on going "back to the future", more or less, kinda sorta...
What do unicorns, conspiracy theories and presidential campaigns have in common....MORE OFTEN THAN not they are just a figment of the imagination.....
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN…..which can only mean go back to a better time, back to the way things used to be…so here’s the question……when exactly was that? If it was up to you ,what period in our past would you take America back to? THE WHOLE IDEA IS ROMANTIC AND CERTAINLY ENTICING.....But it’s really an illusion, isn’t it?
How bout the 60”s…peace, love, groovy, beads and free love..and civil rights killings and marches and Russia putting nuclear missiles in Cuba…Pick a decade, any decade, pick a year, any year….I’m thinking that the slogan MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is one of those slogans designed to get your patriotic passions all stirred up, but doesn’t really mean a thing because we can’t go BACK in time and no ONE person can make it all better…it’s not a return to a certain time we crave, it’s a return to a certain set of values and principles and a mindset…find me the candidate who can get THAT done and I’ll join you in going door to door for them...
on the mistake that you simply DO NOT make, no matter how much "mistakes happen"...
A toddler in East Dallas, a four year old in Pennsylvania, twin girls in Georgia...all DEAD and dead FROM heat stroke.....
So far this year, at least 24 children in the United States have died as a result of hot cars, according to the national safety advocacy organization KidsAndCars. The deaths of the twins in Georgia, if they're confirmed to be heat-related, would put that number at 26, the group said.
That would exceed the number of children -- 24 -- that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said died nationwide from heatstroke in vehicles in all of 2015
Of the children who die this way, 87% are age 3 and younger, KidsAndCars founder Janette Fennell said.
Typically two set of circumstances that lead to this kind of tragedy, said Jeanette Fennell, KidsAndCars.org founder and president. Children either climb into a car on their own or an adult leaves them in the car because that person is overly distracted and preoccupied with other things.
TWO MORE CIRCUMSTANCES, ACTUALLY: the person is either a moron....or they are so self-absorbed that they simply don’t think about anything but themselves and what they are doing...until its TOO LATE....
The organization urges parents and caretakers to read its safety tips that include looking in the backseat each time you get out of the car and putting something you need in your backseat -- your cell phone, handbag, employee ID or briefcase -- to ensure that you will check.
HOW ABOUT NEW AND SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY….AN ALARM THAT DINGS IF THE KIDS SEATBELT IS STILL FASTENED OR THEY’RE STILL BUCKLED UP IN THEIR CARSEAT…..
EVERY BODY IN THIS NATION IS CONSTANTLY STARING AT THEIR PHONES….WHERE’S THE APP THAT TELLS YOU YOUR KID IS IN THE BACK SEAT?
on Hillary's slip sliding away not getting her any nearer the destination...
In the ongoing, never ending saga of Hillary and her emails and whether the FBI said she was truthful or didn’t say she was truthful, Hillary addressed the issue this week by saying that she may have “short circuited” her answers about it….we here at Nighttime polled a number of experts on language
on the real problem confronting us in "decision" 2016
Donald Trump isn’t the problem.
Never has been.
The problem is found in the Constitution.
Tell you where in a few minutes.
2016 has been an election year, the likes of which we have historically never seen.
Some things, believe it or not,though, actually still hold true to tradition.
Among them, the term “race”.
As in the race to the White House.
Or for the White House depending on how far into your cerebellum your English teachers were able to penetrate.
This time around, and especially in light of ongoing developments, the term still applies, but it doesn’t mean what it has traditionally meant.
The race to the White House is no mere marathon run between two candidates.
This contest is now a bona fide, no doubt about it, slap my butt and call me cheeky race against the clock.
And whether Donald can beat that clock.
Put simply…two things are certain.
November 8 is going to arrive right on schedule.
Donald Trump’s candidacy is going to continue to meltdown.
The race, this time around, is to see which occurs first.
Should he actually still have any credibility left at all by Election Day, those of us who have been alarmed, since day one, about his involvement in this election are still cynical and/or concerned enough to believe that there could still be enough people who simply don’t understand what’s at stake here that he could, in fact, win the election.
And if you’re not a Trump supporter and if what I just said sounds ridiculous to you at this moment, you have honestly not been paying attention to what’s happening in your nation.
One year ago, the notion that Donald Trump could even be considered a possibility for the nomination for President was….wait for it….ridiculous.
And it’s one year later.
And, wait a minute….hold the phone…stop the presses….who’s that GOP nominee walkin in these woods?
Well, kids, it ain’t Little Red Riding Hood.
For the last two weeks here on the show, I’ve been hittin’ it pretty hard and heavy about what I believe to be the shortcomings of the man, his complete and comprehensive inadequacies for the job of being President and the honest to God danger I believe we are in, should he win.
And I’m appreciative to all of you who listen to this show who have not only shared your opinions with me, but who respected, if not agreed with, my hittin it pretty hard and heavy.
But, like a lot of people, including this past week, the twice freely elected current President of the United States, have said…..I’m saying it now too….at some point,….enough is enough.
I’m done trying to talk you out of voting for Donald.
From here on, I don’t think a thing I say is going to make even a tiny dent in your resolve to see this through with him.
If everything that he has already said and done hasn’t convinced you to walk away, I don’t flatter myself for a second that anything I have to offer will persuade you.
As the old saying goes….you do what you gotta do.
That said, though, fair warning that I’m not going to stop talking about Donald or Hillary or Barack or Jim Bob or Mary Ellen or John Boy, either, for that matter.
First, because, whatever else it is or isn’t, it’s what people are talking about.
And that’s what talk shows talk about.
What people are talking about.
And second, because whatever else this candidacy is, or isnt, it’s also funny. Admittedly in that way that watching somebody get hit in the balls is funny funny.
But funny.
At least I plan to do my best each week from now until November and, God forbid, after that to find as much humor in all of this as my own cerebellum will allow me.
Because at some point, sometimes, laughter is all we got.
So, there’s that.
Now, back to that problem I mentioned at the outset.
Take all of the questions that are being asked by all of the people asking questions across the country and around the world about this guy and, for my money,
there’s only one question that’s really worth an answer anymore.
No, not why does he say the things he says. He’s Donald, always has been, always will be.
No, not why doesn’t he realize he doesn’t have to be an asshat to have a pretty good chance at winning. He’s Donald, always has been, always will be.
No, not when is he going to realize he’s burning down his own chances every time he opens his mouth lately? Never. He’s Donald, always has been, always will be.
The question that deserves an answer goes something like this.
How did he ever get this far in the process?
Even the most obtuse people in this country know that this guy is outrageously out of his league, out of place and somewhere he absolutely no place being.
A duck out of water.
A bull in a china shop.
A cold sore at a kissing contest.
And that includes the lion’s share of people who are still wanting to vote for the guy. Just last week, a caller to this show graciously shared that a) he was still a Trump supporter and b) Donald needs to just knock it off with all of these moronic things he is saying and doing . Things that are only going to do him damage in the long run.
When those who support you have to start fighting the urge to look down at the ground when someone asks about you, you’re probably not doing yourself any favors.
But, again, nothing is going to change the fact that Donald is Donald.
Always has been.
Always will be.
So back to the remaining question.
How did he ever get this far?
Right time, right place?
Sort of.
But that’s not the real key to the puzzle box.
The real key to the puzzle box is that Donald came along at the right time to the right place….but he said all the right things.
Because THAT’S his only “talent”, for lack of an applicable word.
Manipulation.
Like any really good salesman.
Or anyone who needs you to buy what they’re selling whether it’s a product or a promise or an idea or an excuse….ANYTHING they want to SELL YOU
THEY TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR.
We are all wired to be attracted to that.
Quick check. Show of hands. How many of you have given at least some consideration to a product you saw advertised on TV in the last two or three days?
My hand is up
THEY WANT TO SELL ME…SO THEY MANIPULATE ME…by TELLING ME WHAT I WANT TO HEAR……
and I just know that THAT golf doo hickey is going to be the one that will make me a world class player out there……
I believe it….because I WANT to believe it.
NOT because it’s true.
We are all wired to be attracted to those who tell us what we want to hear.
Some immediately resist.
Some are tempted, but give it some thought and wait and see.
And some go all in, buying it and convincing themselves they believe it because it feels good, it sounds right, it’s the fix they believe will cure their ills, save their bacon, make their lives better and safer and easier and….deal with those things that make daily life so difficult.
Things like the fact that….
People are struggling…..GUESS WHAT?.....people are ALWAYS struggling.
People are frustrated and angry…GUESS WHAT? people are ALWAYS frustrated and angry.
People are worried about how to pay their bills or send their kids to college or get good health care….GUESS WHAT….people are ALWAYS worried about how to pay their bills or send their kids to college or get good health care….
People are afraid of terrorists and what they will do next…GUESS WHAT? people are ALWAYS afraid of terrorists and what they will do next.
It’s called life.
And it’s full of joy and love and compassion and forgiveness and giving AS WELL AS heartbreak and struggle and challenge and unhappiness and tragedy and adversity.
These are universal and never ending facets of the lives that we live, the lives that we have been given.
And no man or woman, no mere mortal human being has it within their power to take away your struggles or your frustrations or worries or fears.
But America in the year 2016 is not the America of 1932 when the only thing we had to fear was fear itself.
It is not the America of 1961 when we answered with one voice when we were told not to ask what our country could do for US, but what WE could do for our country.
It is not the America of 1987 that cheered a President who sternly and bravely publicly told another leader to tear DOWN A WALL.
And it is not the America of 2001 when what petty bickering there was between us, the kind of petty bickering that happens every day in any every day American family, that bickering disappeared instantly as Americans, white, black, gay, straight, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, stood together in the rubble and the smoke and demonstrated, by that standing together, that we could not, would not, be intimidated. That evil could knock down our buildings, knock down our airliners, knock us right down to the ground we named Zero, but they could not and would not keep us down. Or turns us against each other.
This is the America of 2016.
It is an America that not only fears fear itself, but fears words, words that might ruffle someone’s feathers or offend their sensibilities or, God forbid, hurt someone’s feelings, so we’re told we have to watch our words and say only the right words whatever the hell the right words are at any given moment.
It is an America that not only asks what our country can do but expects, feels entitled, even demands to know what our country WILL do…. expects to be given a trophy just for showing up, given the lightest sentence no matter the crime, have expiration dates put on lifetime bans, to be provided with every creature comfort, easy path, obstacle free journey to anything and everything, any and every hour of every day and night…and freedom? well, hell, man, we wrote the book on freedom and the America of 2016 not only expects, it ASSUMES freedom….all of it…all of the time….as much as we want….the old, tried, true, traditional freedoms….all of them…all of the time…AND the new freedom….freedom WITHOUT…freedom without accountability…freedom without responsibility….freedom without ability…freedom without sacrifice, contribution or cooperation….
The America of 2016 is an America that not only can’t see the forest for the trees, it can’t even see the trees because these days it doesn’t even look up from its phones…an America that can’t be bothered facing, or God forbid, dealing with challenges like learning to respect, appreciate, even get along with those who are a different color or gender or sexuality or religion. An America that knows every single name of every single reality TV “star” but doesn’t know the name of their own congressman…or senator…or vice president….
The America of 2016 is an America that expects unpleasant business to be taken care of instead of finding a way to take care of business…expects to be protected instead of standing up and stepping up and banding together…expects to have concern, worry and fear picked up by truckload in the middle of the night and deported out of our comfort zones….expects a wall to keep us safe from possible danger without even giving thought for a single second that walls serve, at least, two purposes….they can, in fact, sometimes keep things out….but they also provide a way for us to tremble and hide from what we should be facing up to…..oh…and make that three purposes…
…walls divide us.
In the America of 2016, Donald Trump has gotten as far as he’s gotten because he has been telling people what they want to hear. Enough people, obviously, to accumulate the vote totals necessary to “win” primaries and “win” a major party nomination.
But even many of his supporters now are beginning to see and hear the man speaking those words.
The America of 1932 would consider him a fear monger
The America of 1961 would consider him self-absorbed.
The America of 1987 would disregard a man who wanted to build a wall when there were already at least one too many walls.
And the America of 2001 would consider him a petty, vain and insecure excuse for the kind of American, white, black, gay, straight, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim who were standing together, arms locked, victorious in the aftermath, but not vindictive…determined in the aftermath but not demagogues…patriotic in the aftermath….but not pandering to, and manipulating with, the very fear those cowardly RADICAL EXTREMIST Islamic terrorists expected to result from hijacking those planes.
The very fear that, somehow, in the now almost 15 years since those planes flew into those buildings and that Pennsylvania field has somehow been allowed to fester and re-infect the American bloodstream….the kind of fear that makes people want to tremble and hide behind walls…make bad choices…succumb to anger, panic, even desperation…..
the kind of fear that makes it sadly, and dangerously, easy for those who know how to tell us what we want to hear to step up to a microphone and convince millions of people that he, alone, can make all those problems go away.
Donald Trump isn’t the problem.
Never has been.
The problem is found in the Constitution.
The first three words.
We, the people.
Of the America…of 2016.
join the conversation
Sunday nights at 7P Eastern
No comments:
Post a Comment