Monday Morning Quarterback

More than a year has now passed since the unfortunate election of Donald Trump.  I was a Bernie fan, and not enamored with Hillary. I believe the outcome of the November 2016 election would have been different if Bernie had been The Democratic candidate.   I, along with most pundits, was expecting someone other than Trump to be the Republican nominee. 

I think I could have voted for someone like Ohio Governor John Kasich instead of Hillary. But, as it turned-out, I was stuck with a choice between two candidates, neither of whom had my trust or admiration.  One was a self-promoting reality show producer with a checkered history.  The other was a political insider with a considerable albatross factor. 

I voted for the second worst candidate. But the worst one won. 

In hindsight, I think Trump got nominated and elected for the simple reason that he was the least boring of the presidential hopefuls. And, he has not been boring in office.   He has been the most un-presidential of presidents.  (I don't think I need to expand on this point.)

And here we are March 2018 – more divided than ever.  

Somehow, the major political parties have convinced the public -- and especially the media -- that we are concerned with the same tired topics:  Abortion, Gun rights, Immigration.

In fact, most of us are not lying awake at night worrying about access to abortion, or whether we have the right to shoot at the squirrels in our back yards, or whether every fruit picker is a citizen.

We are more worried about corrupt politicians, crime, id theft and illness. We are afraid that if we (god forbid) have to go to the hospital we might end up sicker than when we went in.  We hate the traffic that clogs our highways and the inhuman conditions of air travel.  

We are awakened at ungodly hours by honking horns, barking dogs, gas-powered leaf-blowers and idling diesel truck engines.  Our quality of life is assailed by commercial interests and thoughtless neighbors.

We are saddened that so many of our elected officials are bought-and-paid-for by special interests, that they remain in office mainly to enrich themselves, leaving our most needy of our citizens to live in squalor.

Our food is prepared by the least-educated, least-hygienic people the restaurant can hire.  We can’t buy cigarettes, but Wendy’s can sell a two-pound hamburger.

Everything that we want to have or do is taxed.  Companies can lie about the price of their product with an asterisk (because that is the “base” price that does not include fees, taxes, usage charges, royalties, and all manner of additional add-ons that can double the cost of the thing.)

President Trump still acts like he is running a reality show. America is not greater, and we are annoyed.

Yes I quit Facebook and Twitter

Am I a Trend setter?

Not to brag, but I have always been a stalwart defender of truth, justice and the American way. No wait., that was Superman.  Not me.  

Well, it's been said that I march to the beat of my own drum, but I'll have to admit that this is not necessarily a choice, but more likely because I am rhythmically retarded.  I am fated to be out of step with my fellow marchers. I can't help it.  At least I can sing on key.

My decision to shut-off Facebook and Twitter has been percolating for some time.  Most intelligent folks would agree that Social Media is in general a huge, but benevolent, waste of time.  But, most regular users concede that it is also a convenient medium for exchanging photos and items of interest among family members and real friends.  The really smart users probably limit their exposure to a few chosen individuals.  

But most of us, seeking 'free' entertainment are seduced into expanding our 'friends' circle to include friends-of-friends and even the dreaded 'public' (ie, anyone).   As time goes by, we are drawn into seemingly innocent exchanges of information - fun surveys, tests, startling videos, cute pet photos, petition drives, affinity groups, you name it.  What we haven't really given much thought to is how much information we are giving away through seemingly harmless participation.

Recent revelations have made it clear that Social Media is far from a benevolent waste of time.  Rather it has become an industry that crawls up your ass and into your brain and shares all the information it learned about you along the way -- with total strangers, and without your knowledge.  (You consented by agreeing to the fine print in their terms and conditions of use).   So, when you were answering the questions to determine your Leprechaun name, or answering the Mensa quiz or clicking on the discount K-Y Jelly ad, they were gathering information about your preferences, your education level, your political ideology, etc.

We are not just talking about Facebook.  There are many other sites that do the same thing.  And the big search engines (Google, Microsoft, AOL) collude to sell data about what you have searched for -- refrigerators, hats, male enhancement products, medicines, cat litter...  

I have been feeling a growing discontent with the silliness of much of the content that was being presented to me. Frankly, I don't care about where you went for lunch or what it looked like, or 10 photos of you standing in front of a cathedral in France (which you posted to make me jealous).  I don't care about your cute cat, and even less about your precocious grand kid, and I especially don't care about the squirrel that is raiding your bird feeder, but thanks for sharing.

So, after learning about the thousands of fake Facebook accounts set up by Russian operatives to influence the 2016 election, and then more recently hearing about the data breach by Cambridge Analytics, I decided that I could live without Facebook --which for me was a colossal waste of time invested for the amount of entertainment enjoyed.  I also deleted my Twitter account.   A big problem with these platforms is that there is no editor.

Anyone can say anything in the name of free speech regardless of how inane or wrong they are.   If you like that type of chaos, you are welcome to it.  I'll  pass.

I have not missed it.  I'm even thinking of updating my blog on a regular basis. 

Don't laugh, it could happen..