Friday, June 30, 2017

What is Too Far?

For a man who battles depression, and struggles to maintain his life at the top of his emotional roller coaster instead of the bottom, times are tough for yours truly. Every morning I wake up to a world that is reeling from yet another Trump tweet.  Every evening the Washington Post publishes yet another discovery that Trump is an invasive species of sociopath who wants to run the country as his own personal golf course.  This is the pattern in which we all find ourselves immersed daily.  

It is a constant rub on my sense of decency, civility, tolerance and spirituality.   I keep thinking that if enough people become aware of what a total failure Trump  is as a leader, moral example and human being, the masses will run him out of town on a rail.  And yet he continues to be defended by a cadre of sycophants who have to compromise their own integrity to even comment. 
When asked if she thought the President went too far in this tweet about a television commentator, Sarah Huckleberry Panders, said, "No he didn't go too far."  Well, Huckleberry, what is 'too far' in your purchased opinion? For me he tweeted too far in accusing his predecessor of being a Kenyan Muslim five years ago, but then my morals are not for rent.
What I fear most is that this constant assault on my idea of how a President should behave is creating a callus on my sense of morality.  Eventually that part of my emotions gets so tough, I no longer know what it really feels like to be outraged.  Perhaps this is why I will continue to write about this blight until he  is exorcised from our country.  Even as I do this I realize the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.  I feel bad that my persistence might be a display of insanity which causes depression and I quickly fall to be bottom of my emotional roller coaster.  And now this Meglomaniac and his Congressional minions are trying to take away access to the meds and treatment we all need to tolerate the things they are doing to our country.  In the words of Shakespeare. "Ah there is the rub."
When will someone remove this stone from our shoe before our country loses its footing.
As you were,
Jay


11 comments:

P. Grecian said...

That may be the classic definition of insanity...but remember how it's worded. It's about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.
That's not what you're doing.
Donnie is doing a different thing every day. Each is the result of a flawed character. Whether it's Alzheimer's or just root-deep meanness, it's always a different thing...and each thing tops the last one. He is cruel and mean and angry and not awfully bright.
What YOU'RE doing is calling attention to each new thing...as Murrow did...as Welch did...hell, as Cronkite did.
None of these people gave up.
Just as people demonstrating for equal rights never gave up.
Just as people demonstrating against a war never gave up.
What YOU are doing is the right thing...because these things must be dragged out into the sunlight and exposed...over and over again until they are finished.
Yeah, it's depressing. I share your troubles with depression.
But it's the right thing.
Never give up. Never surrender.
Donnie has gone too far.
As for the price you pay for your persistence...
..that's what makes you a hero.
Something that Donald Trump will NEVER be.

Don Bailey said...

I feel your angst... but/and I applaud you as a person. You're my kind of normal, he-who-shall-not-be-named is not.

Unknown said...

Thank you for taking a stand.
This feels like the longest Presidency in history. I now find myself constantly checking CNN and other News outlets to see what new Negative thing he has done and there is consistently something new and negative.
This situation is totally depressing and surreal.
I still can't get over the FACT that many intelligent "nice" people still believe in and defend him. This I totally can't comprehend.
It's not monsters on his side.. it's people.
Knowing that I still share but usually Leave out my thoughts in hopes that some of them will simply read the facts but a part of me realized the only ones reading facts are those who already agree with them.
Lots of Love to you and you are not Alone on this RollerCoaster of emotions and how it is affecting our ongoing battle with depression.

Anonymous said...

There are many, many with you, Jay. I am, humbly, one of them.

-Keith S.

bob conrad said...

Don't stop, sooner or latter the country is going to wake up to what this poor excuse for a man is doing to our country. We are with you, Jay.

John Pizzi said...

“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.”


― Marcus Aurelius

Roy said...

May I offer a pastor' prescription?
1) Engage in a service to/for someone else, such as a shelter or soup kitchen, or a family, habitat for humanity, or something meaningful to you.
2) write a letter to your Senators and Representative--daily. Doesn't have to be long; could be one sentence. Bonus: write to Senator MCConnell and warn him that he and his party are doomed.
3)Watch one or more of the following movies:
Monty Python and The Search for the Holy Grail
The Life of Brian
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles
High Anxiety
Laurel and Hardy
Charlie Chaplin
If you can follow this prescription, it may relieve the stress and lessen the depression. Lastly, know that you are not alone and many others are feeling the pain.
Pax vobiscum

Al said...

Our country was built on discourse. Your voice matters. My voice matters. Every American voice matters and our constitution tells us so.

Unfortunately, we have forgotten that discourse requires talking AND listening. Social media is a dangerous tool when it is only used in a vile, one-way, purposefully damaging fashion. It is also the ulitimate "fake news" creator when in the wrong hands.

You are a bright, intelligent, funny and delightful human being. You are one of my favorite people. I love to sit and laugh with you in the short, annual visit I always look forward to in my year.

Here is the cool part. I may not agree with everything you believe and you may not believe in everything I believe. I don't bash you when you say something I might disagree with and I trust that you won't bash me. Together, without giving up the tenets of our believes, we can find common ground. Wait a minute, Jay?! Isn't that what our country was built on. Are these not the very stones of our constitutional foundation?

When a man with a bulldozer try's to knock down a foundation, it weakens. By the people and for the people, we have the tools to shut down that bulldozer. But both sides need to see the good in one another to make that happen.

For a man that has spent 33 years in the media, I am appalled by the crisis I see forming. My dad always said to support the office of the president even if your man (or woman; dad was a WWII guy) is not elected; until proven otherwise.

Otherwise is here. Have faith that our system works. Our constitution is imperfect perfection. It is so ingenious in its ability to sustain our democracy. My gay family member, my Muslim family member and my diverse family members are Americans. That might not fit the mold for some people. Conflict and patience has always delivered on bringing change in America. At the very core is discourse. It is time to have intelligent, across the aside discussion. We can retain our tenets and find common ground. Our democracy leaves us no other choice.

Sorry for the diatribe, my friend. Your are uniquely you and I am so glad to call you my friend. I know that I can't tell you not to be depressed because that monster lives in my backyard as well. Let's, at least, leave our troubles in the Marriott and laugh a bit.
See you soon.

Unknown said...

"No puppet! No puppet! *You're* the puppet!"

— 45


CBC Rulz!

Lloyd Lebow said...

Six months in and I still wake daily thinking and hoping it's all been a vicious nightmare. I was speaking only today with an old friend, also a battler in the mood wars, who said, "I honestly stop in the middle of the day sometimes and do a reality check; am I conscious, is this really happening?" How inappropriate and vulgar must it get, how far must we slide in the estimation of the rest of the planet before political ideologues drop he party lines and contribute to bringing back our civil equlibrium?

Maniac Mansion said...

I'm a new reader but a longtime fan. Logo has been rerunning Soap lately and my DVDs are packed up for a remodel so here I am in the middle of the night in San Dimas, watching Soap and reading articles about it on the internet. Which led me here to the website of my favorite cast member, and I've been catching up on old blog entries for the past three hours now. I was gratified but sad to find you of the same like and distressed mind as myself over the current political morass in our country. The great thing about like minds is, we don't have to spell everything out and detail every emotion -- someone gets it. There were times during George W. Bush's term that I thought I'd never make it through the eight years, but I'd trade this orange nightmare for ol' George in a heartbeat now. I do a lot of international traveling. I was in England last December, Kenya in January, Egypt in March and China in May. The damage being done to our reputation as a leading nation in this world is disheartening and the day-to-day assault of SCROTUS's dangerous lunacy takes a genuine emotional toll. But enough of that. I've just ordered your DVD and am looking forward to watching it. If you ever revive the live show and it plays in Southern California I'd love to see it in person.