Break Time
People adore Cheetos. It doesn’t matter that they’re high carb, high calorie, impossibly orange and totally hollow. It’s the salty crispness and addictive crunch. Without a shed of nutrient value, they are the eternal recess.
The brand is also a nickname for our flamboyant President. The parallels exist, from the tangerine makeup to the compulsively used adjective great. One can overlook substance until one can’t.
Calling soldiers “losers and suckers” cut deeply. Nothing says patriotism more than a uniform, even to those who are pacifists. In a divisive time, the military is still the most bipartisan subject. Yes, arguments rage about armament budgets, but the actual people, they’re true blue. To degrade those who serve achieves what?
And now the fast food President isn’t leaving, announcing before the election that he’s staying. Like a kid or a dictator, it’s what he wants, therefore it’s happening. He also wants to be reassured that school textbooks reflect a white-washed (pun intended) history. Well, they’ll have to be rewritten completely about voting as well. For, that is what sets democracies apart, the noble stance of free elections.
In the Bible, the Lord is asked how often should one forgive not only the slight but even the grievous—as many as seven times? The answer is not seven, but seventy-seven. Perhaps it is more like 77,000, since the fact-checkers have noted some 20,000 false statements the President has uttered. The barrage of lies can make some defensive, but mostly it makes everyone tired.
The bulk of Americans pay more than $750 in income taxes. Or rather most fulltime employees pay more, be they teachers or nurses, waiters or salesclerks. Some will say the President is clever or has hired clever to navigate. What is clear is that when he made money, much was not given to charity but to sustain his projects. What is also clear is that most of the time, he lost money. The image projected doesn’t match the real reality show.
Michelle Obama carefully noted that Donald Trump was not the right person for the job right now. After 18 hours of interviews, Bob Woodward concluded that he was not the best person for the position, period. Since ideal is hard to find, the good choice is the other choice. Joe Biden is not young or particularly dynamic. But he does have manners, he does go to church, and he does pay taxes.
Most of all, he listens. With a lot of yelling in the margins and on the streets, it would be downright comforting to have someone who doesn’t scream back.
Fake cheese snacks are yummy, but sustaining is the solid, if boring, protein numbers with character.
Please continue to keep me in the loop with these op-eds, Lucilla. They are so well written and thoughtful in spades. Thank you!