AN ADDICT CONFESSES, AND ATTEMPTS TO CONFRONT

I have not been blogging on a regular basis for a long time, like over two years... but I have been considering using this as a way for honing my writing skills.  Bear with me, my little guinea pigs.  I may be here more often than you would like, if you are even here to notice.  I hope you will stop by once in a while. 

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My life on social media was fun, and it was addictive.  Maybe coming back to this blog represents a marginal return, but I have been off Facebook for a year or so now, and for the most part it has been good for me.

 

When I was doing Facebook, I spent at least an hour a day with it, sometimes two hours or more.  It was nice to see what so many people were saying and doing.  I checked in on whichever of my friends I happened to think of.  That part was fine but it was time-consuming.  When I got to posting things on my own page it seemed like I was doing it mostly for the purpose of entertaining others, seeing how many “likes” I could generate, and as one friend described it, “The John Evans method of Facebook:  just keep throwing stuff up on the wall and see what sticks”.   All told, my Facebook time gradually became sort of a desultory exercise.  

 

Another thing was odd.  I am a junkie when it comes to politics, and I did not want to post many political things on my own page because I tend to shy away from conflict, yet I had no problem with going to other people’s pages and arguing politics on their turf.  It was almost exclusively on pages where I agreed with that particular friend’s leanings.  Somehow, that just did not feel right.  Was I staying in a secure, safe place?  A bubble?  I felt the need to escape. 

 

How many “likes” would my posts generate?  What purpose did getting those “likes” serve?  Was I seeking a sort of validation?  Was I taking something simple and making more out of it than necessary?  Possibly.  Even if so, did I need that kind of worry and headache?  No.         

 

Before I left Facebook I posted a message to let my friends know I would be leaving, and that they could reach me through email messages, Messenger, or phone calls.  Almost a year later, someone I have known since we were both babies sent me a sad note on Messenger about how she had been “unfriended” by me.  I unfriended or blocked several people while I was a Facebook user, but she was not one of those.  I explained to her that she simply had not checked out my page often enough to know what I was up to.  As we like to say online, “LOL”.    

 

It got to where I was spending so much time on Facebook that I became uneasy, and the last straw was the slew of revelations about the loss of privacy on the platform.  I believe Facebook started as a great idea, as a place where people could congregate online, be friends, and have discussions.  As it has turned out, Facebook is still good for those things.  I believe it has also turned out to be a tool for spreading negativity, hatred, and disinformation, and we have plenty of that already in today’s world.  I noticed the general tone getting nastier, and nastier, and nastier.  People say things to others online that they would never say to a stranger on the street.  Despite most of my Facebook friends using the platform for the best of purposes and intentions, it was time to split.  As for Twitter?  I have never done it, and I never will.

 

I have worked to leave many of those things behind.  I am out of the loop now when it comes to quite a few things that are going on in Facebook World, but I know who my real friends are.  I do not have much problem staying in touch with them, and I do make that effort.  All I have to do is reach out, and I can do it without hosting a Facebook page.  And I have a page with Instragram, for having fun and for sharing pictures with others.  You can always feel free to come check it out. 

 

Some would argue that everyone should be involved with Facebook, because everyone being online all the time is where our future is heading.  Well… call me an old fud.  I am fine with that characterization, as I would rather just not try to dive into a future that is evolving faster than my head can satisfactorily follow.

 

Despite all of this, I am thinking Facebook and social media in general are not the social culprits in America nowadays as much as our smartphones are when it comes to the deterioration of our society.  Phones are ubiquitous.  Ten years ago, it was not so bad, but now it seems like nobody can live without the phones.  People have them out everywhere, all of the time, myself included.  I am not on Facebook, but now I am constantly looking at news, following ball games, messaging people, and playing word games.  Still too much time on the phone, and not enough time really communicating with other people, playing musical instruments, reading books… it makes me feel diseased, as if I am not fulfilling my potential as a human being.

 

As a Speech-Language Pathologist, I have spent my career in an attempt to help others gain or regain interpersonal communication skills.  Sometimes electronic devices are necessary for helping people communicate with each other, but I have always shunned their use in teaching communication skills, particularly with kids.  As our society’s face-to-face communication skills are diminished and de-emphasized, so deteriorates our society.  It is no small wonder to me that our country now has a president such as Trump… a true product of our society’s dumbing-down over the past 20 years, in my opinion.  And, perhaps sadly, I believe smartphones and social media have accelerated our dumbing-down process.          

 

I'll change the subject here (but not really), by asking "What will you be doing this summer? "   

 

I will spend time on my smart phone, because it is an addiction I simply cannot seem to conquer… but I also plan to be outside in our back yard doing some gardening, going for frequent walks, going for drives in the local countryside, reading a number of books, playing some music, doing some writing.  I might record some songs, which is something I have not done in a long time. 

 

Perhaps most importantly, I will have some good face-to-face conversations with family and friends.  For me, that is real communication.    

WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS

Given that I basically don’t blog much at all any more, I doubt many people will read this.  So, it’s basically just some cathartic blabbering.  But if you happen to stumble across it, enjoy, if you can. 

 

Many of us on the left undoubtedly found the Mueller Report profoundly disappointing due to the lack of explosive content many of us hoped to see about the president.  Being a lefty is not easy these days.  We want what is best for the country, and that means we want the president to do well.  On the other hand, when the guy currently in office is such a drag on the country, we don’t believe he is the best person to have running things.  We believe he is tone-deaf to the needs of the American people, that he is mostly just out to preserve himself, to get revenge on people, to punish people… he is pretty much an incompetent narcissist. 

 

I believe we all should remember that the Mueller Investigation began as a probe into Russian influences on our electoral process, and that every American should be glad it was undertaken for that reason.  Our president should have had no qualm, because it was designed to help us find ways to preserve the integrity of our election process and protect it from foreign influences, particularly those from an adversarial nation such as Russia.  The investigation included a look at whether or not there were people here in America facilitating the supposed Russian interference, and that was one of the conclusions:  Russia interfered, and is likely to continue to do so.

 

Many conservatives view the investigation as a pretense to try to pry the president from office.  The way I see it, the president did not have to involve himself in the investigation if he was innocent of any of the things the left claimed he was doing.  However, the Report describes numerous instances of the president attempting to end the investigation.  Why?  He has been afraid of something, and due to the redactions in the Report, we will probably never know the whole story.  But it seems that his acquiescent behavior, particularly toward an adversarial autocrat such as Vladimir Putin, invited investigation.  Stating that he trusted Putin more than his own intelligence community obviously invited questions.  Why is he so willing to bend over for Vladimir? 

 

I used to go around and around here and on Facebook with a certain fellow who used to laugh at how “Putin is running circles around Obama”.  Looking back at Obama’s presidency, it can be argued by some that he allowed certain conditions around the world to escalate, and I will admit that I am disappointed if he knew about Russian election interference and did little to end it.  On the other hand, I submit that Putin actually is running circles around our current president, and that our president’s supporters seem blind to it.  It seems this could be because they don’t care what our president says or does, as long as the GOP can “own the libs”.

 

Back to the Mueller Report.  It does not indict the president for anything.  As far as we know, there is no concrete or “smoking gun”-style evidence of the high crimes and misdemeanors necessary for impeachment.  However, the wording of the Report suggests that none of it exonerates the president, and that whether or not he is actually exonerated is something Congress can decide.  While numerous conservatives are dancing in the end zone celebrating the president’s “exoneration”, they are in a state of denial over his attempts to obstruct an investigation into the Russian influence in our electoral process.  They are in a state of denial over the lies of the president and his press secretary.  They are in a state of denial over the way the president and his team believe that it’s OK to push the envelope to the absolute limits of the law, no matter in what areas, no matter how unethical, as long as they can “own” the other side.  It is all about the “winning”.

 

America does not win with such a leader.  Our nation can only wait things out, in hopes that our 2020 presidential election process will produce a winner who holds a sense of common decency toward all Americans. 

 

And while the Mueller Report doesn’t end the Trump presidency, it greatly tarnishes it, at least for anyone who is paying attention.  Many Americans don’t like the president to begin with, myself included.  If more people stop to think about him, especially in light of the findings in the Report, they also may start liking him less. 

 

I always thought political conservatism included strong feelings for preserving American values, and in many cases, Christian values.   To Trump supporters, I would suggest re-reading the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, then asking yourselves how many of these things he actually does and doesn’t do.  Some things are documented.  He lies.  He is an adulterer.  He tends not to pay people for services rendered, which amounts to stealing.  He abuses his power of speech by bearing false witness against others.  He covets.  Sure, all of us are guilty of breaking some of these rules from time to time, but I tell the truth to others, I am faithful to my spouse, I pay people to whom I owe money, and I don’t proliferate falsehoods about other people.  I am far from pure, but I try hard to be a decent human being.  I don’t see our president trying to do the same, and I am not sure he has the ability to even make an effort.  It just doesn’t seem to be in his makeup. 

 

Does the president comfort those who mourn?  His response to Puerto Rico’s current situation suggests not.  Is he merciful?  From the tenor of his tweets, I think not, unless it is toward people who do his bidding.  Does he believe the poor are blessed?  I believe he thinks the poor are worthless tools who for use as workers to bear the weight of our society.  Does he treat others as he would wish to be treated?  I do not think he does.  His immediate response when criticized is not to brush it off, but rather to seek revenge… and, ultimately, to whom are we supposed to leave revenge?  If president Obama had not openly joked about Trump and roasted him at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner eight years ago this month, would Trump be trying quite so hard to undo anything and everything related to Obama?  I think he might still be, but likely without as much vigor.

 

The Mueller Report reinforces many of the things I (and others on the left) believe about Trump.  The left wing should not feel celebratory; that would be for when Trump is finally out of office.  But those of us who don’t like Trump regardless of our political or religious affiliations should feel vindicated if we are among those who view him as an unethical, corrupt, narcissistic liar.  The Report reinforces the idea that “this is not normal” for America, and that we are indeed at a crossroads.  Are we witnessing the end of the American Experiment, or do we want it to continue?  For those who are interested and who are willing to listen, the Report provides a blueprint, if you will, for a roadmap to follow as we try to rebuild our deteriorating nation.  The Report reminds of what we do not want to be as Americans. 

 

Impeachment?  I have to laugh at that notion.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.  Trump and his team are savvy enough to know that if the Democrats tried impeachment, the Senate would never support it because the Senate, until we can change its makeup, is in Trump’s pocket.  The best (and I believe only) way to rid ourselves of Trump, and to prevent others such as him from being elected in the future?  Trust our process, and work to protect it.  Cast our votes for those who will protect our right to vote rather than those who wish to suppress it.  Vote for people who actually want to “drain the swamp” rather than for those would allow swamp denizens to proliferate at the nation's expense.  Vote based on the person’s character; in this case it is easy to find someone with more character than the president.  Let's look for a candidate who represents national interests as well as our own. 

 

I suggest conservatives abandon Trump in 2020, instead considering a candidate such as William Weld, or anyone else who might emerge as a challenger.  Maybe John Kasich, should he decide to run?  Nearly anyone besides Trump will be a candidate of good character, at least by comparison.  Use the results of the Mueller Report as one of the tools in making your decision.  Do not use what conservative talking heads tell you to think about the Report.  Instead, look at what the Report says, and then decide.  Do not be fooled by Trump.  For him, the “winning” is not as much about “owning the libs” as it is about his own enrichment and self-preservation.  I am certain you can do better than voting for him a second time.  If you did not vote for him the first time?  Good for you!      

 

I suggest liberals/progressives also search for candidates of character.  Even more importantly though, I suggest we not bother with impeachment right now, as Elizabeth Warren is suggesting we should do immediately, but rather use the House majority to pursue investigations of the president and his administration based on information the Mueller Report provides.  If evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors pops up?  Go for it!  If we play our cards correctly, this administration will further tarnish itself at an exponential rate.   


Whatever any investigations should reveal, I believe that through the results of such probes it should become increasingly evident to America that Donald Trump is taking us down the toilet and that he does not really give a shit about anyone but himself.   His actions merit investigation.  If you don't agree, you might not be paying attention. 

 

No, “this is not normal”, America... and we are better than “this”.