This was something which I wrote maybe a week and a half ago, while the Republican National Convention was still going. Somehow, though, I forgot about it, and never completed it, let alone published it.
Still, it includes my thoughts on how tired I am of politics in the United States right now.
Here is what I wrote (this was before Biden dropped out of the race, so it is a bit outdated already):
I did not watch the Republican National Convention.
Yet, there was a point where it seemed almost literally every single channel was focusing on Trump. One of the very few channels not broadcasting
It feels to me that politics in the United States is hopeless. I'm not sure that it is, but it sure as hell feels at the moment, at least.
Here's the thing: I don't like either candidate. Neither side is truthful, much less exciting or inspiring. By process of elimination, Biden and the Democrats feel like they lie a little less than Trump and the MAGA Republicans, but that is hardly saying much. However, that does not mean that I feel that idealizing Biden or the Democrats is the answer. Far too many people do that on both sides already, and I feel that this is disingenuous, done out of fear of the other side. You don't want to concede your own candidate's imperfections for fear that it will legitimize the other guy, and the other side. So both sides go to ever greater, even ridiculous extremes in trying to make their man in this election seem idyllic. The Democrats seem to be doing that more and more with each election, much like Republicans have long done. This is particularly true since the political rise of Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are both very flawed and untrustworthy candidates. Most people likely would agree with me on that score. Yet the Democrats try to paint a picture of them being the best qualified candidates, and virtual heroes, even though both have longstanding careers wrapped around their political ambitions. Both have catered to big (read: corrupt) business interests in pursuit of high offices that they seek. Most Americans now can see through the facade enough to see that, so the idyllic words and pictures which they try to paint just rings hollow.
I would prefer Biden, only because Trump to me seems like he wants to be, and will hard to become, a dictator. Also, I have for a very long time felt that Trump is shallow and ridiculously narcissistic. That is to say, he is blinded by love of himself to such a degree that he does not really care about anything or anyone more than himself. And that means that he has nothing of substance to say about anything, in my opinion. Far from being the only one who can fix the country's problems like he claims, he feels in fact like the last person we should be listening to. His supporters will admit that he is flawed, but it's far worse than that. In fact, he actively and enthusiastically tries to bring out the worst in us all. He appeals to the darker instincts of Americans, and he does that very well. Like his scams, he is by this point an artist when it comes to manipulating the public, and brining out the very worst in this country. That to me is why to me Trump is the worst possible man to possibly be president. Nobody can do as much damage as Trump, and he has demonstrated time and time again that he cannot be trusted with power, and thus should not be trusted with it.
What's horrible is that the charges that both sides level at one another during their inevitable mudslinging campaigns are...well, true. I heard that Trump's Vice-Presidential pick, JD Vance, was claiming that what is needed is a leader not in the pocket of big business.
And while that feels true regarding Biden, it implies that Trump himself is not beholden to special private, moneyed interests. That hardly feels true, because he is, and probably just as much as Biden and the Democrats. Maybe even more so. Certainly, his policies while he was president seemed to be very much pro-corporate, catering to private moneyed interests. But since Trump has a big mouth and seems to say that is on his mind at any given point, it gives the illusion that he is somehow free of these big money influence and controls over our pretty damn blatantly corrupt political system.
He's not. As a member of one of the two major political parties, fundraising is a big part of his candidacy. After all, he relies on the fortunes that he gets from his financial backers. Just who his biggest financial backers are was an interesting question, which I looked up in preparation for this particular blog entry. You can see the link to it below.
Anyway, now more than ever, it feels like even if you miss something, like a major event, it really does not matter. The news cycle is such that you will surely see whatever the most famous clips are time and time again, even if you don't really want to. Just in the past few weeks, I tried not to watch the debate, did not know about the assassination attempt until fairly late that evening, and made a point of not watching the Republican Convention. Yet, I am "up" on all of the news from each of these events nevertheless, because whether or not I actually want to hear about them, the news (on all channels, seemingly, and all over the internet) just bombards you with it. So I have seen the most memorable clips of each of these things - Biden with a blank expression on his face and stumbling over his words, Trump being shot at (which still looks a little strange and off to me), and then all of those Cult 45 members putting massive bandages on their ears in unison with their cult leader, King Con Don.
Only I wish I didn't have to see it. It does not feel like our political realities in this country belong in the domain of grown-ups, of adults, anymore. Not with one side saying things like "Fuck Your Feelings" and "Let's Go Brandon," and the other side sticking doggedly to an old man who clearly has shown signs of serious mental decline.
In fact, I want to hear less. But I don't really know any way how to do it.
https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race/donald-trump/contributors?id=N00023864
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