@Anja Geitz

...and, in particular, the events and emotions leading up to the 2016 election:

torn between disgust and a strange curiosity

Because what happened next was the complete abandonment of self-control and concern for the nation. By the end of the 2016 primaries, Republicans didn't know who they were, and lost track of which noble principles they represented. During the Republican Primaries, a rogue candidate knocked out all of his GOP competitors and ran off with the Republican's Presidential nomination. The Party was left in a state of confusion and chaos, which created a leadership void in Washington.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party Elite were digging their own leadership hole. They were actively sabotaging the Primary campaign of their own Party Outsider, who was barnstorming the US with his wildly popular populist message. By contrast, the Democratic Party's preferred presidential candidate was not a charismatic figure and she did not draw large crowds. Instead, she had a ruthless vision and a list of national priorities that was an inspiration to multinational corporations, Wall Street Investment firms, and major Defense Contractors.

Left-leaning Democrats were quick to point out that the Party had abandoned them for their Big Donors and the Corporations. Working class Dems rejected the notion that Democrat's glib references ro identity politics was somehow a fair substitute for representing the People's ongoing struggles across four decades of downward mobility and economic disenfranchisement. This disconnect led directly to the Democrat's defeat in the battleground states in 2016.

The nation's political failures swiftly followed. The Republicans never regained their dignity, but they patched their political identity with the sticky tape of hypocracy. They operated with the situational ethics of their lowest common denominator. Led by a banal and selfish sort of man, they became 'looters of the commonwealth,' each time the opportunity presented itself. These were the Trump years and everyone was openly on the take. In the end, Republicans came to DC only when they were forced to, preferring the protective enclaves of their home state.

The Democrats debased and dishonored the government in their own unique way. The Party focused solely on their own loss of political power and developed a pathological obsession with the usurper, Donald Trump. They were a Pussyhat militia that was on the boil for four long years, careening through a series of revenge schemes — from demagoguing the Russians with an often-debunked, evidence-free conspiracy theory, to mounting an over-extended and opaque Special Investigation that finally stalled and fizzled out after two-and-a-half wasted years, to staging an elaborate but toothless impeachment fiasco out of Ukraine's endemic corruption. All of it was a distraction from the self-impoverishing wars and the ongoing neglect of the health of the nation.

That four-year spectacle inspired nothing but disgust and curiosity in most of the world, too.

Probably not a very Buddhist-like thing for me to say.

We were all adapting to the New Normal. But that was Zen and this is Tao. The Tao, like the watercourse way, fills up that which is too low and wears down that which is too high. The Tao of that time was bold public policies, like those of Bernie Sander's, which would restore the health and economic balance of the nation, while developing the skills and talents of the citizens. Only the citizens have the power to make something sustainable. That was the essential Tao of 2017 to 2020 — it was a downstream trend toward individual betterment and public improvements. It was the time to finally eradicate US poverty (just as China has done in 2020) and put environmental and economic restraints on self-dealing monopolies. The trend will continue in many parts of the world for the next four years.

Moving against the direction of the Tao results in misfortune for a nation and those who reside there. This situation is unnatural and its reverberation is bad for biological life and diversity. Ultimately, it will be returned to a natural, nurturing state. A state that forces backwardian conditions and extinction upon the world is unnatural and will soon wear itself out.

If the People can take a Stand and live their lives accordingly, bad government will fall. The US experiment, however, was designed by the aristocratic authorities, who had been appointed to power by the International Ruling Elite of the time. No one wanted Power to fall into the hands of the poorly educated lower classes, who might, God forbid, use Democracy to give themselves an advantage over the Elite. Dangerous populist ideas could be enacted by a rogue voting democracy. They could decide to tax the Elite for their excess wealth. Working class voters could send the country down the path of economic disaster — just as the educated Aristocrats had regularly done.

The fears of the wealthy Elite were just as potent back then as they are today. The inherent powers of Democracy would need to be permanently suppressed, and the Elite would need to lavishly fund the private political clubs to get the job done. The People were divided into the opposing sides of classic philosophical issues, usually built around nationalism or self interest or the thievery of foreigners. The Founding Elite wrote a Constitution that would ensure that the oppositional binary division between the People would remain active after they were gone. Perfect opposition would paralyze progress and cancel the issue. But just in case, the Elite placed ultimate decisive power in a small group of political operatives who would be appointed and confirmed by members of the Elite. For life.

The state cannot be reformed by the state, itself. Unfortunately, enlightenment remains poorly distributed among the People. Furthermore, the isolated culture in the US, believing themselves to be exceptional, generally shuns the enlightened view. But there are many other places where there is an open path to enlightened progress.

Good topic, Anja.

#1

between disgust and a strange curiosity about what the power brokers have in store for us. But purely by way of entertainment, critiquing what they got wrong and enjoying their stress over the things they DIDN'T anticipate. Anything that drives them to an earlier grave by the sheer amount of stress.

Probably not a very Buddhist-like thing for me to say. But, hey, there it is, right?

@QMS
I can remember being afflicted with. Any tips on how to make it stop?

It surely didn’t have this effect on me when I first heard it fifty six years ago. Didn’t buy it then either. Oh, well......

#3

[video:https://youtu.be/Lg7DcCI39GY]