As I guzzle my coffee this morning, I feel down as I reflect on our country.
It is very easy to blame Donald Trump for all of the issues going on right now. God knows, I'm no Trump fan, and I really think I can lay many of the problems at his feet. Perhaps my biggest issue with Cheeto is his unwillingness or inability to address the problems, most (many?) of which existed before he arrived to mismanage the Executive Branch and contaminate the other two branches of government. We have always had problems to address in our relatively short history, but we had leaders who grabbed the bull by the horn and tackled them with gusto. They didn't play golf in all their free time and watch FOX news all day.
However, as I contemplate our current condition and try to sort it out, I do believe blaming Cheeto for everything is another form of denial. To some extent it is the same technique he uses to deflect issues - play the "blame game." China conspired to use the Coronavirus as a weapon to gain economic superiority. It wasn't us mismanaging the pandemic. Not happy with the crime and unemployment? Blame the immigrants and people from "shit hole" countries. I'm sure it won't be hard to find new college graduates to pick the crops. Feel like we are mired down in an endless conflict in Afghanistan? Blame Obama and the liberals. I'm sure GW can get behind that one as he forgets his speech on the rubble of World Trade Center. The blame game has no end and is a convenient conduit for denial.
What are we denying? We are not looking at ourselves and the entitlement attitude and perhaps, personal arrogance that pervades our thinking on almost every issue. i probably won't win many converts to my assessment, but I really don't care. I looked at the pictures in today's news of people piled on the beaches in a bunch of states without any separation or masks "enjoying" the sun on a long July 4th weekend as if this were 2019 or any other year you want to remember. Why? Because nobody is going to tell them what to do. Why don't we have a better handle on gun control? Because nobody is going to screw with the 2nd amendment. How about the environment? I'll use all the plastic straws I want and dump my "last forever" waste in the garbage because "I can," and its too much trouble taking it to the recycle center anyway. I listened to fireworks blasting away all night yesterday, and I'm sure the people never thought about the thousands of pets hiding under beds or some Vet with PTSD reliving his horror of IEDs. I'll celebrate July 4th and don't get in my way. The list goes on and on.
The entitlement attitude and lack of social conscious has been developing long before Cheeto put on his 'man tan." He may be doing much to reinforce the attitudes, but he didn't create them. My fear is that until we come to grips with the notion that to make a better society requires sacrifices, we will not be able to stand-up and hold the flag high as a beacon to the world. I think we have a lot to learn from other countries, both allies and enemies, about their willingness to to trade-off personal freedom and rights for the societal needs and priorities. The list of the "happiest countries in the world" seem to suggest that these countries have learned a better balance and have not slanted their behavior to the far end of the personal freedom spectrum.
Enough of a sermon for today. I'm getting more java.