This can’t be right… Donald-Bloody-Trump is on every freaking channel!
There’s a famous “curse” (we’ll argue attribution another time) “May you live in interesting times” — meant, usually, ironically. Our times, it turns out, will be among the most interesting (and historic) ever. The forces of right wing darkness, repression and greed — forces we told ourselves were dealt with at the end of World War II — have emerged from the rotting chrysalis they were hiding in all these years (while they mutated into a vicious, racist, ignorant Euro-thug) — and sprung upon the west’s liberal democracies.
Right wing darkness has always had a home here, in America — right along with every other group that found a home here. The only difference is, right wing darkness got it into its head that only it was allowed to have a home here in America. That was something RW darkness told itself. At no time was it ever true.
It is exhausting living in these here times. Even a decent night’s sleep feels inadequate to deal with the average morning’s headlines. Outrage fatigue is a very real thing. I get it. I’ve felt it. It would be nice to think about something else for a change.
And that’s exactly what they NEED us to do (never mind “want” us to do). The Forces Of Darkness rely on our exhaustion. Exhaustion is acquiescence and that act of giving in instantly normalizes the darkness. That darkness is now “what is”. Accepted as one of the possibilities. That’s the mistake.
It can NEVER be accepted as one of the possibilities. That means not only not accepting it but making it clear that it won’t be accepted ever. That means saying it out loud the moment it happens and forever thereafter until it stops. That means remaining outraged about it while remaining outraged about everything else that deserves our constant outrage.
Sorry about the bad news. The answer’s no — we cannot change the channel. Reality’s like a pathogen. It doesn’t care what you think about it. It doesn’t care if you want to bury your head in the sand (or refuse to vaccinate yourself) — it will do what it does regardless and if you do nothing to prepare yourself, it will kill you one way or another.
Who knew history was a contact sport?