I’m no astro physicist, but I’m fairly certain that U.S. politicians – piloted by the generally accepted strategy sold by grossly overpaid political strategists and super PAC gurus – are approaching the event horizon of a rather cheeky black hole.
If black holes could laugh like sinister chipmunks (or, rather, if we could hear them doing so, because if something as bizarre as black holes are possible, then I for one believe that their laughing is also a certainly)… then this one would be. With bells on.
It’s a small black hole. Not one of those super giant, or super massive black holes found at the center of galaxies we so often geek out about while watching old episodes of Nova. No… this is one of those cunning, dwarf-like black holes no one thought could actually go any harm. How can something so small actually suck us into, and beyond the point of no return, right?
That assumption is pretty much how I, rather short and inherit-the-earth-esque, survived high school.
Reading is really important. So, too, is paying attention to what people mean when they say. My father mentioned a rather short story… a reference, really the other day. The story of a Sheriff, in the 70’s and 80’s in South Dakota. Elected every gosh darn time on one platform:
“I will not raise taxes.”
Exactly (at least for those who got it). And he won every time. But at least he was telling the truth; you gotta give him that. Never made another promise or even mention of a goal. Just that he would never… ever… raise taxes.
The point I want to make is actually this: the political messages are always the same, and have always been the same for basically the duration of the existence of politics in the United States. Humans basically have very few concerns that connect on a broad scale and can be “messaged” beyond their immediate environment and everyday tasks. People are too darn simple, so the extent of “no more taxes” isn’t really about taxes, it’s about a more base desire. It hits the basic greed we have that originally started as a survival instinct and fat storage, and has since manifested itself into so many diverse ways including reality TV shows featuring people with 39 cats and 3574 porcelain figurines of small children dancing with turtles.
What’s interesting, however, is that over the last 8-12 years the cycle has shortened; significantly so. Donald Trump once again entering into the 2012 presidential campaign is yet another acceleration of the cycle. As a marble gets closer and closer to the center of the funnel as it spins around and around is speeds up. But once it hits the actual event horizon… everything, essentially, stops. Things get so darn messy that even time declares, “I’m outta here.” and retires to a Margaritaville.
Anyone who has paid even the slightest attention to politics over the last few decades have said aloud “It’s always the same thing, over and over again.” As the repetition cycle increases, which ist clearly has due to what I can only assume is our ever-shortening attention span and news cycles, as that speeds up we get closer to the political event horizon where and when it will all get so messed up that… well… no one really knows, do they?
Should be interesting.
