindness and cowardice in confronting their mistake, in siding with the traitor—and continuing, against all reason, to pretend he’s innocent of the mountain of allegations that completely obscure the rest of American politics, or, indeed, governance.

I was against the media giving Trump billions in free campaign advertising—while helping legitimize his louché insanity. For-profit journalism is trying to serve two masters, and failing. But here we are, still getting critiques and discussions over what Trump tweeted—the news as Rorschach Cards.

In America, to be fair to both sides means ignoring right and wrong; and ignoring the rigor or provenance of ‘source references’. In short, ‘fairness’ is being without any judgement or reason.

I’m a New Yorker. I saw through Trump at the get-go—we have lots of slimy con-men in New York—especially in the city. They have charisma out the butt. They talk a Great game. But if you watch closely, they only have one agenda—to separate you from your wallet.

America’s Constitution—and its legacy: Public Education, the Panama Canal, Edison, two World Wars, Fission, the UN, the Internet—the story behind all that is neither clean nor simple. America is bloody. America is complicated.

Roughly one-third of Americans care only for the bloodiness. Another one-third simply take ‘America’ for granted. We poor bastards are the one-third that stands up to the complicated nature of America—and like our fore-fathers—we apply our fucking brains to the issue at hand.

We know, from experience, to avoid self-serving rationalization. We know not to confuse the anecdotal with the statistical. We accept that Democracy means some minority (small or large) will be disappointed by every election. We cling to the fantasy that the majority of Americans will want what is best for all of America—because, why wouldn’t they?