Well it’s really not that funny after all. In spite of SNL skits and news parodies, there is a sadness that is palpable and at times overwhelming. When we were younger as a nation, we were immune to the despair that that which makes our way of life great would be torn asunder. When we were younger as a nation we were strong and resilient and able to bounce back after adversity. But we are older now. And maybe we just don’t have the strength to fight back anymore.

During the spectacle of Watergate, I was serving in the military overseas and was quite removed from the drama. And of course at that time, news was on a strict and limited schedule without all the snippy rhetoric. By the time I came home, Nixon was gone. We had to wait a generation for the next great drama. Where Nixon was the devious, self centered master of ceremonies, Clinton was the good old boy in the mood to knock one off in the Oval Office. And while it was lurid and nasty, there was never a feeling that we were approaching the end of times.

It feels like that now. If you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop you will turn right into a swift kick to the face. While we were sleeping, forces have been at work to undermine not just the constitution, but our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Trump devotees miss the signals when Trump spouts his vitriol. They believe themselves to be in on the joke, but in reality the joke will be on them. Trump is like the one coworker, and there’s one in every workplace, who likes to dish and complain about everybody but you, until you realize he’s saying the same thing about you to everyone else.

Trump likes a good smack down. To that end, it seems fitting that he should succumb to a rear naked choke and ultimately tap out. But let it drag on the full five rounds so that he feels the effects long after the fight is over. Now that’s funny.

Take a lesson from honey bees. They commune and toil and pay total fealty to their queen. And when threatened, they swarm. And they are dying for reasons as yet unknown. When the bees are gone, we are gone. They cannot alter their behavior. They are not products of their environment, but victims.

Humans impact the environment just by virtue of existing. Toxic emissions can and should be regulated. But the most damaging impact to the planet is us. We cannot seem to grasp the concept of population control. Hell, we can’t even keep a lid on animal over- population. As the higher evolved of the species we act irresponsibly in many ways for which we will ultimately pay with extinction.

Ironically, the people who had the greatest love and respect for the planet, the American Indians, were vilified and driven to near eradication by the advancing white settlers. Once the Indian problem was solved, we set about making our mark on everything and leaving behind a trail of waste and destruction. The kind of oppression the settlers fled England to escape was visited on the indigenous populations here.

The one act each human can regulate and take absolute responsibility for is the act of procreation. It is a strong biological drive hard wired into us, but contrary to determinism, we have free will. And with that comes free thinking and forethought. And with that comes the ability to impact the effects of global warming by making one less human.

I understand the fear of being overrun by alien hordes. Anything alien to us is both frightening and evocative of a defensive posture. This is what currently plays into the urgency for border sealing and wall building. Our troublesome southern neighbors. Realizing the riches to be had in the land to the north, they cross over to find hard labor. The wages earned go directly home to their waiting families. There was never a desire to assimilate… but they did have a desire: make the north country their own. To achieve that end, they set about overwhelming the land with greater numbers and they have never wavered from that purpose. By remaining self indulgent and petulant, they hasten the demise of what they are so determined to possess.

We set about making a more perfect union by being perfectly misogynistic and brutal. Karma is about the work of equalization and we are seeing it play out in real time as the oceans and the temperatures rise and our time to prevail falls.

Take a concept and totally corrupt it.

Affirmative action is now the act of seeking out news sources that affirm a point of view. Yours. It is comfortable and somehow empowering to hear Rachel Maddow or Sean Hannity give voice to what you’ve been saying all along. As if.
Much the same way Trump takes his cues and talking points from Putin. Not an original thought or capacity for critical thinking. So boring.

This is how ridiculous we have become. But it’s not amusing. A coworker said to me,”the Democrats need to stop the sham impeachment and get back to the business of the country.” That’s original. Actually, the Democrats are about the business of preserving our democracy. You know, that thing that makes us different and special. Special now seems to mean mentally challenged.

It is clear now that the wagons are circled around Trump while the Democrats attempt to lob an arrow or two. They have inflicted minimal damage due mostly to affirmative action. No one outside DC and inside the bubble will receive the alien messages. Plenty of tinfoil to go around.

And so we are left to contemplate what our country, our democracy, will look like post Trump. It will certainly be irrevocably changed and not for the better. Maybe all the wing nuts believe all the Mexicans will move back home. Or die of the flu. Or perhaps they believe the Trump promise of the American dream, you know, that dream where white is right, women stay home and incest is best.

Sounds like paradise to me. Oh right. Global warming burned Paradise to the ground. Backup plan?