Those of you who have read my writings know that I do not write for effect. I write to put down thoughts that have become "ripe" and need to be exposed. I also write to expose my thoughts to others in order that I do not stray too far from reality.

I have been writing less and less since Trump was elected. That is partly because I have a mixed set of reactions and don't want to sound too incoherent. Politics in this country is theater and bad theater at best.

The role of elections in the system we live in is to distract people from the hard job of surviving the crushing imperialistic oligarchy that dominates everything. It is working very well one more time.

Let us start by recognizing that fascism and imperialism are the epitome of the reductionist philosophy. Break a complex whole into parts and lose the reality of the whole while being fascinated by the parts. Elections are but a part of this scheme, but a central part.

There have been those who have at least the perception that if Trump wins the "American system of democracy" will be finished. The problem with that is that it is finished whether or not Trump wins.

The widespread blindness to this failure is part of why it is happening. Take this sham election, for example. Want to guess at the number of people who still see it as a demonstration of working democracy?

The major purpose for elections in this country is to keep the people from dealing with what is happening to them. The TV watching public likes to be entertained and will be consumed by even very bad theater. This time it is very important that the ploy works because the reality out there is terrifying. How can people not see it? They are blinded by the electoral theater. It eats up resources and energy while the system grinds on and continues to grow and ravage the earth.