And here we all thought Kanye West was going out of his mind — now maybe we all are!! Last week we blamed Trump’s erratic behavior on his Covid dexamethasone treatment. But now it looks like the nation is on its own steroidal rage. Even Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi got into the meltdown when she announced a committee to review the President’s mental fitness under the 25th Amendment. She was actually wearing a jazzy sliced orange (as in “Orange Man”) printed mask at the time and NO makeup!! For Nancy – no eye makeup is kind of a sign of “going off the grid.” Clearly, we have all had it!!
In the last six months, I have received more demanding spam text messages from political parties, “extended warranty” plans for my car, real estate agents, fake IRS warnings, and other weird credit card scams. I finally discovered the word “STOP.” Imagine: just by typing in the word “STOP” it all ended! I decided STOP is the word of the moment — my personal mantra. Plain and simple. A form of giving the world “the hand” (not the “finger”). I love it! Now it will become my 2020 election yard sign and t-shirt. Not Biden’s “Build Better Back” or Trump’s “MAGA”; just STOP!! Not even “stop the insanity” (too long). Just STOP!!
Never mind Covid … we have all caught the “Hair on Fire” virus. We are now way past depression and basic anxiety. Now we have to get through the inflammation of the Supreme Court nomination, not to mention all the lingering upsets of impeachment, protests, Covid and the overall funny money games of who has too much, who doesn’t have any, and who isn’t corrupt and a crook!
Woofah! No wonder we are eating ourselves alive daily. And frankly nobody is looking good nowadays. There are no winners or losers. I’m not even sure Dr. Fauci has an explanation for this “body/mind” fall from grace.
Actually, here’s a thought. We have all become addicts to daily media headlines. Pick your network, blog, podcast or personal loon. You can say you aren’t an info junkie, but the 24/7 news churn continues to rumble like never before. The constant “breaking news” has broken us all. Whether it was just the Trump era, or now the standard news model remains to be seen. We are all now just “clickbait” to somebody.
Some people believe they are clear of this since they only “check” the headlines 20 minutes a day. Oh yeah? Maybe that means five minutes four times a day — and before bedtime? Face it … you are hooked!
Recently a therapist told me that “free floating rage” is the latest issues she is dealing with. She admitted that, unfortunately, Xanax is not helping like it used to. She is looking to the election results to end the ever-present “amp-up!” Good luck with that.
What is concerning is the thought of what all the networks and newspapers will do with a possible Biden win. To be honest, Trump has gotten them all huge revenues and ratings. It’s been so big for them, it might be the reason our sporting events have had a ratings slide. Here we thought the return of professional football, basketball and baseball would levitate our nation out of this mire. But who really wants to cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs when you have the daily battle of Biden and Trump in gaff and poll numbers. The election has become professional wrestling and like it or leave it — it gets the eyeballs.
People complain about Trump sucking the oxygen out of the room, but it benefits the media the most. So now what? I actually heard a rumor that some CNN executive is voting for Trump while holding his nose just to keep the action going!
With politics turning into our nation’s reality show, how could we go back to the classy style of Walter Cronkite coverage? Remember real “impartiality” and detachment? What’s that? Remember how actually fair and balanced Tim Russert’s “Meet the Press” was? Too boring now? But can we even dial it back down to “normalcy?”
True, we are all exhausted, but “normalcy” might not buy the advertisers or grab the “clicks.”
Meanwhile, to keep a “lid” (not meaning the new Biden term meaning “hiding”) on your brain from exploding, I have found two books to distract and focus you for now; in a kind of yin and yang way (and neither are Trump scandal stories). The End of Democracy: Russia and China on the Rise, America in Retreat is brilliant politico Doug Schoen’s view of the real issues of China and Russia in our lives. It is a whole lot more than just “China is for Biden and Russia is for Trump.” Also, Schoen writes in a clear style that gives you the serious informational lowdown without taking you into a “down low.”
Jerry Seinfeld’s Is This Anything is a primer of his great one-liners and stories over the years. However, it is not just a jokebook — it’s his biography and social commentary as only Seinfeld can do.You don’t have to be a diehard Seinfeld fan to get the laughs. Can we ever do that anymore? Seinfeld saves the day when we have no day!
The question still remains: will we have a “peaceful transition” in our lives, let alone our government? Our addiction to rage will be a tough rehab to get through. It’s become a non-stop adrenal burn for many which heralds a bellyflop as a finale. But maybe even that will be a welcome relief! Who wants to end up like the star impassioned ballerina Victoria in “The Red Shoes” continuing to dance her nonstop feet and life right off the balcony.
In the meantime, just “stop” and remember the old standby of “count to ten and let it go.” Look up occasionally and connect! Forget the idea of calming down to “a new normal.” Let’s just take the beat-down and hopefully Peace will follow.
