My Fellow Americans,
I’ll begin with the upshot.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear.
At the end of the day,
we are all human, 
and I pray to God that love will find a way.

I spent most of yesterday, July 13th, 2024, working on my next novel and writing a chapter about the history of a possible future civil war in the United States of America, especially it’s effect on Florida. Of course, it is hypothetical and just conjecture. However, like my other writings, it is mostly based on true events. That is the nature of fiction, but also poetic license and freedom of speech. 

At about 6 o’clock in the evening, I went out for a walk—and all hell broke loose. An attempted assassination on Donald J. Trump was thwarted by a grimace and a turn of his head. Conspiracy theorists began typing faster than they can think. The mainstream news media personalities ended up with egg on their faces for desperately propagating a false photo and video of an internet troll with various profiles, such as “jewgazer” and “4skin,” linking him to the shooter. They did so desperately while still managing to wax pedantic about their ethics and commitment to population control. The United States Secret Service also ended up under fire for its obvious ball-dropping on perimeter control, while questions lingered about why the shooter wasn’t taken out earlier when its snipers obviously had him in their sights. I won’t rush to judgment on this last point, but obviously others will.

And, the social agitator, former President Donald J. Trump, after having been shot in the ear, immediately cries out defiantly, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” after being raised to his shoeless feet—and imploring attending secret service agents, just seconds before, “Let me get my shoes.” Yes, yes, priorities. 

It spoke volumes to me as to where we are as a nation. I was reminded of Bob Dylan’s lyrics, “The pumps don’t work ‘cause the vandals took the handles,” poetically spoken in his song “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” That’s where we are kiddies; nothing works.

I currently live in Miami, Florida, where I was born; trust me, I know it better than most. 🙄
Nonetheless, no one deserves to be shot—lampooned, yes, but shot, no.

In truth, not everything is a conspiracy. Not everyone is being radicalized. People are just stupid, and as such do stupid things. It’s not about “kids” doing stupid things because adults do stupid things, too. Not everything is about social or political manipulation. Nonetheless, I would suggest that a lot has to do with education. Of course, I say this as an educator, a humanistic teacher-trainer, for chrissakes.

What is also true is that there is something definitely off about the social structure of American education, and it has been off for a long, long time. This is not something new. Moreover, I’m saying this as it applies across the political and social spectrum. Add one part me-versus-you social ideology, mix in competition, and throw in guns, and you end up with exactly what we have in the USA today; a grand but failed social experiment. Honestly, over the years of my living abroad, when European or (high-minded) British colleagues talk of the USA in this fashion, I have to admit, as displeasing as it sounds, that it is most definitely true. [Note: After I wrote and published this post, it was reported, not surprisingly to me, how badly the shooter had been bullied by classmates in high school.]

But let’s not discuss politics! Let’s agree to disagree! 🙄 Yeah, let’s not and say we did.
Sorry, but sharing political opinion is NOT radicalizing; it’s called freedom of speech.

I tend to say that I am humanistic and a bleeding-heart liberal by choice because I understand how easy it is for me to be a biased conservative, hating on this one or on that. I’m not saying liberals can’t be biased, as well, but that is why I always use the word humanistic in describing myself, both personally and professionally.

For me, a lot comes down to how we treat people, regardless of whom they are or what they believe—and also what the government owes the people, not the other way around. Wanting the government to just go away is just stupid … especially when there is no will to help others who are disadvantaged—and many are the disadvantaged! What is true is that the rich always get richer and the poor always get poorer, not because of politics but because of indifference, in other words: general assholery.

Yes, President John F. Kennedy was right when he so eloquently said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” However, he was speaking in context of performing civic action and public service, which even I will admit Donald J. Trump has done, just not to half the population’s liking. Perhaps, it’s just personal.

People say it’s about politics. It’s not. I was just making my point to one of my classes the other day that there really isn’t a political spectrum of left versus right, and that it is more of a grid. In reality, when you compare the “me” of monarchy, it is eerily similar to the “me” of anarchy, with the exception of having or not having power as an authority. And, as we all know, absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

Things are fucked up all over the world, not just in the USA. 61 years on this planet has taught me this. It’s the same old same old with regards to the same old world issues; nothing has changed. Moreover, no, Virginia, things are not getting better. Not in Miami. Not in the United States. Not in the West. Not in the world. Yet, we all live on this planet, raging from climate crisis, social and economic inequality, and our own indifference. It’s the anthropocene, you see, that has made the scene.

Therefore, the real question is, after this horrific event, what effect will this assassination attempt have, not just on the upcoming United States elections, but on society as a whole? Will Americans become more polarized or might it trigger a more rational coming together? Sorry to say it, but I’ll bet on the former. Stick that in your hot dog and munch over it. 

Reality check: I was born in July 1963, a year and some change after the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought us to the brink of nuclear war, and also almost a half a year after President John F. Kennedy—after having a change of heart about American foreign policy because of said crisis—was assassinated for believing what he believed, that world peace trumps political ideology. Had he survived, the world might be a very different place today … but a bullet to his brain changed that. 😔

Yesterday, I saw how close a bullet came to former President Trump’s brain. I wonder … How will this affect him, the person, coming out of this, especially now that he is a victim of American gun violence? Of course, it always takes time for a victim to work through the trauma. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time and he never shuts his mouth. In fact, the first words out of his cakehole after being shot were, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” No details. No info. But just, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Today, the sentiment is as American as apple pie, and it speaks volumes of what we have become. 😔

You know what? In the end, there is nothing to fight about. We are all in this together, and in the total scheme of things, especially at the galactic level, we—our whole planet—are just specks of dust. But for the grace of God, there goes us.

So, my fellow Americans,
let me make one thing perfectly clear.  
At the end of the day,
we are all human, 
and I pray to God that love will find a way.

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My last novel, “Tricksters, Crackers, and Gods,” is available on Amazon in both (digital) Kindle format and paperback at the following link: https://amzn.to/3DKGv8B