Clete Wetli, Contributor
“If Hillary got in you wouldn't have that stat, I can tell
you right now. You would be doing wind, windmills and if it doesn't -- if it
doesn't blow you can forget about television for that night.
Darling, I want to watch television. I'm sorry, the wind isn't blowing. I know
a lot about wind. I know a lot about wind.”- Donald J. Trump, MAGA Rally, Grand
Rapids, Michigan - March 28, 2019
Yes, if Trump knows anything, he is undoubtedly an expert on
blowing wind. Many people are saying that, believe me.
He has blown wind for his entire life and he knows more than
his generals and scientists about it.
So, here we are. Two years and thousands of lies later. Our
debt at historic levels and our institutions under a constant, corrosive attack
by people whose only motivation is preserving their power and increasing their
personal ill-begotten wealth. In truth, that is where we are.
In science, every human eye has a blind spot that
corresponds to the placement of the optic nerve within the retina where there
are no photoreceptors. In all their wisdom, the Founding Fathers never
anticipated the blind spot of Trump in our democracy. It seemed that they
thought that the electorate would never choose someone who was so hell bent on
wreaking havoc on our political norms or who was so uniquely and blatantly
unqualified to lead. In fact, it was never even considered that we might elect
a leader who was intrinsically incapable of coherent thought or formulating
complete sentences. Yet, here we are.
Listening to the blowing wind and suffocating on the stench
it brings.
This week, I spoke with gleeful Trump cult followers that
were simply drunk on the idea that Barr’s shameful initial synopsis of the
Mueller Report seemed to clear Trump of Russian collusion. I listened to their cacophonous illogical
explanations and obtuse justifications of Trump’s obvious lies and unethical
conduct. Ironically, without exception, each Trump zealot would reluctantly admit
that they thought he was a terrible person in one capacity or another. They
would cite his continual lies or his infidelity or his lack of ethics or his
obvious criminal financial self-dealings. Yet, they would always circle back to
supporting him because they thought he was on their side.
They were overjoyed to suck his wind.
Yes, a third, to perhaps half of our country gleefully
breathes the foul air that blows from Trump’s rank wind-hole. They seemingly
can’t get enough. They find it liberating, intoxicating, and elevating. They
are like addicts who make any excuse for another hit of Trump; no matter how
insane and no matter the consequence.
We’re two years in and I’m not exactly sure how to fight
this effectively. Initially, I thought the truth might be an antidote, but it
has sadly failed. I am slowly coming to
the realization that this is less about changing them and more about
galvanizing those who refuse to breathe in the wind he blows. That, maybe, we
need to put aside our single issue causes and learn to fight together for a
greater good. The Republicans figured that out when they employed Grover
Norquist’s strategy of, “We know what direction to go. We just need a president
to sign this stuff. Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a
pen to be president of the United States.”
Well, he may have small digits, but they got exactly what they asked
for. A useful idiot who can blow wind and sign decrees.
So, I write this tonight because I feel it’s imperative that
we continue to resist and continue to fight for what we know in our hearts is
true and right and American.
Trump may know a lot about blowing wind, but we know a lot
more about truth and what it will really take for America to find its soul
again. 2020 is coming and, soon, a fresh
invigorating wind will blow from a different direction and it will bring a new
season of hope and desperately needed change.
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