Tag Archives: coronavirus

The Coronavirus Has Beset Our Political System and Culture

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Michael Bloomberg has the best possibility of beating Trump in November, the only one with the wherewithal, financially and tenacity, to defeat the coronavirus that has beset our political system…and entire culture..  But, given the “free-press” which is itself a “tyrant” of sort, the myriad down-sides of Bloomberg are coming to the light.  I’m going to predict what will happen here:  while the Republicans saw Trump’s evil exposed to the light of day even before his nomination, an exposure which continued to take place during the campaign, and is still underway during his administration, the GOP has, and will, “stand by their man.”  They have been, and are, determined.

The Democrats need a similar resolve and can have that without allowing the coronavirus to attack their own willfulness.  And with Bloomberg, this might involve accepting into their fold a man with a sullied background who with his own “willfulness” can “slay the giant” of Trumpism.  By doing so, this would require a bit of humility to admit into their fold a man who has less than solid Democratic sentiments in his background.  The Democrats might then have to recognize, “Hmm, maybe we have our own dark dimension of willfulness which is why we failed to consider a huge segment of the American population in recent decades, a decision which made this segment conclude that their best bet was Trump.”  The Democrats need a “strongman” at this moment in history and I have no concern that they would then assume a supine position before him as has the GOP down with Trump.  They will bring back to our political life, “checks and balances.”

Here, I am posing as a political commentator.  But my concern here is not so much politics as the dynamic that is in play in our political system and culture.  This is a struggle with diversity, including the realization that there are two ways of looking at the world and that these “two ways” can learn to live with each other. The ego, collectively and individually, always wants to eradicate other ways of looking at the world.  I am a Democrat because I believe they best represent the offer an “inclusiveness” to our country rather than an “ex-clusiveness.”  There is room for all of us, but only if we have the courage to respect those that represent our “other,” those that we tend to dismiss as “them.”

As so often, the wisdom of W.H. Auden sums this up, “We wage the war we are.”

A “Coronavirus” Has Struck Our Political Heart

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The coronavirus has struck our nation’s political heart.  I here am alluding to news from China that the physician who first attempted to alert his country to the presence of that virus, Wi Linliang, a 34 year old opthamologist, has now died of that virus.  When he first attempted to sound the alarm, he was told to stop and was detained for “rumor mongering” which, according to the Washington Post, is what happens in China with any news that threatens the social order.  In an autocratic political regime, fear abounds and any information that might create unrest is quashed…even if that “unrest” might be a temporary necessity.  An autocratic regime, or mindset, is just a two year old ego on steroids.

Mitt Romney mustered up the courage to warn the Republican Party, and the nation, of the “virus” of certainty which has found a voice in the person of donald j. trump. The problem with certainty of this ilk is that it is so rigid, based upon internal frailty and vulnerability, that it cannot allow any contrary thought.  In the history of this blog, I have likened it unto a group who might think that the moon is made out of cheese; once its members have invested heart and soul into that belief, they cannot be dissuaded. Any outside perspective that might deign to “intrude” will be disallowed, castigated and even attacked in favor of unexamined premises and preconceptions, regardless of how foolish or insane they might appear to others. This is because these “unexamined” premises and preconceptions are merely a house of cards, lacking any firm foundation in the “bowels” of the heart.  The more this cauldron of reptilian brain energy is confronted, the greater will be the venom and opprobrium that will be offered in response.  It does not have to be “reasonable”; it just has to be teeming with the vim and vinegar of certainty which will always be validating to those who lack existential, i.e. “spiritual” grounding.  And now the speciousness, the vacuity of the American soul has found a mouthpiece in the person of “the donald” who is the veritable “toy of some great pain.” (Ranier Rilke)  This “pain” is the anguish which spiritual teachers, such as Jesus, offered “the balm of Gilead” but not in the form of a “rational” palliative, but one in the form of faith.  This faith, however, is more than a rational construct and obsessive devotion to dogma, but something that springs from the depths of the heart.  And you cannot “think” your way into that mysterious dimension of life that drives us all; “faith” begins to blossom when you tap into that “Mystery.”

I will never forget that Mitt Romney moment.  He is deeply conservative and deeply religious; but in that moment his religiosity reached deeper into his heart than his political affiliation.  Conservatism is a vital dimension of any body politic; my country’s conservative voice is deeply frightened and has resorted to an autocrat to find its footing.  There must be other “Mitt Romneys” who will dig into their heart and find that courage to speak up if our country is to get out of this “two-year old ego mania” that we are now witnessing.