Sitting in the Garden
This evening I was watching a man-on-the-street report on the first campaign gathering of Donald Trump’s bid for the Republican nomination for president in 2024. To begin with, I say nomination instead of election because it is not entirely clear that the es-president currently has the ability to gather the support needed to win the nomination, much less the election. That is a less shocking reality than the fact that Trump is even in the running given all that has happened and all his legal issues. The man has several meaningful civil litigations pending against him that would effectively destroy his businesses, but then again, he is the subject of a growing array of Federal and State criminal investigations that could lead to indictments, trials, convictions and incarceration. A growing array of rational Republicans are moving their support in any direction other than Trump even while some who have hooked their wagons to his star continue to double and triple down in their support for his waning prospects. Watching Trump at this stage of his political career is very similar to watching George Santos as he flails his way towards a deep and dark outcome, and taking down his straggling supporters with him. But politicians and their motivations are one thing and delusional supporters in the electorate are quite another. Those man-on-the-street interviews showed just how unhinged the core trump supporters really are. When asked, those supporters believed that Trump remains the real president and that Biden is not actually in power. They also say they believe that the military stands with Trump. When asked how that comports with the military support of Ukraine, they have no answers and certainly no need to reconcile reality with their beliefs. That type of detached dialogue is ponderous to watch.
Political differences have been with us in America since the country was founded. In fact, many of the fundamental differences like federalism versus state’s rights have always been at the core of our national debate. Everybody likes government when it gives them what they want and agrees with their outlook and everybody hates government when it is moving against their interests whether supported by the majority or not. In fact, majority itself is a fact that seems to suffer from alternative realities. The fundamental issue is whether the count that establishes majority is a function of the populist notion of one person one vote (and, of course, their ability to have their vote cast and counted with some degree of ease) or a function of capital. We are a capitalist nation and culture that uses euphemisms like the golden rule (he who has the gold, rules) and money talks and bullshit (presumably defined as any tally other than a pecuniary one) walks, to make the case for why majority rule is a more complicated issue than a simple one person one vote concept. But as much as political differences are normal in our democracy, what is far less normal is downright denial of reality. Conspiracy theories are bad enough since they undermine realistic dialogue, but pure denial is a non-starter that verges on and leads directly to sedition (as we saw on January 6th). The problem is that the politicians are mostly using denialism as a tactic, but the constituent base is following it faithfully over the cliff like lemmings.
No one now questions whether Trump has rabidly loyal followers, but as the Trump machinery grinds to a halt with less and less campaign contribution funding to support it, it is becoming clear that the supporters that remain are less and less likely to be the ones with the wherewithal to get him elected. And no wonder, given all the evidence of campaign fund misallocation, a lesson being learned by a growing list of Republican legislators, led by George Santos himself. Politicians and athletes both tend to hang on too long for their own best interest and legacy. Donald Trump has actually had an amazingly successful political run of 6+ years, especially amazing given the disingenuous manner in which his efforts began and the abject lack of substance of his administrative track record of accomplishments. Few have ever weathered so many deadly publicity scandals as has he and yet still he persists. Historians will be shaking their heads about this phenomenon as much as we who have lived through it have done so. There simply is no explanation for it. The best anyone can offer is boredom and as true as that might be, it seems far too flimsy to hang such an important hat on.
Today I had to kill some time while the cleaning crew took longer than normal to clean our home. They seemed to be at half strength and thus took twice as long to get the job done. It was a nice crisp sunny day, so I went down the hillside to put some water on my newly laid pathway DG to set that stabilizer before the weekend hordes descended on it. That didn’t take very long and so I sat on one of my seven garden benches and let the sunshine wash over me and warm me. It was a very reflective moment that sent me in many different directions.
In total, I probably sat on that bench for more than an hour, just enjoying being in the garden and in the fresh air. It turns out you can think about a lot of different things in an hour. When I run down my list of current thoughts, I usually start with how I feel. They say that health is the 1 in front of any number of 0’s that you have. The answer is that I feel good. I have a normal range of aches and pains, but even the aches that came from this week’s yard work have largely faded. I’ve been sleeping fine and my walk this morning was comfortable and bordering on the energetic, so I feel fine. On to the next topic. Family. Kim seems also to be fine. SHe has occasional bouts of stomach distress, but I suspect that is an issue that is simply part of her new reality what with a gastric bypass in place. Her weight is low and witching striking distance of perfect, which makes her happy and makes her look good, which makes her even happier. The kids seem OK for the moment. Thomas is spending his time preparing for his upcoming nuptials later in the year. Carolyn is laying out her year and her activities for her posse of blonde, blue-eyed little girls. The shadow of the death of the mortgage business at Wells Fargo seems to have passed over the house for the moment. Roger is working hard at getting into the routine of balanced-budget life in Delaware. While that still has its challenges, he seems to like where he lives and his general circumstances. He works hard, but that has never been a problem for him.
That makes me turn my thoughts on the bench to the world at large. The teaching of my ethics course always keeps me on the forefront of the issues of the day, so they are never very far from my consciousness. I used to be a person who could ignore the political machinations of the world unless they overwhelmed the news cycle. But now, every twist and turn seems to come to the top of my mind for one reason or another. In the absence of health and family issues, my mind is jammed full of thoughts about the future of the world. I do understand that the world will carry on whether I worry about it or not, but that never seems to help. I always feel like I’m supposed to do something. It must be that men are from Mars thing kicking in again. For four years I thought all would be well if only we could get DJT out of office, but after two years of that state of affairs, it seems I was naive about that. I now worry more about those people who have been given wing by his presence and force. They wear assault rifle pins on their lapels in Congress. They pretend that the government is unfairly being weaponized against them when they are the ones armed to the teeth. I met a student this week from Brazil and he asked about how I felt about Bolsonaro. Its sad to say that I was worried that he asked because he was a supporter. But like always, my underlying optimism proved warranted as he told me he was a big fan of Lula’s and that he had no time for Bolsonaro. What is the message as I’m sitting in the garden pondering the fate of the world? Keep the faith.