Last night, I had a dream where I willing walked into a haunted house. It was less a house and more like a temple; the opening yawned like a gaping abyss. The voices of demons echoed through the darkness, and as soon as I stepped past the threshold, my vision went black. "The only thing I have to fear is fear itself," was my mantra, and I kept walking while saying those words. Eventually, my vision cleared, and I was in a house, one still enshrouded in darkness, but I could see. I had to comfort a priest, I remember that. Eventually, my wife woke me up, so I don't know how the dream ended, but if it wasn't a metaphor for America's current situation, then I don't know what it was.
Apparently, two of the biggest issues Americans voted on in the 2024 Presidential election were crime and the economy, so it makes perfect sense that we elected a convicted felon pushing inflationary policies like tariffs. There was a clear contrast in character between the two candidates; one was a former prosecuting attorney, while the other lost a sexual abuse trial and tried to overthrow the government. Somehow, Americans completely forgot the chaos and dysfunction of the Covid pandemic, when contradictory information was coming from the government every day. Did no one remember how Trump told us to inject bleach while downplaying the number of people who were dying? Did no one remember the fight over masks and the empty store shelves, the closing down of businesses, the general apocalyptic feeling the pervaded daily existence? I guess not. Instead, people complained about the best economy in the world. There are certainly some big problems in the housing sector, and even though inflation has returned to normal levels, the price increases have stayed. The economic vibe wasn't good, even if the feeling didn't match the facts. While I understand the urge to switch it up (every single incumbent party in the world lost this year!), Donald Trump should've never been an option. He should've been impeached in the Senate and therefore lost his ability to run for office. Merrick Garland's Department of Justice should have immediately went after Trump for his crimes instead of waiting until 2022. The media should have hammered Trump more instead of sanewashing his incoherent, fascist ramblings. Shoulda, woulda, fucking coulda. Instead, it's deja vu all over again.
The Washington Post, which conveniently refused to endorse a candidate this year for the first time since the eighties (Bezos was impressed by Trump's raised fist after nearly being assassinated), is famous for its motto of "Democracy dies in darkness." The truth is, democracy drowns in bullshit. Our media is controlled by billionaires and charlatan grifters. There are no newspapers anymore, and half of Americans get their news from social media, which is inundated with disinformation. Partisan biases make it impossible for Americans to have a clear picture of candidates. When you live in a bubble where your friends, co-workers, church members, and media are all proclaiming Trump the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, how can you think any differently? Doing so would require a level of education not attainable for many Americans. In short, the reelection of Donald Trump isn't surprising when you consider how uninformed, partisan, and ignorant the vast majority of the American electorate is. This is the nicest way I can put it. Frankly, Americans are stupid, and the voters are incompetent. There's a very good chance Trump's 10 percent tariffs and government deconstruction will greatly worsen the economy, and voters will respond by electing Democrats in 2028, that is, if Trump hasn't destroyed democracy. We're not on our way to Idiocracy. We're already there.
All sadly true
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