*buries face in
hands*
All right, let’s hit
it again, I guess.
I’m no stranger to
less-than-restful nights, but I am surprised that I hit the hat trick with
insomnia on that very specific time.
Maybe it’s purely coincidental.
Or maybe it has something to do with my neighbors; I’ve been hearing a
lot more baby-wailing than I have in weeks and months prior. Maybe I’m just not adjusting to seasonal temperature
changes, because every time I think winter’s over, I’m backhanded by 40-degree
chills to preemptively ruin my day…either that, or I have to peel off my
sweat-soaked clothes in the dead of night.
Maybe it’s all just stress.
Like I have any
right to complain. I’m still alive,
while as of writing, more than 40,000 Americans aren’t.
I have a hard time
grasping that. At best, I can only
wrestle with it -- with the fact that so many people have suffered in such a
short amount of time, and still more are currently suffering. It’s not just those that are infected with
COVID-19; it’s the essential workers who have had to put themselves on the line
to keep some semblance of society running.
It’s the innocents caught in the crossfire who have had to put their
lives on hold. It’s the people in power
-- the good people, up and down the ladder -- who have had to make tough
decisions and deal with the death tolls personally. Each new victim is another ball and chain on
their heart. There aren’t enough ways to
thank those who are doing their best to help others in trying times, and no way
to do it without coming off as insincere or self-serving. But I’ll give it a shot and say the only
thing I can to those who deserve praise most: thanks.
You know what isn’t
quite so hard, though? Saying unkind
words to those who have landed us in this mess -- and/or seem to gleefully make
things worse at every turn. The fact
that we’re all facing a global pandemic is bad enough. Worse that so many have lost their lives to
something that, in various ways, was entirely preventable. But you know what? Maybe it wouldn’t sting as much, or at all,
if we just had someone we could count on.
Someone or something who, if not capable of building up safeguards to
save us in the first place, could at least do everything to save those who
remain.
Instead we’ve got a
sandy tangerine calling the shots. Shit.
I mean…shit. There’s been more than enough proof over the
last 3.5 years (give or take) that Donald Trump isn’t fit to run a lemonade
stand, much less a country. But he’s
still the president because reasons. Just
think about how many times and how many ways he’s proven that he’s not worthy
of the office. I say that specifically,
because prior to writing this post, I thought about making a mock-up of “The
Top 10 Worst Things Trump Has Ever Done”, but I couldn’t. There are too many worst things that he’s
ever done.
Remember that time
he thought it’d be cool to buy Greenland?
Or that time when he said we can’t use wind turbines more because they cause
cancer? Or when he tried to pass off his
inauguration as the biggest ever and had his toadies lie about it on his
behalf? Or when he sympathized with
Nazis? Or when he put children in
cages? Or when he backed the whole
country out of a landmark pact for climate change? Or when he threw together a slipshod travel
ban to stick it to those of the Muslim faith?
Or when he ensured the longest government shutdown ever just because he
wanted money for his big dumb wall of racism that won’t work while using lawful
immigrants as a bargaining chip?
Or when he threw
his own intelligence committee under the bus so he could side with his pal
Putin? Or when he sold out our longtime
allies in the Middle East and left them to die?
Or when he told four congresswomen to go back to their own countries,
even though three of them were U.S. natives?
Or when he almost started World War III?
Or when he got played by North Korea and furthered their quest for
legitimacy and nuclear arms? Or when he
started a trade war with anyone he could, including our allies, mostly because
he didn’t understand how tariffs work?
Or when he let his friends and family get positions and wealth in a
sterling display of nepotism? Or when he
helped guarantee a needless tack cut for the super-wealthy? Or when he tried to gut healthcare for a
society packed with an aging populace?
That’s not a
complete list. I know it’s not. It’s just the stuff that comes to mind the
fastest. But the worst part about it is
that, not too long ago, we could have been done with this. We could have dumped the rotting apricot and
moved on with our lives -- with our country.
Trump got impeached for abusing his power (extorting Ukraine for
political gain), and the cover-up slapped him with obstruction of justice charges. That should’ve been it. Granted there were a thousand other credible
reasons why he should have been shown the door -- the crimes, the profiteering,
the constitutional crises he sparked at least once a month, the obvious
mental issues and unfitness for office because holy shit --
but fine. The Democrats wanted to get
him on something that couldn’t be disputed.
Hard evidence of crimes. A
smoking gun. Mueller did what he could,
but Trump slithered his way out of Russian
meddling. With the Ukraine
incident? They had him.
Except the GOP
decided to run interference. Every Republican
senator -- save for one, and even then, he just voted on one impeachment charge
-- decided not to convict the obvious criminal of his obvious crimes. They decided to shrug. Let it rock.
Argue that there was no evidence to convict, even though they refused to
listen to or even allow the evidence to be presented. Accuse the Democrats of being partisan (which
is true, but only because every fucking Republican decided to stonewall the process). Say that Trump “learned his lesson”. And now the human mango thinks he wears a
crown.
It’s been a rough
four years for democracy, guys.
Well, GOP? This is what you wanted, right? You wanted Trump to keep being the
president? To steer this country? To keep it running, and by extension filling
your pockets with bribes from lobbyists, CEOs, and billionaire donors? Well, here you go. Wish granted.
40,000 dead Americans. People
afraid to leave their houses, and those that do have to slap on masks like
there’s a poison miasma all around. The
economy you’ve been so proud of and touted whenever it was time to praise
Trump? Yeah, kiss that shit
goodbye. Hiring has stalled, jobs have
been lost, bills have hit hard, money’s dried up, the flow of goods has sagged,
businesses have collapsed, and there’s a non-zero chance that we’re
en route to another Great Depression.
You guys know that
if you want to keep looting the country, there actually has to be a
country to loot, right? Though
that does beg the question: why? A quick
Google search says that the average age of the current set of senators is
almost 62. What do you even need all
that money for? What do any of
you uber-rich guys need it for? Can’t take
it with you to the afterlife. What, are
you planning to be buried with it like a pharaoh? Want to earn enough to have pyramids built in
your honor? Need to earn the big bucks
to put your brains into undying robot god-kings? Or are you all big fans of Neill Blomkamp and
want to make that movie Elysium a reality? If that’s the case, who’s going to build your
space haven when the people who could are too broke, sick, stupid, or dead?
Maybe I just don’t
get it. Maybe I just can’t get
it. I’m not a rich, old, straight, white,
Christian male. I am two of those
things, but monetarily speaking? I had a
mini-crisis when I realized I’d been stress-eating muffins so much that they
basically counted as another bill.
Still, I guess the tradeoff is that I’m not as severely divorced from
reality as those in power. That’s a
benefit, I’d say. A blessing. Their
power is fragile, if not a façade. They’ve
gamed the system so much that holding onto power by any means necessary is the
only thing keeping them alive. Take that
away, and what’s left? They’re so
isolated from the real world that I have a hard time imagining any of these guys
enjoying their dinner at a local restaurant.
Not without getting heckled into oblivion. (Just
ask Mitch McConnell.)
This crisis is on
you, GOP. You, and all your partners in
crime. The deep-pocketed businessmen pulling
the strings from their ivory towers. The
propagandists on Fox News and more, singing songs about the glory of the
economy and Dear Leader while actively
worsening the pandemic with misinformation.
The conspirators abroad whose campaigns and trolling have shattered
discourse in the country…which means that if it falls, every other country is
in trouble too by virtue of our inexorably-connected, globalized society…but
whatever.
At the end of the
day, this is about Trump. This is his
crisis -- something he owns, no matter how much he refuses to take
responsibility. It’s ours by proxy,
because even though we just want to live our lives, we’re the ones who have
even more suffering forced upon us. We’re
the ones who’ve been hassled by the country’s broken systems, with the pandemic
both shining a light on those problems and turning the remains into
dust. Donald Trump will never understand
the pain and plights of the American people, with or without a deadly virus on
the loose. He doesn’t have to. He’s insulated himself from the consequences
of his actions -- and no matter how much we shout at him, or point out basic
tenets of reality, or cry our last desperate pleas before our eternal slumbers,
he won’t feel a thing. Except anger,
because someone dared to say something about him that wasn’t blind
praise.
Trump’s handling of
the outbreak has been poor at best. This
is fact; otherwise, we wouldn’t have states locked down, masks abound, and a
death toll worse than entire wars. It
didn’t have to be like this. It wouldn’t
have been in the first place if we had a competent leader (or an
administration/government branches interested in doing their jobs and not being
sycophantic grifters). We could have had
watchdogs and health experts in place to completely shut down the COVID-19
spread, or at least cooperate with those in power to contain it before it ran
wild. But because Trump is Trump -- and
by extension, someone hell-bent on undoing everything his far superior
predecessor did -- he thought it would be a good idea to gut and cut our
safeguards ages ago. And in his infinite
wisdom, Captain Kumquat decided to cut funding for the WHO…in the middle of
the pandemic.
Even if it had a
one-in-a-million shot of actually working out, people were counting on Trump to
see them through the crisis. They still
are. What I don’t get, of course, is why
it’s so hard for Trump to do anything about it.
I mean, he’s the president. He
doesn’t have to personally build or deliver any of the supplies needed. He doesn’t have to treat the sick, or work
feverishly to find a cure. He has to
delegate. He needs to provide some
semblance of direction -- of stability, and peace of mind in times as rough as
these. But nope. Hospitals are stuffed, and its workers are
struggling, especially because they don’t have the supplies they need. States are being forced to compete with each
other for a respite, and have turned to getting materials from abroad, for all
the help the federal government is giving.
Meanwhile, Trump
and crew are turning this crisis into a chance to profit. His son-in-law is a part of the task
force. They’re
hoarding supplies and selling them off, likely to those who bend at the
knee to Big Papa Papaya. We’ve had weeks
of daily briefings, and they’ve been universally embarrassing at best. Those that press Trump for details get slammed. And peace of mind? Fat chance.
He gets lobbed a softball question, the perfect PR op, and he completely
misreads it as an attack on him (for whatever reason) and says “you’re a
terrible reporter.”
Shit.
Okay. You know what? Forget it.
Let’s play a game. Let’s say that,
in spite of all the news, the end results, and reality itself, Trump’s response
prior to the outbreak -- or lack thereof -- isn’t his fault. I’ll play devil’s advocate for a minute and
say, for argument’s sake, that he isn’t responsible for everything that’s
happened. Let’s pretend that Trump isn’t
the one that helped cause all this.
Okay? Okay. Clean slate for the president. So, with that mindset in place, here’s the
question that still remains. Here’s the
proof that this man isn’t the right one for the job.
Even if we
work under the context of Trump not being the problem, what’s stopping him from
being the solution? What’s
stopping him from being the hero he sees himself as?
We need
action. We need a plan. We need a steady hand. Intelligence.
Leadership. Vision. Reassurance.
Reliability. Answers. Effort.
Materials, personnel, supply chains, negotiations. Initiative.
As one of the most powerful people in the world, Trump is in a position
that few others could even dream of. If
he’s so keen to flout constitutional standards and practices, then he could do
so for a good cause. Have him sign
executive orders to get the ball rolling -- supplies produced and sent out en
masse to everyone that needs them. Bring
together the sharpest minds in the medical field and beyond for consultation,
and relay information to the people -- with Trump himself acting as an unrivaled
signal booster. Cooperate with Congress
to provide financial relief to the battered American populace, even if it means
(gasp!) pulling money from the bloated military budget.
Trump screwed up. But in both the hypothetical situation and in
reality, he can take steps to set things right.
To be the hero America, and the world, needs right now. Except…he won’t. He isn’t going to. He can’t. He’s proven during his presidency -- and his
whole life, arguably -- that he doesn’t have what it takes to be a hero. In order to do that, you have to have a
genuine sense of virtue. You have to be
able to feel for people, before or after they’ve been hurt -- and because of
it, you need the drive to support them no matter what. Asking Trump to do that is like asking a
peach to do the Charleston.
He’s tried to get
people to take drugs that either won’t help or will come close to killing
them. He’s spreading misinformation,
either through his trusted Fox News or by way of suppressing
the truth from those in the know. He’s
pushing to reopen the states and get businesses running again, all to prop up
the economy and thus put wind in his reelection sails -- even if it’ll cause
another viral outbreak. He’s actively
cheering on those who would break stay-at-home orders and social distancing
guidelines. Why? I dunno.
I
guess they said nice things about him once, so they’ve got his full support
even if it means guaranteeing that the virus ventures on and more people die.
*sigh*
You know…this isn’t
a political blog. It’s about video games,
and writing, and movies, and anime, and storytelling, and whatever else crosses
my mind. Among those, Persona 5 Royal
has my attention right now. Or half
of it, what with Final Fantasy 7 Remake strangling the zeitgeist. Pound for pound, though, P5R is the
more socially relevant of the two; the whole crux of its story is about
wronged, marginalized and innocent youths using metaphysical powers to take on
the criminal adults plaguing society. I
won’t deny that there’s something inherently juvenile about the game; setting
aside the main cast being a bunch of teens, even at its best it’s still a wish
fulfillment/power fantasy about taking down the man.
Damned if that’s
not what we’re all craving deep down, though.
Without going into spoilers, P5’s original version in 2017 had
shades of the Trump era baked into its messaging. Now that that era’s fully taken root, the
early stages of the updated Royal rerelease has got me sweating over how
our darling clementine has upended society.
The main cast becomes “Phantom Thieves” to force the corrupted to confess
their crimes and reform. I’d be lying if
I said I didn’t wish we had something of the sort in the real world to save us
from seemingly-untouchable villains.
(Ask me about my self-insert OC. I
dare you.)
Back when I first
played the game in 2017, I named my group of Thieves the “Crusaders”, along
with stars on each side because haha funny Jojo reference. This time around? I went with “Noblesse”, AKA one half of
noblesse oblige -- the duty of those with privilege to help and show grace to those
who haven’t been so lucky. Power should
belong to the just, and be used justly.
That’s kind of what I believe in deep down. But the Trump Era has put a bullet in that philosophy;
its rotund ringleader has no interest in fulfilling his obligations. And because of that, he’s the locomotive for
a whole train of criminals -- businessmen, congressmen, propagandists, evangelists,
and a healthy smattering of racists.
Virus or otherwise, we need reform.
Desperately. Otherwise, the mad
king will keep treating the country as his palace. To hell with anyone else.
We can’t count on
him. But in exchange? We can count on each other. We, without power or prestige, without titles
or territories, can still do what we can to keep our society intact. By no means am I saying “let’s all gather
around and sing songs”, unless you want to become a viral cesspool. I’m saying that we need to uphold our virtues
-- our aesthetic, our vision of what America should be -- if those in
power keep abdicating both their duties and basic civility.
So let’s do
it. Flatten the curve. Show thanks to those who are still striking
out, and be thankful for those who are in this alongside you. Stay safe as best you can, and trust people
who actually have your health in mind.
Things are rough right now, no doubt, but we’ll get through this
together. And when we do? We all know there’s only one way to
fully solve this problem.
We’re a long way
from November. But when it gets
here? It’s gonna be a show to remember.
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