“Good people don’t go into government.”
— Donald J. Trump
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Well, it seems our bipolar neighbours to the south are off their meds again.
After enduring the trauma of the violent demise of Europe’s Golden Age at the end of World War 2, the world at the middle of the 20th Century looked to America in a fit of idealism that could only be described as delusional. The beginning of the second half of the twentieth century seemed to show that the promise of America’s mythology would finally come into reality. But the world 
was ignoring America’s troubled history up to then, its violence and xenophobia, its intolerance and greed. As America prospered in an era of minimal opposition, it seemed the world’s potential was limitless with America as the leader of the free world. But that lustre faded quickly with Nixon and the quagmire of Vietnam. Still, we held out hope that maybe there was something still to be said for the ‘American Dream’. Unfortunately, beginning with the dubious leadership of pre-dementia Ronald Reagan, the rank materialism of American culture has sent the world into an era of unrestrained moral corruption with no foul deed unjustified if done in the name of Capitalism.
The election of Donald J. Trump has brought into clear relief the flaws in America’s antiquated electoral system, where the will of the majority is ignored in favour of winning at all costs. Where what is morally right must be set aside in favour of profit for the shareholders and bonuses for the board of directors. Where lies are equal value to truth, and the integrity of individuals is seen as a character flaw, something only a fool would endorse. And yet, no one in the world would care about this were this bipolar nightmare not so heavily armed. With the right leadership, the world prospers. Without it, it becomes a frightening place. When attacked by Saudi Arabia on September 11th, they retaliate by attacking Iraq, something so schizophrenic that it seems incomprehensible to any sane individual. They try to impose American ‘democracy’ in Iraq but support 
the Wahhabi dictatorship of Saudi Arabia. They assist the downward spiral from democracy to dictatorship in Turkey and Egypt, overthrowing elected governments in favour of tyrants. Forgive Israeli atrocities while condemning Syrian oppression of minorities. Dismantling operational social democracies and replacing them with autocratic and hegemonic systems of government that even they agree don’t work.
There are far too many countries out there now who have shed their racist colonial past and taken a long step toward true equality and tolerance. America is hardly the shining example it once pretended to be, and yet its people still believe that they are not in any way obligated to change. Well, the world has changed since the 1950’s, that time when Mr. Trump thinks America used to be ‘great’. But the wounds of World War 2 have healed and America is no longer the only game in town. Asia, South America and Africa are emerging from the dark ages, but America is too self involved to understand that their isolationism only gives others free reign. With the election of Mr. Trump, America has rescinded its role as leader of the free world, something for which China and Russia have been patiently waiting for more than sixty years. And with Brexit, England has followed suit.
I have always felt that America was only three major attacks away from a military dictatorship. We’ve already had one attack, which allowed George W. Bush and the Republican party to consolidated Presidential power like no other time since the Civil War. A second attack, military or otherwise, would strip the judiciary of its power in order to preserve the ‘integrity’ of America’s borders. A third attack would shut down the free press. It happened this way in Germany in 1932. It’s happening in Russia now. And with Mr. Trump as president and the Republican Party in control of the entire American government, it could easily happen there, and so quickly that the citizens of that country would be helpless to stop it.
Yes, our bipolar neighbor has gone off his meds again. He’s maxed out the credit cards and quit his job. He’s yelling obscenities and racial slurs at his neighbours.
He’s barricaded himself into his own house with a shitload of weapons. Has this situation ever ended well?
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