Jim Murray

7 years ago · 4 min. reading time · 0 ·

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America. Screwed? Not Screwed? Or Maybe Just A Little Less Screwed Than Everybody Thinks?

America. Screwed? Not Screwed? Or Maybe Just A Little Less Screwed Than Everybody Thinks?

The Digital Sunday Fiper

Like just about everybody else with two brain cells to rub together, I was shocked at the results of the US presidential election. I mean who wouldn’t be? the a president of a powerful country should be. And he is certainly the antithesis of the current US president.

What The %^&* Happened?

We were also shocked because a lot of what we had seen from him was the divisive, racist, sexist, narcissist side, which, for some reason, he was not shy about projecting.
We saw a lot of this side of him because that was pretty much all the media was interested in was in the creation of a persona that was the polar opposite of the persona they created for Hillary Clinton.
And of course, to make the story even more interesting, the right wing asshole extremist community lined up behind Trump and the creative community lined up behind Hillary.
But what was forgotten in all this posturing, to a great extent, was the actual people of the United States. The ones who had to cast the votes. The ones whose voices were never heard.
The true oddity here was that it was Trump who managed to reach out to the people the most effectively. It’s odd because he is nothing at all like the people who showed up at his rallies, who followed him religiously throughout the campaign and who ultimately voted for him.
These are the people who, I can only assume, saw through the bluster and the exaggeration he was using, and skillfully to: A) Get people to actually listen and acknowledge these issues and B) Effectively, however crudely, re-position anyone he viewed as competition.

Two Trumps For The Price Of One

Trump risked a lot by all the bullying he did. He painted himself as a racist, a sexist and all kinds of other things. He made the people who opposed him hate him. But he also made the people who loved him, worship him.
This is a hell of a thing no matter how you slice it. And it doesn’t matter where you sit politically, what we have seen here, as repugnant and disgusting as it seemed most of the time, was some pretty damn slick campaigning.

Don’t Get Me Wrong

I’m still not convinced that this was the right road for America to travel down at this point in history. It's uber high risk at best. But as my FB friend Jake Volt pointed out the other day “Nobody knows nothing. All we can do is watch and see.”
So I am watching and watching closely. Because what happens in America reverberates everywhere and guess who will be the first to feel it, said the guy in the mildly vibrating igloo.
And we should all watch this closely. Because the world has become more and more tightly interconnected every day. And causes and effects much closer and more powerful.

Back To The Questions

IMO America is not screwed. Not yet anyway. But the potential exists, even though every day, since the election you see Trump becoming more conservative as he actually starts to realize the number of balls he will have to juggle.

The best advice
[ can give everybody
right aban now...• I have personally learned a lot about the culture of free societies from this election.
• I have learned that the will of the people is still the most powerful force in society.
• I have learned that there are more than just two sides to every story.
• I have learned not to rush to final judgement until I am satisfied that I have enough information to make a sound judgement.
• And to me, personally the most important lesson of all is that if you really want to understand something, you can no longer rely on the news media to provide you with anything in the way of unbiased information.
Their only agendas are controlling the message and advertising dollars. With very few exceptions they are all pawns who willingly support the strategies of their owners because they want to be famous and make lots of money.

I Don’t Like Donald Trump One Little Bit. But…

My personal feelings are irrelevant, and not worth a thing if you ask most Americans.
It would appear that the great American Cultural Experiment has entered a strange new phase.
If it brings about the destruction of the world, well, I’ve had a good run and I hope you have too. But it it doesn’t, it will certainly make for some very very interesting observations and learning going forward.

PS This is the best rant I have seen on the the US election so far. It’s worth watching, if only for the fact that it’s damn entertaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLG9g7BcjKs

Murray + Creative Director
Onwords & Upwords Inc. &
beBee Brand Ambassador
I am a communications professional,
arily a strategist & writer. I work with
small to mid sized businesses, designers,

art/creative directors & consultants to
ate results driven, strategically focused
mmunications in all on & offline media.

Iam also a communications mentor,
lyricist & prolific op/ed beBee blogger.
: 416 463-3475 + Bmail: onandup3@gmail com » Skype: jimbobmur6l

As usual all relevants, likes, comments and shares are always appreciated.

If your business has reached the point where talking to a communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.
Download my free ebook, Small Business Communication For The Real World, here:

https://onwordsandupwords.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/small-business-communications-for-the-real-world/


All my profile and contact information can be accessed here:
https://www.bebee.com/producer/@jim-murray/this-post-is-my-about-page


All content copyright 2016 Jim Murray


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Comments

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #14

#17
Or, Randy, it could come from Trump himself and his rag-tag entourage of radio-show hate mongers. Perhaps, he is an agent of change. But so was Hitler. I agree that for far too long, Washington has been a club whose members are both Democrats and Republicans, but which excludes the rest of us. I also agree that the issues that face the nation domestically do not break down along party lines, but rather along economic class lines; and the sooner we, the governed, recognize that, the sooner we may begin to move toward social justice. But let us not delude ourselves into thinking that president-elect Trump is some sort of populist. For he isn't. He is an "outsider" --- but one who plays on the field of the 1%, and will be shown within his first year in office not to see beyond its boundaries. IMHO.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #13

#17
I'm moving to St Catharines. I will have a better view from there of the implosion of America. LOL.

Randy Keho

7 years ago #12

Trump knew what he was doing from day one and he played everyone like a fiddle. Now, he's the leader of the band. We've been hearing about this so-called "silent majority" for years and years. He spoke to them and they spoke back.. He used the media. He fractured the Republican Party. The democrats imploded, preaching the status quo when the people wanted change. He received votes from every Tom, Dick, and Harry, outside the major metropolitan areas, garnering enough votes to sneak up and capture the electoral college. It was almost like stealing candy from a baby. The people got what they wanted: change. Now, if the end of the world as we know it is coming, it will be because of political obstructionists, which could come from the republican as well as democratic party.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #11

#14
As usual, Phil Friedman, the unbearable ring of truth exudes from your fingertips.

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #10

Jim Murray - Jim, I for one am not interested in hearing from all the bull-chips-for-brains vote-your-conscience Sanders supporters and other self-impressed I-ain't-gonna-voters who are now whining about the absolutely disastrous result of this freakin' fiasco. I am also not interested in hearing from the liberal weenies who for months were patting themselves on the back over all their skewering of Trump in the media. As my wife, for the first time in our 30+ years of marriage, admitted to me, I was right in telling her and others that we anti-Trump people were talking largely to ourselves, and that if we didn't get the vote of every anti-Trump person out on polling day, Clinton was going to lose, that we did not have the luxury of "voting our conscience" this time. Let's be clear, THERE IS NO CLEAR MANDATE FROM THIS ELECTION. Clinton prevailed in the popular vote by what appears likely to be almost one million votes. Whatever we think of the electoral system, we have no choice except to accept the results of the election and support the fundamental principle of peaceful transition of power, which is one of the core foundational pillars of American democracy. Continued... Pt. II

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #9

Jim Murray -- Part II However, we should not forget that for the eight years of the Obama administration, the Republican Party (not all Republicans) pursued a cynical and deliberate policy of across-the-board obstruction, as part of a strategy to hang Obama and the Democrats with a failed economy and all manner of issues that the Republicans anticipated would lead to a Republican sweep in this election. We should also not forget that it was Trump who openly attacked the essential principle of peaceful transition of power by saying that he might not accept the results of the election if he lost. His reckless action in doing so --- as well as his demonstrated lack of understanding of our legal system outside the areas of business bankruptcy and tax avoidance --- has proven him to be ultimately an enemy of the Republic, who bears close watching. Let us again be clear here. This is not conjecture. This is not liberal propaganda. These are conclusions drawn from the prima facie evidence of what Trump said publicly, and what was recorded before his handlers did their walking-backward dances and reels. I have no cheers to send to anyone on this.

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #8

#5
And vice-versa, my friend. Thank you and good luck with the move! Please keep us updated...

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #7

#7
And vice-versa, my friend. Thank you and good luck with the move! Please keep us updated...

Jim Murray

7 years ago #6

Chas Wyatt There isn't a Canadian I know who doesn't feel the same way. Myself included. I have a feeling he's not even gonna make it to the coronation, I mean inauguration.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #5

#1
Chas Wyatt There isn't a Canadian I know who doen't feel the same way. Myself included. I have a feeling he's not even gonna make it to the coronation, I mean inauguration.

Jim Murray

7 years ago #4

#4
Agreed . That's what I like about having American bees in my hive. The added perspective.

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #3

Thanks for another good Sunday morning read, Jim. A few thoughts: 1) Trump is the polar opposite of Obama, as Obama was to George W. Bush, and as Bush was to Bill Clinton, etc. There's actually a long pattern here of radical swings in the political pendulum of presidential politics. 2) What's most shocking to me is not that Trump won -- although that is shocking indeed -- but that the Hillary likely would have won if the only the Dems simply turned out to vote in same numbers as 2008 and 2012 for Obama. Moreover, I wonder how many of the anti-Trump protestors in our streets each night actually voted at all? I'll bet a lot of them did not -- which is simply hypocritical in-and-of itself. 3) As Bill Maher repeatedly said on his show "Real Time" this weekend: "We're still here." The world didn't end and won't end because of Trump (I hope and pray). Frankly it's more likely from a pure statistical perspective that more Americans will die from a natural disaster than from anything Trump does as President -- but who knows? And, knowing your sly sense of humor, please don't call Trump a "natural disaster" -- as I know you're tempted to -- because there's certainly nothing "natural" about that hair for goodness sakes! (lol) 4) Lastly, as I've noted Trump detractors can take some solace that the Senate Dems can still use the filibuster, a blunt legislative tool, to stop any Republican bills from passing the Senate or halt any nominees to the Supreme Court. While the GOP has a majority of Congress, they do NOT have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. If they did, than it would be even more problematic from the Dems perspective.

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #2

Thanks for another good Sunday morning read, Jim. A few thoughts: 1) Trump is the polar opposite of Obama, as Obama was to George W. Bush, and as Bush was to Bill Clinton, etc. There's actually a long pattern here of radical swings in the political pendulum of presidential politics. 2) What's most shocking to me as not that Trump won -- although that is shocking indeed -- but that the Hillary likely would have won if the Dems simply turned out to vote in similar numbers as 2008 and 2012 for Obama. Moreover, I wonder how many of the anti-Obama protestors causing in our streets actually voted? I'll bet a lot of the did not -- which is simply hypocritical in-and-of itself. 3) As Bill Maher repeatedly said on his show this weekend, "We're still here." The world didn't end and won't end because of Trump. Frankly it's more likely that Americans will die from a natural disaster than from anything he does as President. And don't call Trump a "natural disaster" -- as I know you're tempted to -- because there's certainly nothing "natural" about his hair! (lol)

David B. Grinberg

7 years ago #1

A few thoughts, Jim: 1) Trump is the polar opposite of Obama, as Obama was to George W. Bush, and as Bush as to Bill Clinton. There's actually a long pattern here of radical swings in the political pendulum of presidential politics. 2) What's most shocking to me as not that Trump one -- although that is shocking indeed -- but that the Hillary likely would have won if the Dems simply turned out to vote in similar numbers as 2008 and 2012 for Obama. Moreover, I wonder how many of the anti-Obama protestors causing mayhem in our streets actually voted? I'll bet a lot of the did not -- which is simply hypocritical in and of itself. 3) As Bill Maher repeatedly said in his show this weekend, "We're all still here." The world didn't end and won't end because of Trump. Frankly it's more likely that Americans die from a natural disaster. And don't call Trump a "natural disaster" as there's nothing natural about that hair! (lol)

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