State of Play - Ship of Fools

Went to see the captain… Strangest I could find…

Laid my proposition down… Laid it on the line…

I won’t slave for beggars pay… likewise gold and jewels…

But I would slave to learn the way… to sink your ship of fools.

- from “Ship of Fools” by R Hunter

 

To quote the great matriarch and female protagonist of  Lewis Carrol’s Wonderland Series, Alice... the situation is getting “Curiouser and Curiouser!” To add my spin… “Shit’s getting realer and realer!”  Back on January 7^th, 2021… I concluded my post, titled: State of Play - Coup d'état …with the following observation… 

“The great Robber Baron/Trickster King is clearly unfit to faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States. Nor does he have the capacity or the desire to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. He is a danger to our Nation, and likely to himself, as well.

Regardless… the January 6th insurrection feels more like a beginning, than it does an ending. These are the conundrums we are faced with. These are the riddles that must be answered… and quick. A con-man and a grifter (45) is not the messiah promised by Q Anon… but then again, we knew the kind of guy he was before he took office”

Since the 1/6 insurrection, the State of Play has gotten continually curiouser… crazier… incredulous even.  As predicted, post-presidential Trump, beyond all credible expectation, not only remained revered by MAGAs and the Republican Party, he appears to be the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Given the worshiped nature of the great Robber Baron/Trickster King… this was an expected, if sad, outcome.

It is a common, well documented psychological response within a cult community, to double down on zealotry and devotion to a cult leader… once that leader has been exposed as a fraud. Fully one quarter of registered American voters demonstrate such zealotry. They are 100% devoted to the Trickster King, come hell or high water. They supported the Trickster King’s grab for power on January the sixth, and will vote for him in 2024, regardless of his indictments.

Lord Voldemort’s… oops… I mean Trump’s hush money indictment was followed by the amazingly damning 37 count indictment, brought by special counsel Jack (the giant killer) Smith… charging  Trump of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in an investigation, scheming to conceal, and false statements, along with various charges related to willful retention of national defense information, a violation of the Espionage Act.

As we all know, the great Robber Baron/Trickster King worships at the altar of Mammon, the demon of wealth and greed. As such, is there any doubt that the Trickster King had every intention of selling these highly sensitive documents to the highest bidder? I think not. Megalomaniacal pathology aside, Trump is a singularly transactional creature. His sole reference to value lays in an item’s monetary worth.

That Trump has been indicted for allegedly selling the U S government’s most highly classified secrets down the river, makes no difference to the MAGA movement. In their eyes, the great Robber Baron/Trickster King is golden… he can do no wrong. And as far as the rest of the Republican Party goes, no one dares to say a disparaging word. Other potential Republican presidential candidates dare not speak his name.

So the power of the cult holds. Trump has subverted and assimilated the GOP to do his bidding. And as far as the opposition goes… the fragile Democratic coalition who defeated Trump in 2020, is in danger of fracturing into those who support Biden, and those seeking a more progressive agenda. Many see Biden as too old and doddering to pull off a repeat of his 2020 victory.

And so this is the State of Play we find ourselves in 2023… the Year of the Rabbit. As we remember, the year of the Rabbit is purported to be a year of peace and prosperity. However, the 2023 Water Rabbit year balances gentleness and amicability, with a tendency toward a weak mindset and stunted principles. Ominously, these attributes define both the Republican and Democratic parties, as we careen toward the upcoming presidential election.

As we speak, the Democratic coalition appears unwilling to clearly define the depth of insanity that the GOP has fallen. Splintered in ideology, the Democrats appear to be plagued with a weak mindset. As for the Republicans, through their silence and kowtowing the Trickster King, they clearly demonstrate just how stunted their principles have become. All of which plays into the hands of the great Robber Baron/Trickster King quite nicely.

So if 2023 is the year of the Rabbit… what Chinese astrological sign rules 2024? Funny you should ask. On February 10th, 2024… the Chinese New Year passes into the Year of the Dragon. Perfect. The Dragon is the sign of power and energy. As the mightiest (and only mythological) animal in the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon prefers to be a leader… aggressive, domineering. Fond of the limelight, Dragons may be considered arrogant. Sound familiar?

This suggests that Dragon energy will come into play in 2024. And at that time, it will likely be those registered voters mentioned above, who will make the difference in the presidential outcome. I know many feel that their vote doesn’t really count, but those who believe and actually cast a vote will be the ones who decide the fate of American politics, post 2024 election.

For what it is worth, your humble weblog author recommends that those in doubt suspend their disbelief and actually get out and vote. Who knows! …your vote might count after all! If you are someone whose vote isn’t being actively suppressed through gerrymandering, what do you have to lose? Stranger things have happened.

If you are someone whose vote is actively being suppressed or denied, through un-democratic voter suppression laws, then a heavier civic responsibility falls to you. You may not have that much faith in the system… but you sure as hell don’t want the gerrymanderers to win through chicanery! Cast your vote… if for no other reason than denying the bastard’s disenfranchisement of your vote! 

Yes… the democratic system seems fractured and thread-bare… but it is all that stands in the way of a more suppressive and fascist regime seizing power and eliminating what democratic and personal freedoms we have left. And this is exactly what is at stake… life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The liberty to do what you want to do… be who you want to be… love who you want to love. The ability to be happy and live your life as you see fit.

Preserve that precious, inalienable right for yourself. Do not delegate it to those fools who would ban books or deny autonomy of health care, or outlaw the personal choice of peaceful lifestyles. These choices are yours alone… not some close-minded, misogynous  homophobe. Such actions as the banning of books are driven by arrogance and fear… and at the end of the day, your lifestyle choice… ain’t nobody’s business but your own.

So… in 2024… the year of the Dragon… the State of Play may end up being a power play between those who are driven by fear and loathing… and those with love in their hearts. The age-old battle between Fear and Love. Once again I find myself quoting that ancient Greek philosopher, Plato… “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

Such abdication is foolish indeed. Don’t let those who are foolish enough to place blind faith in such charlatans as the great Robber Baron/Trickster King win the day.

Though I could not caution all… I still might warn few…

Don’t lend a hand… to raise no flag… atop no ship of fools.

- from “Ship of Fools” by R Hunter