Ignorance Now

     At the beginning of his term, a friend of mine thought that if Donald Trump did nothing else he would expose that elite all powerful secret government society known as "the deep state." I am not sure he has done any such thing given that there is most likely no such entity, as such. Yet, I do think that he has brought to light a few things about himself, government in the United States in general as well as a substantial portion of the people of the country. That is, I am sorry to say, he has uncovered by demonstrating it: ignorance and in no small proportion.

     I come to this conclusion with great reluctance, yet each day that I listen to the news reports — and I make sure to check out what the propagandistic Fox News has to squeal each day — I cannot avoid the truth. I have tried to tell myself that no, it cannot be so, but then I tune in again and lo' and behold, there it is, stupidity on a grand scale. Now, in and of itself, alright, human ignorance has been around a long time and in no small part of populations. Still, when it is where you live and breathe and it is people you know or could know and the greatest proportion of the rulers, making America not great again, but bringing out those aspects of America that are most evil, it is difficult for me to hide my consciousness and conscience. Right before our eyes, our ears, our noses. Dumb meanness. 

     Of course, I have many friends on Facebook who are pointing out all the time about the common stupidities of those like Trump and his Trumpsters refusing to wear masks to protect themselves and us from the pandemic; who cannot fathom why Black Lives Matter; although, for them, fetal lives matter and abortion is the origin of the greatest genocide ever. 

     I could, as you well know, spend page after page documenting the stupidity, the hypocrisy, the malevolence, et al. It is truly astounding. And, I would have liked to point to a dearth of formal education in the country for the gross dumbing down of our politics and social media culture. Yet, I know more than a few dumb educated folks. Kayleigh McEnany, I was told by one of my Trumpster friends has an I.Q. of 188, a real virtual genius. (Did she take Donald's SATs?) How can someone so smart be so not smart all at once?

     Germans, before World War II and their genocide, were known as the smartest people in Europe. What happened to intelligence there and then? What is happening to it here and now, putting refugees in concentration camps on the Southern border and separating children from their parents? How could this be happening in the democratic freedom loving intelligent USA? How is any of this possible?

      I am at a loss. Yet, it is also a wakeup call to us all as well. Germans woke up by degrees after World War II. Knowing what they and their countrymen had done, acknowledging their guilt went a very long way to making them now one of the more moral societies on the planet. Who took in Syrian refugees? 

     Ever since the world war, America has wallowed in self-righteousness. MAGA, Make America Great Again, really means that America should get right back to wallowing, instead of apologizing. We have too much to apologize for. You know the list: Vietnam, Iraq and on and on. The foremost American intellectual, Noam Chomsky can tell you 

     We are not the only ones, of course; yet, most of the evil done here is done with that self-righteousness American exceptionalist air. What was taught in American history courses? 

     How many genocides have there been since WWII? Why should this ever happen again? And if a nuclear war happens, it will make the Holocaust look like a minor historical blip. Yet, we will, of course — right Donald!? — be in the right as we nuke Teheran. 

     Yet, ignorance is a many headed hydra and has many origins. So, if now it is exposed for what it is, will we be smart enough and aware enough to grow smarter and more compassionate? It is an awfully long road to go. Yet, go, we must. The American giant is floundering. The Republican Ship of Fools is sinking. The bigger they are, the worse is the thud. Time for a change before the karmic errors hit the fan!