Is Smash Bros. Ultimate out yet?
No?
For the record, I’ve already voted. If you haven’t yet, you’ll still (as of writing) have your chance on the 6th, and I’ll go ahead and do what various actors, singers, athletes, and former presidents have done -- I.e. tell you to go and vote. Until then, and until the dust clears with the results laid bare, I’ll go ahead and go over some of my thoughts in this political…well, I want to say “climate”, but “quagmire” seems just as appropriate. So strap in while I regale you with my vaguely-appropriate nonsense.
Like I said, I voted. Managed to take advantage of early voting opportunities here in Texas. I’d planned to for a while, though I was sweating over the possibility that my registration got axed for some reason. It didn’t, thankfully. By the same token? I was under the impression that I’d have to make an argument to get my brother and mom to go out and vote as well. I didn’t. It was left unsaid and unmentioned for the longest time, but we all voted. I guess they had the same thought I did: “Yeah, I’d better go out and do something about this.”
It has to be blindingly obvious who I voted for, but since the rest of this post hinges on my reasoning for it, I’ll go ahead and be clear: yes, I absolutely went Democrat. It’s not like I’ve ever done anything else; the only reason why I hesitated this time around was because I wanted to make sure my votes for the Democrats were properly recorded, and not suddenly switched to any Republicans by way of faulty voting machines. Yeah, let’s assume that was the problem, and not cheating from any outside parties.
From what I can gather, voting Democrat is something that’d make me an enemy of a decent chunk of the US population. That’s regrettable. Concerning, too; I’m not exactly adept at convincing people in real life that I’m nemesis-worthy, you see. It’s the complete opposite. But from what I’ve heard and read, those in the Republican camp are likely to view me as some vile, poison-scaled menace out to tear their way of life asunder. Which isn’t to say that Democrats aren’t just as capable of the preemptive hate and scorn (or conservatives vs. Liberals, if that’s your label/grouping/team of choice), but…well, that’s a subject way too dense to get into right now.
So I guess I should start with the central premise, the foundation behind my reasoning: I don’t get the Republican platform. Current or otherwise, Trumpian or otherwise. As far as I can tell? It doesn’t make sense.
You want to know what the clincher was? The morning before I voted, I had finished up my breakfast while the local news was playing on my TV. As I cleared out my dishes, a political ad came on. I didn’t see who it was for (and my concentration was split), but I knew it was an ad for the GOP/painting Beto O’Rourke as the poorer of two choices. There was one part in particular that stuck out to me: the subject of immigration came up, and with it, Trump’s border wall.
By that point, I was just near enough to the TV -- however briefly -- to catch a glimpse of it. There was O’Rourke, who said quite plainly that “we don’t need a wall”. Then the colors washed out, and an ominous voice said: “Beto O’Rourke: wrong for Texas.” I didn’t even hear the rest of the commercial after that, besides Ted Cruz. I was just like, “Okay, bye now.” And that was that. I wash my hands of you, GOP. Preemptively. Bye Felicia.
I can’t believe we Americans are living in a world where we’re still talking about Trump’s Big Dumb Wall of Racism that is Stupid and Also Won’t Work. Like, I thought any mention of it following his inauguration was just to placate him whenever the thought popped into his head. Last I checked, we’re almost two years out from his win and there’s been nothing that came from it besides fake pictures masquerading as progress and a prototype that immediately failed. When did this become the hill that the Republicans were ready to die on?
It’ll cost way too much money. It’ll wreck the environment it plows through. It’ll have upkeep costs bound to gnaw at the budget even further. And crossing the border isn’t even the primary way immigrants make it in, so it’ll just be a testament to the xenophobia that’s got politicians and plenty of supporters so afraid of boogeymen that they’re willing to spend billions on a bed to hide under. The only possible reason I can think of to “build the wall” is to give Trump a legislative win -- a hallmark achievement of his presidency, something that historians can point to and say “We owe this monument of triumph to him”. Except 1) it won’t be a triumph, 2) it just goes to show how little good he’s accomplished despite his extended time in the Oval Office, 3) it implies that the only thing he’s good at is breaking things instead of building them, and 4) Obama and plenty of other presidents -- on both sides of the two-party system -- will still have him beat.
So yeah. Apparently giving Trump a win -- fulfilling that pie-in-the-sky promise he made during his campaign -- is all that matters. Because if the wall gets built, then that will be enough for his supporters. Because that will prove we needed it. Because that will prove he’s doing a good job. Or some such circular reasoning trapped inside a vacuum, itself riding the waves of a flushing toilet.
I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. I mean, I do if I work under the (likely correct) assumption that the GOP is acting in the interest of myriad donors and fellow R-toting club members…setting aside Russian entanglement/kompromat for now. But even if that’s the simplest, most obvious explanation, how can they, collectively, be so uniquely awful at what they do? Have they not learned by now that, given multiple options, Trump will always err toward the worst possible option? And they’re just going to go along with it, while piling on their own?
Trying to hamper the Russia probe is bad enough, yet hardly the only one of their sins. Seriously, the list is staggering and growing by the day. Ramming Kavanaugh into a Supreme Court seat, no matter how politically toxic he is? The response, or lack thereof, to the mounting violence and hate crimes committed in Trump’s name? Ballooning the military budget even further and providing more wealth to the wealthy, while eyeing cuts to programs designed to, you know, keep people alive?
The GOP controls the executive and legislative branches right now (and the judiciary branch, ostensibly), and in service of what? Of who? You would think that the lives of hundreds of millions of people resting on their shoulders would make them act right -- would imbue them with a sense of responsibility that would make Captain America look like a dreg on the streets -- but I guess not. Too many actions over the past two years (and more, but let’s be generous and limit the scope for now) have proven that they’re only willing to look out for themselves, the people who’ll keep them in power and/or provide cover for their misdeeds (I.e. Trump), and the myriad, phantom donors clearing their throats very loudly as they tug at the purse strings.
Like, okay, fine. They’re trying to consolidate their power. The future is coming, and they’re doing everything they can to protect themselves. Make sure they have a tomorrow. Self-preserve. If that’s really the case, why are they doing it in the most boneheaded way possible? I mean, Mr. Burns once tried to block out the sun in Springfield to force people to use more energy, and somehow that comes off as more realistic than our current government. Bridges at home and abroad are being burned. Resentment has hit a fever pitch, thanks to people all across the country, and the world (myself included) waking up to the party that’s constantly exposing their willful vileness. They may be building an impregnable fortress, but it’s shrinking by the day -- and wearing down as opposition pounds it from all sides.
Also? I can’t make any substantive claims, but my reasoning is this: if the GOP really only cares about themselves, their money, and their power (and their connections to wealth, albeit with some form of a power gap), then why take the path they’ve chosen? Ignoring the fact that, again, there are probably smarter, subtler ways to go about their villainy, they’re working under some dangerous assumptions. The first? That their support will last forever; my understanding is that their base is finite at best and dwindling at worst, given that its ardent members are getting long in the tooth. What are they going to do once young and restless voters -- of varied genders, races, and social standings -- decide they’re done with their garbage and pound at their doors? And that’s a very real possibility, given how many enemies they’ve made by kowtowing to Trump?
But here’s the second faulty assumption: that as long as everything stays the same, the good times will roll. We’re a little over a decade away from reaching a point-of-no-return with climate change, where catastrophic environmental events are waiting in the wings if there aren’t some immediate reforms. Right now, we’ve got a government that won’t dare to mention climate change, act unsure (at best) despite overwhelming evidence and testimony, and actively hamper organizations out to expose the truth simply because it’s inconvenient. This, of course, is on top of the fact that they’re propping up a president who famously decried climate change as “a Chinese hoax”, and backed the country out of a landmark agreement because…I don’t know. America “wasn’t getting a good deal” or something? That seems like Trump’s go-to answer for everything, which wouldn’t sting like a swarm of killer bees if he actually negotiated a good deal to replace the “bad one”. But I guess that’s too much work. Instead of “repeal and replace”, it’s “repeal and _______________”. Ad nauseum.
GOP, where are you going to run if the planet’s a boiling, smog, covered ocean? Are you just going to collectively recreate Waterworld? Because I’m pretty sure that 99% of the population couldn’t handle the post-apocalyptic life for twelve hours, and I doubt you’ll fare much better no matter how much money you have. But setting that grim future aside, there’s a more immediate question: how can anyone, even the wealthy, succeed and profit if/when America’s potential gets kneecapped?
Okay, sure, American exceptionalism has gone a long way, but it takes more than that -- especially in the present and future, where our economic fates are tied to the globe rather than our coastal borders. But you can’t keep that going when you’re looking to the past instead of the future. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton, but she had a plan to help disenfranchise coal miners abandon their dying professions. Now Trump and crew are out to say “coal was the answer all along” when there’s so much money to be had with the development of new technology.
Okay, sure, American exceptionalism has gone a long way, but it takes more than that -- especially in the present and future, where our economic fates are tied to the globe rather than our coastal borders. But you can’t keep that going when you’re looking to the past instead of the future. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton, but she had a plan to help disenfranchise coal miners abandon their dying professions. Now Trump and crew are out to say “coal was the answer all along” when there’s so much money to be had with the development of new technology.
Make a push for renewable energy. Get ahead of the competition by taking command of the industry with the best tech the world’s ever seen. Create jobs by training people to develop and spread that tech. Boom. Then you’re one step closer to saving the planet, while simultaneously boosting the economy and giving America a chance to snag the #1 spot. Instead, the plan (such as it is) is to sprint in the opposite direction.
Leave that money on the table for no reason. Demonize science, technology, research, development, and even education. Make sure the populace is, in general, as smart as a waffle, so…why, exactly? I mean yeah, removing the ability to think critically and apply logic makes for masses that are easier to control (and thus easier to get votes from), but the impending consequence is that future, if not present Americans will still be finger-painting while countries abroad are blasting off to the moon. That blows. I love space. I hope I get to go there in my lifetime. But the way things are going with the GOP, that’s looking less and less likely -- partly because I get the feeling they would be happier if I dropped dead.
So I’ll say it again: I don’t get the Republican platform. Nothing about it makes any sense. They’re not trying to set us up for success later, and they’re not trying to fix the problems of today. If anything, they’re content with, and even gleeful about, adding more problems. The deficit is increasing, the standard of living is slowly gouging out the populace, debt crises are lurking around every corner, and the aging baby boomer population needed addressing yesterday. (Good on the GOP for eyeing cuts to healthcare and safety nets. Class act. Golf claps all around.)
They’ve had time to address those problems and more, yet seem all too willing to ignore or even accelerate them. Why? I don’t know. It’s easy to assume it’s because of Trump kiting them along -- and yeah, that probably plays a factor -- but their sins are their own. They can’t hide behind a pile of moldy tangerines forever. But they are now, and seem all too willing to continue to do so. Gotta hide. Gotta deny. Gotta obstruct. Gotta blame someone else. Gotta cheat. Gotta steal. Gotta lie. Gotta do what’s best for me. My wealth, my safety, my power. And right now, it seems like there’s only one way to get them to stop.
There’s no choice but to crush them at the polls. No choice. If they aren’t willing to listen, to act in good faith, or even use basic common sense, then they have no reason to hold sway over millions of American lives.
And that, simply put, is why I’ve voted Democrat.
To be fair, I know that the Democrats aren’t perfect, either. There have been times where they’ve screwed up, faltered, or let voices go unheard. If they were truly infallible, then the 2016 election would have had a different ending (at a bare minimum). But as much as I want to avoid generalization -- as much as I don’t want to say “it’s a battle between good and evil” or “it’s right versus wrong” -- it really does seem like choosing the Democrats is the only viable option. I would think that they’re capable of practicing some decorum, acting responsibly, and doing their jobs. We need adults in the room, and fast. Not a pack of screeching baby pigs.
We need solutions to problems old and new. We need progress towards stability. We need a world beyond fear and uncertainty, manufactured or otherwise. We need so much, and right now only one party is poised to provide that if they take back the government. All things considered, they should; the Republicans had two years to prove their worth, and it’s been a cascade of controversy almost every single day since Trump took office. Simply put, they need to get out. Not with cheating or rule-breaking, either. Certainly not with violence. No, the one true way to beat them -- to send a message bound to slip another boogeyman into their closets -- is to blow them away with the power of the democratic process. Vote. Win. And give anyone who doesn’t believe in America -- the REAL America, comprised of people of all kinds -- the swiftest boot to the curb our feet can allow.
So if you haven’t voted? Do it. If you have? Fingers crossed. Let’s hope for a good result, a return to normalcy, and a step towards brighter days.
…
…Is where I would like to leave things, but I can’t. There’s a reason why this is “Part 1”: because I feel like I can’t rest until I’ve made my claims. And I will. Soon.
I guess I pretty much have to. Gotta do something to pass the time till Smash comes out.
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