The Great American Divide And The Mystery Of It All

This is a piece I wrote just as the US election campaign was starting. In retrospect, outside of my actual prediction, which was dead wrong, it's fairly accurate in its assessment of the political and media situation in the US at the times.
Since then, of course, the worst case scenario has been realized and the majority of people there are now officially dazed and confused.
The new administration is spending most of its time defending allegations of collusion with the Russians, justifying the appointment of totally unqualified people to cabinet posts, and basically letting the Republican leadership run rampant with regressive, almost fascist legislation which will benefit the 1% and kick the shit out of everybody else.
America's reputation around the world is that of a bad joke. And their movement towards isolation runs counter to the feeling in the rest of the world which is moving towards increasing cooperation.
In other words, they are shooting themselves in the foot. Over and over again. And all because their president is on so far over his head, he is not likely to ever break the surface before he is impeached.

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Anybody who follows me knows that I write a lot about bullshit.

More than a few people think I am a bit obsessed with it. But the simple fact of the matter is that for any writer who cares about his fellow humanoids, the concept of bullshit will seep into just about anything they choose to write about.
My main concern these days is with the bullshit surrounding the US presidential race.

No Constipated Bulls Here

Although I am just an observer from Canada, or maybe because I am an observer from Canada, I find most of what I am observing to be very confusing

On the one hand you have a segment of the Republican party that really believes their hopes can and should be carried all the way to the White House by Donald Trump.
To me, Trump, for all intents and purposes, is a cartoon character. He is a total narcissist. He has pretty much alienated everybody outside of disgruntled white blue collar workers and yet he has managed to end up as the Republican candidate.
And the road that Trump took to get where has so far been riddled with violence, racism, and pretty much every sort of negative you can pack into a political campaign.

Hillary & Bernie. On The Other Side Of The Universe

On the other hand you have two highly experienced career politicians fighting it out on the Democratic side, making all kinds of sense and running what are essentially positive and straight ahead campaigns.
Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are impressive in their own ways. Hillary because she walks the line between what America needs to do and what he contributors want her to do.
Bernie because he’s just flat out aiming for real justice in America. He knows who the enemies of the country are and he want’s to smack ’em around, a lot.

The Core Of My Confusion

Obviously there are a pretty good number of people in America who are looking for change. For some reason a lot of them have glommed onto Trump as that agent of change.
And no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to wrap my head around this concept.

I think that Trump is actually very cagey in a sleazy sort of way. He has chosen a message and audience that are just ignorant and/or dumb and/or desperate enough to believe he can actually be their salvation.
And while I get that because marketing people can spot strategies from a mile off, I also believe that there is no way in hell that this bozo could manage something as big and unruly as one of the most complex countries in the world.
He has trouble managing his own people at his rallies. He has trouble managing his own businesses. He has trouble staying married to the same woman for any length of time. He has trouble, and a lot of trouble, telling the truth. He has trouble accepting reality. And he will have serious trouble dealing with all the bullshit he will have to deal with if he should ever get elected.
And this is what I don’t understand. How is it that he achieved this perception in people’s minds as someone who really will, or even can, make America great again?

There Are Higher Powers At Work Here

So I’m looking for another catalyst here. And what do you know…there really is one.
The popularity of Donald Trump is directly related to the amount of free publicity he’s getting from the major news media. Mainly CNN, CNBC and Fox News, who all cover pretty much everything he does all the time.
They do this because the people who own these media outlets are all hard core Republican capitalists. And they are perfectly willing to glorify an idiot, if it means denigrating (through deprivation), that idiot’s rivals.
This sort of behavior is tantamount to brainwashing, which is an often used tactic of fascist dictators and capitalist media barons who are intent on holding onto their empires.

The Core Of The Mystery

What I don’t understand is what they hope to gain from creating the kind of chaos in their country that a Trump presidency would obviously cause.
And that, my friends, is the real mystery.
Now I have been to a few rodeos in the past, but I have never actually seen one quite like this. I’m not sure anyone has.
I’m pretty certain that Trump will not win the election. But what I am concerned with is the trail of bullshit he will leave in his wake, and the damage he will do to the country as a whole by creating such a huge divide.
History has taught us that the great men are the ones who bring us together.
Sadly, America these days seems to have more that its share of people whose only interest is in dividing and in some way that I can’t figure out, conquering.

If your business has reached the point where talking to an experienced  communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.

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