Politics, Pity, and Paradigm Shifts

I've been mulling over whether I need or want to comment on the sad circus that is/was Trump Indictment Day. While I'm not surprised at the number of felony counts, I am also fully aware that this mess is far from over, far from decided, and, after I read the actual paperwork (the full indictment and the official statement), I suspect most people won't care by the time this case goes to court to be tried. It's not sensational; it's all about illegal and really shady "business" practices, the stuff of anti-insomnia measures. Yet, isn't that how Al Capone got brought down? Meticulous investigation and prosecution for shady business dealings? 

The "After-Party" speech given by 45 was a blustery, lie-filled rant of, essentially, "poor me." It makes me sick to think that the Professional Whiner is still dominating the news cycle and is seeking a second term in office. He is petulant. We do not need tiresome, selfish people in government. 

It's especially irritating that the Republican party is, for the most part, rallying around this awful human. And he is awful: rude, ignorant, overtly racist, misogynistic, narcissistic, and delusional. I wonder if there are any "old school" conservatives left? I recall having ideological differences with people I could respect, and it can't really be that long ago. This paragon of bloated privilege is a national embarrassment. 

The trends taking hold in our country --OUR country-- are scary, and are rooted in a deeply flawed and misguided sense of morality and is the direct result of feeling scared and powerless. While these fears and prejudices existed pre-pandemic, it is logical to follow that the current climate is the result of a true paradigm shift brought on by too many changes that are well beyond our individual control. The pandemic, coupled with the burgeoning use and misuse of technology, has created such a shift that people cling to what they see as a life raft from their imagined and idealized past. 

That's the recipe for a sinking ship, and we are in danger of drowning.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem, "Pity the Nation," seems to be the best way to look at things. In the second stanza, he says,

Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves

 Here he is, reading his poem.

In hope for the country,

C