Congratulations, South Africans and those who make South Africa your home away from home.
Voting, the cultural myth posits, is the Word of We the People.
The Trump presidency puts this cultural myth to the test.
Perhaps the biggest gift of the Trump presidency?
A chance to review – and reset? - real flaws in the constitutional process.
That system’s biggest - and bad-est - assumption? That whoever runs for office holds a high ethical and moral value system. That the person voted president understands and respects the US Constitution and is willing and able to act for something beyond self-interest.
A basic – and proven faulty – assumption of the framers of the Constitution? That humans known as politicians will show generous spirits towards all Americans. Instead, humans known as politicians are – like the rest of us – first, humans: complex, wily, self-deluding, self-interested, and, too often, greedy and power hungry. Add incompetence, narcissism, and corrupted by power and Americans experience “Amateur hour at the Trump White House,” bolstered by “All the President’s Men.”
News blues…
The prevailing mindset in the United States is that voting is the cure-all for poor or mediocre governance. (The Electoral College is there to, y’know, ensure We the People don’t, y’know, make a mistake – such as vote for a liberal or even worse, a progressive president.)Voting, the cultural myth posits, is the Word of We the People.
The Trump presidency puts this cultural myth to the test.
Perhaps the biggest gift of the Trump presidency?
A chance to review – and reset? - real flaws in the constitutional process.
That system’s biggest - and bad-est - assumption? That whoever runs for office holds a high ethical and moral value system. That the person voted president understands and respects the US Constitution and is willing and able to act for something beyond self-interest.
A basic – and proven faulty – assumption of the framers of the Constitution? That humans known as politicians will show generous spirits towards all Americans. Instead, humans known as politicians are – like the rest of us – first, humans: complex, wily, self-deluding, self-interested, and, too often, greedy and power hungry. Add incompetence, narcissism, and corrupted by power and Americans experience “Amateur hour at the Trump White House,” bolstered by “All the President’s Men.”
Big change requires big hearts and minds - and generosity.
Are those qualities in evidence these days?
This busy weeks includes another round of complying with my mother’s latest impulse. This time, after agreeing to purchase a bed with six space-saving drawers, she’s decided she wants a space-saving single bed, no drawers. The reason for the first decision? The Dog would share her bed. The reason for the second decision? The Dog isn't sharing her bed after all. (And, yes, that The Dog isn't sharing her bed means I'm running back and forth with different size foam pads and different duvets, even sewing duvet covers to suit the different size duvets, to satisfy The Dog's particular needs.)
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The Lincoln Project: Transfer (0: mins) Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Weather predictions for this week? Sunny days. After temperatures dropped into the single digits (centigrade) overnight, welcome Sun!This busy weeks includes another round of complying with my mother’s latest impulse. This time, after agreeing to purchase a bed with six space-saving drawers, she’s decided she wants a space-saving single bed, no drawers. The reason for the first decision? The Dog would share her bed. The reason for the second decision? The Dog isn't sharing her bed after all. (And, yes, that The Dog isn't sharing her bed means I'm running back and forth with different size foam pads and different duvets, even sewing duvet covers to suit the different size duvets, to satisfy The Dog's particular needs.)
Today, I'll hire the same mover to move the single bed from the house to the Care Center, figure out how to dismantle the heavy, bulky double bed with drawers – and mattress – and drive it back to the house. That we're in sale mode and trying to stage the house for a quick sale doesn't enter my mother's calculations.
The good news, she’s forming a coterie of elderly folk to watch DVDs in her room on her TV. Yesterday’s show? “The Sound of Music.” The group agrees they like James Bond, too, and my mother has a full set of those DVDs.
I greet any signs of settling into her new life with joy.
The good news, she’s forming a coterie of elderly folk to watch DVDs in her room on her TV. Yesterday’s show? “The Sound of Music.” The group agrees they like James Bond, too, and my mother has a full set of those DVDs.
I greet any signs of settling into her new life with joy.
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