I resumed writing these pages in earnest initially as a response to the 2016 election. Like many Americans I couldn’t believe that Trump won. My concern was quickly borne out as his administration took form and coalesced into a political nightmare for the country. His subsequent denial and behavior toward the coronavirus pandemic further convinced me that our government was in serious trouble.
Like most of us, I believed that with Biden’s win in 2020 that the country would come back together and return to a more recognizable pattern of governance with respect for the law and constitutional principles. I also thought, like most, that the threat from the deadly virus would be brought under control and we would return to our normal lives in a short time. I was wrong on both counts.
I’ve learned a lot these last two years writing about politics and current events. As you might have noticed, I have been writing fewer blogs recently. The truth is I don’t know what to say about politics that I have not mentioned already. The Trump inanities and malevolence go on with no sign of letting up. The blog has taken on a life of its own and in a modest way strikes me as a barometer of how people feel about things. Readers have joined me in suffering fatigue from the infighting, lack of civility and loss of decency in our politics as evidenced by fewer lively responses to postings.
The reckless disregard of truth and unbridled partisanship has paralyzed our government. It has become so bad that – like the televised body counts from the Vietnam era – we have become inured to the lies and atrocities. And that’s the tragedy.
The truth is that people have rather short attention spans and still less stomach for constant turmoil. Continued disruption, loss of predictability and change threaten our sense of well-being.