By Philip Drucker
Do you think goldfish are happy? I mean, living in a bowl, seeing the same fishy faces, same diver looking for treasure, same algae, eating the same dried, flaky food, apparently without the need for change? Now it just so happens goldfish have about four seconds of long term memory until they forget what happened five seconds ago making new discoveries not only possible, but in an odd way, almost constant.
Imagine if you will, running into the same person every five seconds and wondering who, what when where and how did he or she get here? If you add in the human capacity for making the unfathomable mysteries of life the centerpiece of an otherwise drab existence, you might start to wonder why as in why does the bowl exist? Where is this aquarium I keep hearing about? I swim therefore I am? Shortly to be followed by the inevitable question, is this heaven or hell? Or at least Hotel California. Time for your daily reminder, if you think you are above or below, you’re right.
And so, for our two goldfish that someone won at a carnival and now find themselves engaged in an existential play Sartre would be proud of, life goes on. For in the world of kept fish, the monogamy, uh, monotony is “come on in the water is fine” fine. But this does not explain why human beings and in fairly large numbers mind you, are choosing to live life in, well, a fish bowl filled with lies, rumors and innuendo designed to separate, lift and divide the average voter from facts and information necessary to form an actual, accurate, opinion of reality.
In other words, how do we explain their apparent preference for pure fantasy over non-fiction afflicting your average Trump supporter? Trump is a monster and yet I have sincerely begun to wonder, do they know it? If so, do they care? Or, is the illusion of the fishbowl, the closed universe, the repetition, the sense of false security one gets when isolated from the outside world, the comfort of conformity, so attractive that anything and everybody who does not fit the script is “fake” or, a hoax, or a liberal plot involving a 400-year-old debunked conspiracy theory where Jewish bankers, and their pals the Illuminati, let’s throw in the Masons, they can be scary at times, rule the world?
This is the world of QAnon where the secretive masters of the universe have nothing better to do than set up pedophile rings, buying and selling children, some of which will end up being eaten as part and parcel of an ancient ritual so old that only people who listen to AM Radio are still aware of its existence. Of course, these are the same accusations made against the Jews, some in context of the Passover Seder, some not, for literally thousands of years. Except for the underground pizza parlor part. That’s new. Sounds more reasonable than a falafel or shawarma, of kebob stand I guess.
Recently, I was confronted by a “quien es mas macho” challenge, the Wall, or the ACA? Apparently, the Wall which will thankfully never be built, would be cheaper than the ACA website. My answer to that would be what did you expect? The Wall is useless and everybody needs healthcare and if nothing else except in the name of morality, everybody, in the richest country in the world, should have access to safe, adequate and affordable medical attention and treatment, as in every other civilized country on the planet. Seems simple enough to me. Happy, healthy people are more productive and I would think a major part of any realistic plan to rebuild our shattered and dysfunctional economy would include care and maintenance of a strong and vibrant workforce. Yes?
No. Healthcare, a form of get this, “socialism” is a problem making our current problems worse. If you have a chance to engage in this discussion with a Trump supporter, be aware you will have to wade through the usual “socialism leads to communism, communism leads to the total and entire destruction of our American life as we know it, morphing into “personal responsibility” for one’s actions, through “choices” through personal saviors (when you get here they are pretty much done, but in no way willing to capitulate) to, you guessed it. Build the wall.
Never mind helping your brothers and sisters, your fellow Americans or persons who need help. Build a barrier between “us” and “them”, like a fishbowl? Like, this is my water, my briny shrimp, my monument to the unknown bell diver? And this guy over here? He looks orange, like me so he’s cool. And you, with the black or brown spots? You don’t and that makes “you” the problem.
Never mind we are living in an autocracy, being dictated to by a despotic tyrant in the making fascist who fans the flames of racism and its attendant discord. Sound familiar? It should. Lots of very fine fish on both sides if you know what I mean and I’m betting you do. Meaning, there aren’t but in the fishbowl of make-believe, there is only room for one view. His view. Sad, really.
For my part, I have given up trying to make sense to those who have no interest in making sense. It’s one thing to be a low information voter, but it is quite another to be a no information voter, and in fact yet another to be a welcome to Fantasy Island voter, where all your dreams of a homogeneous, ethnically centric universe based on fear and hatred of those who mean you no harm is the false panacea that like the Wall, doesn’t keep the bad guys out, but keeps you in, denial and constantly swallowing sugary sweet but empty of calories and sure to cause diabetes spoonful after spoonful of “law and order” as applied to lawful protestors who aren’t doing anything illegal but exercising their First Amendment Rights.
That is not law and order. It’s fascism. But hey, the “radical left” get what they deserve for interrupting our feverish nightmare of a dystopia they have somehow managed to turn into a dream, a kingdom, where giving away your rights is a fair trade for wearing the yoke of oppression, and a red golf cap.
Lastly, there is the reliable “he’s the only one who can fix it” mostly because he caused it circular thinking, that once again, places the messianic but clearly mistaken Trump MAGA heads in a round, fishbowl of their own making, waiting for a miracle, a cure, or vaccine perhaps, that will never materialize until science, not Trump, says so. My final warning? Believe in the transcendental nature of ignorance at your own peril for in the final analysis, ignorant is as ignorant does regardless of whether you wrap it in a flag, or claim it as part of your gospel. Beware of he who would imprison you in a fishbowl for his own satisfaction and glory while calling it salvation. It’s a fishbowl and nothing more. That’s the reality.
Now, I, we need to go out and register, GOTV and find 10 other people to take to the polls with us, and win BIG in November.
Comments