A True Act of Political Theater

 He's the master of the con, the puppet master behind the great and powerful Oz brought to life.  He's skilled in the art of the swerve, distracting from the actual issue at hand. He speaks with a devil's tongue, and sinister motives. It's how he's patterned his entire career. I'm talking of course about Donald Trump.

On the anniversary of the infamous attempted overthrow of the U.S. government, President Biden, who was properly elected, gave a scathing rebuke of the former president. Trump of course, had to retort, essentially re-telling the lies that cause his followers to storm the U.S. Capitol. He blamed Biden for the COVID related closing, even though Trump was extremely slow to move on his COVID response, dismissing e COVID as nothing more than a variation of the flu. He blamed Biden for pulling out of Afghanistan, even though a pull out had been announced by Trump himself.  Trump spoke of unconstitutional mandates, not that Trump has ever read the document. Otherwise, he'd know that the mandates are constitutional, all he'd have to do is read Jacobson v. Massachusetts to learn that state mandated vaccines have been law since the early 1900's.

 

 Nowhere in Trump's diatribe did he at all acknowledge what happened on January 6th, 2021. He never referred to it as tragic in any form. Instead, he turned his rage towards Biden, a man that Trump simply cannot accept that he lost to in the election. Trump did what he usually does, plays the victim. A nationwide conspiracy that everyone is against him, except for his loyal followers that is.  We are on year removed from the events of that day, and Trump still go not grasp the role he played. 

Trump called Biden's speech "Political Theater". Such hypocrisy, especially since political theater is what got Trump elected. That, and playing to the base that would happily believe anything he said. Playing on their fears that someone from a different country was going to come here with the intention of stealing their job. Trump's whole life has been theater. Everything he's done calculated for the cameras the follow him and hang on his every action. 

Trump on January 6^th reminded me somewhat of Governor Farley from the movie The Second Civil War. I would highly recommend this film, because it truly foresaw cable news and what it would become, as well as one elected official manipulating things, without an awareness of the irony. And another elected official, a sitting president who needed his cabinet in order to make a single decision.

The Second Civil War is about the governor of Idaho, Jim Farley, played by Beau Bridges, who defies an order to shelter orphans immigrating to America to escape the war that plagues their country. Farley closes the boarders, and vows no immigrant would ever step foot in Idaho again. This despite the fact that Farley's favorite food is Mexican, and he's having an affair with a Mexican reporter.  Then there's The President, who despite having the worst qualities of Martin Van Buren, has no qualms about using immigrants to his own advantage. In one scene, Governor Farley looks down at the horde of reporters outside the Governor's mansion and proudly proclaims "See all of that, I caused that!"

 I could almost picture Trump watching the news of the attack on January 6th, turning to his inner circle, and saying the exact same thing. Watching the people storm the Capitol, attack police officers, and Trump boasting that he caused all of that. It's quite fitting of his ego in my opinion. Why else would he have taken several hours before issuing a half-hearted statement? 

What's frightening is Trump's desire to use what happened on January 6^th to rally his base, which defines where their allegiances lie. He blamed Biden for having an "Open Border" policy, something by the way, was once advocated by President Reagan. Fact is, there are no open borders. Just like there was no stolen election. Trump lost, and he didn't want to give up the power he had. Yet he continues to play on fears and repeat the lies of a stolen election. 

I honestly do have concerns about the future of democracy in this country. The rise of Trump gave a voice to people that feel only one political party should have the vested power to rule this country. And that anyone that thinks or feels different, is a traitor, and should be essentially kicked out of the country. The ripple effects of January 6^th will be felt for a long time. However, the ripple effects pale in comparison to the ripple effects that occurred when Trump was elected president. That was the day democracy became endangered. And if Trump had succeeded on January 6th, or succeeds in the future, that will be the day democracy is relegated to a topic we learn about in history books. That is unless, they've already burned the books. 

Looking back at January 6th 2021

 For some bizarre reason, I had the chorus to a song stuck in my head. The song is called "Can't Happen Here" by Rainbow. And that song played in my mind at this time last year. I couldn't fathom that what I was witnessing was happening in America. This was something you'd expect to see overseas, or at the least, in a nation with an unstable, yet corrupt central government. This couldn't be happening here, not in America. We are the beacon of stable democracy. We've proved that the voice of the people is what works. It's a system like ours that students in China risk their lives for protesting in the streets. No way could democracy be under assault here after a duly held election.

Only it was happening here. For well over a year, Donald Trump had groomed his supporters. He constantly fed them lies, such as he was the world's most popular leader.  There was no way he could lose the election. And if he did lose, there was only one clear reason: the other side cheated. Trump would repeat this chorus at every campaign stop he made. He'd gave vague descriptions of his plans for the next four years. He'd exclaim that he had the most beautiful health care plan ever. That no one in the history of mankind had even conceived of a plan so wonderful until he came along. He'd never explain what made the plan so great, he just filled his audience with pointless buzzwords and empty rhetoric. Through pure showmanship, Trump would get them to applaud and then bask in the devout loyalty they pledged to him. It was almost as if he cast himself as a messiah and not a president. His rallies began to feel more like a cult meeting than a political rally. And the frightening devotion his followers gave him was more than enough to send a chill down one's spine.

Trump did lose the election.  To use his own words, he lost bigly. Because while his followers were willing to blindly adhere to anything he said, others saw through the smoke and mirrors. They saw a president that had abandoned our allies, and was getting cozy with cruel despots, men that had no qualms about murder as a way to maintain control. They saw that America was taking a dangerous turn towards the dark side. Trump failed badly handling a pandemic like COVID and when a young woman was murdered at a protest by a racist, Trump, instead of doing the commonsense thing, went in another direction. Having the gull to blame both sides for what happened, and in turn, he blamed Heather Heyer for engaging in a peaceful protest that got her killed.

Flash forward to January 6th, 2021. Trump, unaccustomed to losing, had lost out of his power. That day he staged a rally, surrounded by like-minded individuals seeking to push the big lie about the election. He even vowed to stand by them as they fought to help him regain power. Inspired by his words, his troops marched on Washington D.C. Inspired by the Big Lie, they stormed the capitol, assaulted police officers and breached the building. So tragic to see a crowd that once claimed to "Back The Blue" was now assaulting officers with devilish glee, ripping at the weapons, in hopes of arming themselves. In many cases, turning the military grade gear they wore to the rally against the officers. Some of the officers were beaten with their own night sticks. One nearly lost an eye when a Trump supporter tried to tear it out. One brave officer risked his life standing in front of the mob, knowing that if the crowd got past him, chaos would ensue. 

Members of congress were driven into hiding. Many texted their families, as they prepared themselves for the notion the text would be their last communication with their loved ones. Trump's supporters walked through the halls with a noose, demanding that Vice President Mike Pence be handed over to them so they could execute him without a trial. Trump had fed his throng the lie that Mike Pence had the power to toss out the electors and reverse the results of the election. And when Pence failed to do something, he never had the power to do, he became the enemy.  

The insurgents looked at what they had done, and they beamed with pride. They took to social media to livestream their crimes. Many stole items, took selfies, and rifled through sensitive documents. And as all of this raged on, Trump was nowhere to be seen. Despite pleas from friendly news media outlets and even his own son, Trump remained silent, essentially playing the role of Nero. Trump fiddled while America burned. When he finally did make a statement, it was pointless. He urged people to go home, and in the same breath and in coded fashion, he praised them for what they had done. He told each and every person that stormed the capitol, assaulted police officers and even demanded to hang his vice president that he loved them.

In the year since, conservative media outlets like Fox News and Newsmax have made it their mission to re-write history, demanding that people not believed their so-called lying eyes. Taking a page out of Trump's playbook, they echoed that they and they alone were the keepers of the truth and that no Trump supporter stormed the capitol, it was all staged by the democrats and ANTIFA. Though anyone with commonsense knows that is a lie, they sold that bill of goods to Trump's loyal followers, many of whom cast Trump as the modern-day messiah. 

Not since Aaron Burr attempted to overthrown the U.S. government had there been an attempted coupe on this level. Not even Richard Nixon in his darkest moments would have tried these tactics to remain in power. Until January 6th, 2021, I never thought an attempted overthrown would be staged by the out-going president. And to this day, there are being that believe he won a second term, and that President Biden isn't the rightful leader of the country.  And one shudders to think what might have happened had Trump's troops accomplished their goal. Some damage has already been inflicted, as some may feel inspired by Trump that they'd use any means to maintain their power and subvert the will of the people. Then again, Trump himself told us he'd do this exact thing. In the last debate with Hillary, Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would sue if he didn't like the outcome of the election, even if he delayed the transfer of power by doing so. Trump flashed a coy smile and without directly saying so, alluded that he'd do just that. 

So, we shouldn't be shocked at what happened on January 6th, 2021. Trump as much told us he'd done anything to obtain power and to remain in power. I'm not sure what is going to happen on January 6th, 2022. I wouldn't be shocked to see Trump issue one of his press releases, praising the day.  I don't think we'll see another siege tomorrow. But what ever flame remains, Trump will gleefully try to spark again. 

Social Media and Pavlov's dog

 I have to admit that social media fascinates me. The ability to communicate with people across the globe, it really does have a valid purpose. Alas, that valid purpose has degraded a lit over the last few years. People sharing poorly researched or slanted alleged "news" articles. Post memes that have no grounding in fact. And then in the same breath, many of these same folks get upset that the likes of Facebook and Twitter don't do a better job to prevent the spread of misinformation. All along, these folks don't grasp they are the ones with that power to begin with.

Anyone who follows me on my personal Facebook page, or on Twitter (@HandsomeRandall, by the way) realized quite quickly that I don't share a lot of links to news sites unless I vet them first. Or I trust the actual source of the information. I cringe when I see someone share links to Newsmax or Breitbart as if those agencies reported actual facts. if anything, they serve as public relations firms for conservative causes and voices. Happy tossing out what ever facts don't fit their narrative in order to achieve a Pavlov like response from their target audience. Alternet comes dangerously close to tossing aside the straight narrative for an editorial one with some of their articles. Unless the site has my full faith, I don't share the article, it's that simple. 

I get that in today's world, taking some time to do quick research as to the validity of an article is a tough ask. Most find it easier to just click the share button and go on their merry way. Especially if it fits that narrative, once again brings up back to Ivan Pavlov and his dogs. Instead of the bell which conditioned the dogs to expect to find food, now its news articles conditioned to affirm a person's beliefs. 

It is rather maddening to assume we are utterly powerless in stopping the spread of misinformation on social media, and that the social media companies alone are the ones to solve the issue. Which brings us to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green. Shortly after the first of the year, Twitter permanently disabled her personal account. For the last year, maybe more, she'd been spreading misinformation regarding COVID. Social media companies like Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook, which seems generally disinterested in the idea) announced they were going to crack down on the spread of misinformation. The result was many accounts being restricted or shut down entirely. Instead of owning up to spreading falsehoods, Greene turned her focus on Twitter and cried that she was being censored. Not to be outdone, Lauren Boebert tweeted in defense of Greene, proclaiming that when Republicans regain control, social media outlets like Twitter would "pay" for their actions, causing many to believe that Boebert was advocating that all social media platforms be placed under government control, and that only government approved post could appear. A rather frightening concept indeed, but Boebert is a devout follower of Donald Trump and many times while in office, Trump expressed a desire to extend government control over the media, which included the ability to pull a license from any outlet that did not write favorably of him. So, it's not a wild notion that Boebert wasn't advocating violence, but full government control over social media. 

Had Greene used common sense and not re-tweeted misinformation, she'd still have her personal account. Instead, she opted for political gamesmanship. Sharing of misinformation gets people hurt, it could very well get them killed. Spreading misinformation regarding COVID, at a time where hospitals are having to delay surgeries, and essentially teeter on rationing care, is dangerous. You can't spread COVID misinformation and proclaim you care about the front-line workers in the hospitals without sounding like hypocrite. 

There have been many calls on Facebook and Twitter to stop the spread. It has reached the point where the CEO's of the companies had been called to testify before congress. And the sad fact is that we didn't have to get to that point. The grim fact as I stated before is that we have to gaze into the mirror and accept the fact that we played a role in the spread, the wide spread as it were, of misinformation. Getting upset at Facebook is not going to change that. Both social media and many of its users have played a role in the spread of misinformation. 

So this is the next step. It's 2022, a brand-new year. Time to adopt a new approach. Instead of blindly sharing a meme or a random post, so a quick study. And get out of your comfort zone. That means bypassing the usual websites with their slanted views. It means actually going to google and researching valid websites. Not that I mean this as a plug, like I did my Twitter handle, but I swear by Factcheck.org. They are non-partisan. They don't have a political axe to grind. And they back-up their articles with links, so that you are getting just the facts, man. 

This is the call to action, the call to change. Tired that a social media company isn't stopping the spread of misinformation, do something. Stop sharing memes and links just because it fits your narrative. Do some true honest research. And if the original post comes from a group that appears to have a political agenda, then don't share the post, it's as simple as that. The power is yours. Use it. All of this almost makes me miss the days where you got an annoying message from a friend asking if you could spare some animals for their farm in Farmville. Almost. 

Cancel Culture and Dr. Frankenstein

 I haven't touched on this topic yet, mainly because I wasn't exactly sure how to get my point across. Because this is such a touchy subject with people.  The topic is cancel culture.

Let me say to start that I find the term "Cancel Culture" to be rather sterile. It's almost like it was born out of a corporate buzzword brainstorming session. Cancel Culture. Conservatives, who suddenly want to brand themselves as defenders and heroes of the first amendment, brand anyone they see fit as engaging in cancel culture. They like to call anyone that calls for so-called "cancelation" as soft, or a snowflake. 

What we need to do is understand some historical facts, undisputed facts as they were. Conservatives fostered and nurtured cancel culture for decades. They tried to cancel Elvis Presley. They said Elvis' hip gyrations would cause young Americans to feel lusty desires. Ed Sullivan had to agree to film Elvis from only the waist up to appease those that called for the legendary T.V. show host to cancel Elvis' appearance. They even called for boycotts of the show's sponsors. They were ready to toss ol' Ed off the air simply because who he chose to have appear on his show. Their efforts failed, and Elvis went on, and was a success. 

Then there was the Beatles. During their Yesterday and Today tour, John Lennon made the comment about the Beatles being "Bigger than Jesus". This led to a firestorm of protest by Christians and Conservatives. Radio stations were demanded to not play any Beatles music. In some locations, they made a spectacle of it. The conservatives would stage burnings of Beatles LPs and posters. The Vatican demanded an apology. Here again we have a cancel culture movement led by conservatives.

Then there was the movement to cancel Prince over the lyrics to Darling Nikki. When that was over, they moved on to Madonna, protesting over the video to the song Like a Prayer. The combination of burning crosses and Madonna kissing a saint that happened to be black was too much for conservatives. They demanded that radio stations quit playing the song, that stores stop selling the 45 single that was released. And that MTV stop playing the music video. Whereas the pervious protest bore little fruit, this one did a little damage. Madonna lost her endorsement deal with Pepsi. There was a boycott of all Pepsi products and Pepsi cut ties with Madonna. Though Madonna was able to keep the five-million-dollar fee, the protesters won, costing her an endorsement deal that could have netted her millions, beyond the five million fee.

Fresh off of that, Terry Rakolta, a conservative from Michigan, was offended by an episode of ...Married With Children. After a strong letter writing campaign, multiple sponsors pulled their ads, but the protest only made people want to see what the show was all about. However, the fact remained that we had a case of a conservative trying to cancel what they didn't like. Donald Trump is a prime example of the hypocrisy associated with cancel culture. The man that spent decades trying to cancel others was suddenly aghast at the idea of cancel culture when it set its sights on him.  

Cancel culture has been around for a long time, it's just metamorphized into other forms.  From my point of view, cancel culture has become Frankenstein's monster. While some have tried to use to it hold other to accountability, others have weaponized it to remove what they personally find offensive. The advent of social media has just given it stronger legs.  The main issue has been people jumping aboard a cancel bandwagon based on a few tweets without themselves doing the slightest bit of actual research. That is one of the dangerous elements we now face. Another element that has grown larger since the days of Ed Sullivan and Elvis. The irony that is lost on many people practicing cancel culture that if the tables were turned, they'd plead form a second chance.  And that is why I referred to cancel culture as Frankenstein's monster. because everyone of us is one misspeak, one error, one error from our youth from being canceled.