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.