How do We End the Cult of Trump?

 

I don't know of any other way to describe Trump 's hold on his base other than a cult. He can do no wrong in their eyes. Things that would be an absolute outrage for any other politician, doesn't phase his base. Stealing, extramarital affairs, possible treason, along with a myriad of other serious allegations of misconduct would have sunk anyone else years ago! But not Trump. Daily he moans about all the injustice he is facing while at the same time demonstrating contempt for the rule of law and how our Constitution. The thought of him winning a second term should be utterly terrifying. Sure, it's a long shot given all of his legal entanglements. But the more we learn about January 6 and his ever increasing sense of desperation, we need to understand there is nothing he will not do if he thinks that will win him the presidency again. The idea of free and fair elections I think are still facing danger. We cannot take the risk lightly as long as there is any chance of a second Trump term. How can this end?

 

There is no quick fix for ending a cult. Well, there may be one- the cult leaders death. We simply cannot count on that. Trump has access to the best health care in the world. I see two possible good ways this ends and one bad. The bad obviously, he somehow someway becomes president again. If you disagree with this, congratulations! You are in the cult of Trump! My best hope is for the slow wheels of American justice to catch up well before the election next November. Trump in jail and out of the news will lead to his cult quietly fading away overtime. The MAGA hats, T-shirts along with the rest of the merchandise from Trump world will find their way into storage in attics in basements along with the Klan and militia merchandise. Better yet, much of it will find its way into city dumps. There is another contributing factor to the end of the trump cult.

 

Young people are not buying it. They understand the very real threat we all face from climate change. They are not going to vote for a party of climate change deniers. Nor are they going to vote for a party that obstructs even the smallest attempt at college loan debt relief. Young people are far more open to the LGBT community. They will not vote for a party that scapegoats gays and other minorities. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also don't think they will vote for the pro shooter drills party. I don't know exactly what the answer is, but I'm certain doing absolutely nothing is not it. I have yet to hear any plan the MAGA Faction has to address the skyrocketing costs of housing. Nor have I heard a word from the few remaining sane elements in the Republican Party. They have devolved from a party with a few ideas into mostly a cult of personality led by Donald Trump. They propose wacky changes to solve imaginary problems of their own creation such as “woke.” The Donald himself is utterly devoid of solutions to actual problems. His focus on 2024 is mostly a grift and a hail Mary pass to avoid jail. I have yet to see a single thing that points in another direction. So, yes this cult too shall pass. What can be done at the individual level?

 

Calling people names, avoiding the discussion of politics and trying to wait it out are not great solutions when it comes to friends and family stuck in the cult of Trump. What's needed is humility and patience. The "I'm right and you are wrong" approach will not work. One thing that does work is honest questioning. Things like what has he done to improve your life? How has he helped the economy? What does the rest of the world think of him? There are many more such questions. The goal is to get the person to think beyond the level of catchy slogans and macho imagery. You don't have to try and answer these questions for them. The questions will plant a seed. Hopefully, they will start to have their own questions. When and if they emerge from the cult of Trump don't gloat or make fun of them. We have all been deceived at some point or other. It's important to remember we need at least two functioning political parties for a democracy. 

A dominant Democratic Party will soon fall into corruption and holding power for power's own sake. Our long term goal should be the revitalization of a functional Republican Party with ideas and goals for the coming decades instead of a party looking for answers in a mythological past.

Climate Change Challenge? It is Us?

More and more people are coming to understand the reality of climate change. I think I like the phrase climate change better than global warming. Somehow, it just seems more self-evident. I understand climate change is being driven by warmer global temperatures. All the dire predictions from decades past are now starting to come true. If you don't believe me, perhaps just watch the Evening News? I have a really bad feeling Mother Nature is just getting started. Storms are going to become more violent, more frequent, and more unusual. So-called thousand-year storms will simply become spring or summer, nothing too unusual. None of this is new. We've known this was going to happen at least since the 1960s. Some may argue much longer ago than that. Here's a simple question - is there really no cost the pollution we are pumping into the atmosphere 24 hours a day 365 days a year? Let's not forget about our relentless clear cutting of forests in addition to all the dirty energy. The easy energy we've had for the last 100 plus years comes with a steep price tag. Can we fix it?

 

I don't think so. The radical deep changes required to mitigate this threat are far beyond what are so-called leadership is capable of. Too many of us want to have our cake and eat it too. We want others to sacrifice, not us. You people in the third world have less kids. No, you Chinese cannot have the middle-class lifestyle that we enjoy. No, you cannot use coal to heat your homes in winter. Too bad you don't have enough wind or solar to stay warm. Am I willing to give up my nice house, car and much of the power I use? Probably not. How many other Americans feel the same way I do? Almost half of us don't recognize a problem unless it affects us directly. The other half want to do the right thing until it becomes inconvenient or affects property values. I'm looking at you California, yeah homelessness sucks but I don't want affordable housing anywhere near me. I'm sure this is not limited to California. Any well off zip code has little interest in really helping the homeless. OK I'm digressing. Let me get back on track.

 

Another reason I don't think we can fix climate change has to do with math. Solar, wind, and hydropower are indeed making great strides. The problem is the gulf between what these can actually produce and what we actually need. The cake eaters want to wave a magic technology wand at the problem and make it go away. Bam! Problem solved and I didn't have to do anything! If we can figure out how to store electricity for long periods of time, maybe that will change the equation. Once again, the magical technology wand appears! That's great if it works one day but simply hoping some technological marvel will save us from the ravages of climate change, I think is wishful thinking. I'm leery of magical technological solutions and unproven financial solutions such as carbon taxes. And plain old-fashioned corruption is always present. Paying to pollute does not seem like a great solution. Even trying to offset pollution by doing something quote “green” seems fishy to me.

 

Another problem we face in regards to climate change is international disunity. Even here in the West far too many people don't understand the gravity of the situation we face. Their wallets make understanding impossible. One of America's two political parties, the republicans, simply refuse to acknowledge the facts of climate change. The Democrats may be a little better but don't want to do anything that would be too upsetting to the average voter. They are afraid to ask for real change, perhaps understandably so. That's just the USA. The Europeans may be a little better at developing green energy and moving in the right direction. Make no mistake, there is a lot of creative accounting going on there as well. China is still largely dependent on coal and oil for their energy. Russia is still dependent on fossil fuels. Africa, South America and the Middle East all rely on fossil fuels not only for energy but income as well. The UN is far too weak to lead such a change. The United States may be able to lead such a change but that's going to be difficult with half the population refusing to recognize the problem and many of the other half in the “don't inconvenience me” camp.

 

Sorry to sound so bleak. The near term is bleak, let's face it. But as time goes by storms get worse, fires get more outrageous, heat waves more common, blizzards more severe; skepticism will change to what can we do? The question is will we figure it out and act accordingly in time to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The deniers are slowly coming around. We are already seeing wars related to climate change, climate change refugees and islands literally sinking into the rising ocean. The deniers are finding their position increasingly untenable. We will have to find solutions that spread sacrifice equitably around the world. Yes, technological solutions will have a role to play but the bigger thing I think we'll be us as individuals learning how to get by without wasting so much energy. We can and will learn how to live within Earth's limits.