The course of human events

I want to write about something other than the Godforsaken election but I can’t seem to think about anything else so that’s what I’m going to write about. Maybe people will get sick of me and my vast reading public will abandon me. Whatever. Who cares. 

We went to a birthday party last Saturday. Almost every person at that party was a Trump supporter, and we wouldn’t even have gone except that the birthday person, who was turning 80, is very much not a Trump supporter. He and his lovely wife, an immigrant, spend their free time cooking for and collecting donations for various shelters. They’re among the best people I know, and I would not have missed their party. 

And they are the only reason that I was able to restrain myself when I witnessed a group of other partygoers nodding to one another and agreeing that it’s now time for “unity.” LOL! Yes, just like in 2020, right? It would be bad if a bunch of Democrats stormed the Capitol next January. It would be terrible if Harris voters spent the next four years screaming about voter fraud and stolen elections. Yeah, let’s all unify for the sake of unity. That’s a great fucking idea. 

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I keep waiting to no longer be absolutely furious that Grab ‘Em by the Pussy is going to be the President of the United States for a second time. 

Nope, still mad. Even madder than last week, actually. 

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Do you know what’s weird? What’s weird is how hard everyone is trying not to talk about politics in social settings, at least in my circles. Do we not want to offend each other? Are we all just trying to protect our own mental health? Are we afraid of what could happen in the future if people know what we believe, and how we voted? It could be any or all of those, but I’m afraid it’s that last one most of all. I’m afraid that we’re all complying in advance. I don’t want to comply in advance. 

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Is anyone else highly amused at the appointment of two guys to head the “Department of Government Efficiency?” Two guys in charge of one agency - does that seem efficient to you? Lol. You literally cannot make this shit up. What is entirely made up, however, is the fictional idea that Elon and Vivek can “shrink” the Federal government, when what they are actually going to do is expand the government in all kinds of new directions and then outsource most of the actual work to contractors. End result - fewer government employees (look, we “shrank” the government!) and a lot more government spending benefiting billionaires. If you remember 2008, you’ll remember a lot of Republicans screaming about “redistribution of wealth.” Everyone is about to learn what that really means. 

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Well this keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it; and by better of course I mean so much worse. It’s Thursday November 14, the day after the announcement of Tulsi Gabbard as keeper of the state secrets and Matt Fucking Gaetz as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. What’s next? I’m waiting for the appointments of George Santos as Director of the Government Accountability Office, Jared Kushner as Secretary of the Treasury, Tucker Carlson as FCC Chair, David Duke as EEOC Chair, and Kid Rock as Director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Maybe Judge Jeannine for SCOTUS. Maybe the worst coal mine owner in all of West Virginia as the Secretary of Energy. Maybe the Papa John’s guy as the Secretary of Labor. Anything can happen. Sky's the limit. The proverbial guardrails are gone baby gone. 

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Do I need to step away for a bit? Probably. Will I? Probably not. 

I’m trying to figure out how to remain (comparatively) sane and reasonable without cutting myself off from all information. I feel strongly that I have no right to turn away from reality under the guise of “protecting my peace” or whatever. And I also just need to know what’s going on. On the other hand, it’s not unreasonable to try to hold on to my sanity and preserve my own mental health. 

I used to listen to NPR as background noise while I worked. On November 6, I started listening to classical music on WETA, and it’s quite lovely. I’m also going to reinstate the No Trump on Weekends policy that got me through the worst of the years 2017 to 2021. But I’m not going to turn away entirely. I didn’t vote for this mess but it’s still my country and I’m going to pay attention to the course of human events in America, political or otherwise.