Lost At Sea

Election 2016. Where to begin is the tough part. I have thought about so many aspects of this election cycle from the day it started. So many rabbit holes to go down, but that would distract from some of the larger looming implications. It is like a mental state, depression, disbelief, grieving, mourning so many mental conditions where you don't even know it is happening to you while it is. You may slip out for a bit, some clarity, then back in again. But here it is. As someone who came of age during the 70s and 80s I guess I took for granted that common decency with a few rogue exceptions would always be the order of the day, at least to people I actually knew, interacted with and in general I trusted that most sane individuals and groups knew the difference between right and wrong in a large social sense. Even as the Reagan years unfolded and tamped down some of the tolerance that I was accustomed to, I still never felt that in a larger sense any type of Witch hunt could unfold for basic human rights and belief's.

There were plenty of extremists and unfounded ideas to be sure, as there always will be. But in the end the prevailing public at large, would live and let live. By this I mean with social decisions that would not hurt anyone. Personal decisions that everyone knew were just that, personal and nobody else's business. We were unwittingly seeing remanence of world wars, and cold wars, on television, like Hogan's Heroes who laughed and mocked our existential threats, and even down to our cartoons (Rocky and Bowinkle), that all touted fear of the "others" which of course in many cases was obviously justified. And of course some fears that were not as concrete from the Cold War. But the same theme remained that our enemies were foreign and outside of our borders.

We had no choice but to reject them and in fact do battle with them, to protect our larger sense of right over wrong. And yet as I sit this Election after this election, I find myself dismayed, grieving, and depressed about what has happened to one of our major political parties and now the whole country. I see now the real enemy is inside, it is not from a foreign land, the enemy is fear and ignorance and that is always the problem to begin with anywhere. And the then it leads to panic. I watch in disbelief as the steering wheel of the party of "Lincoln" and now the whole nation is turned over to a Novelty act. And this act is an applause junkie." As long as they cheer and clap, we must be doing the right thing. Listen to that applause. They love me". We have effectively handed a running chainsaw to a six year old.

The whole situation has shaken me like no other time in my life and made remember how fragile this political experiment known as the United States, really is. Social media is here to stay and is this case has exasperated many unstable and mentally ill individuals shining its light in the darkest of corners, and in fact given a voice to many that don't deserve one, and are not responsible enough to use constructively. This is not to say social media is bad. We must know these people are out there so we can protect ourselves. In the end there are some things I can thank the Republican Party for. Thank you for making me feel like the smartest me I could possibly imagine. Thank you for making me laugh, just before I cry. Thank you for making me search high and low for common sense and common decency. Thank you for making me constantly question whether or not I had taken LSD. Thank you for redefining ugly.

I fear this "perfect storm" will rage for some time now. So batten down the hatches. But please remember like any episodic depression or mourning or grieving we will come out of it, learn, rebuild and be healthy again.

Alan Blount. I am a freelance writer from the Boston Massachusetts area. I am here to explore many different topics and to reflect on the world as I see it. I am using my writing currently to process a world that lately I have had trouble recognizing. Please feel free to comment on anything you wish in a respectful and constructive way and I will return the favor. Thank you for taking the time to read my words and please send me some of yours to  ase64@icloud.com


 By Alan Blount


Article Source: Lost At Sea