First-generation children of Ashkenazi-Jewish immigrants from Central Europe may remember the amusing tales their elders attributed to a mythical City, of Chelm; tales which were part of the rich, Eastern European Yiddish cornucopia of humorous but intrinsically instructive, folklore. The inhabitants of that mythical city were unmitigated fools whose universal delusion was that they were wise men. The stories are called “Tales of The Wise Men of Chelm.” A few samples of the folklore should prove entertaining and, as well useful in conveying the contextual theme of this writing:
In one such typical tale, the wise men of Chelm, observing the misfortunate fact that fallen slices of toast often landed on the buttered side, pragmatically decided that all toast should be buttered on the “other side:” In another, they wisely concluded that flames from a burning barn were useful in viewing and consequently fighting, nighttime fires; in yet another, the wise men were consulted as to the problem of disposing of the large quantity of soil dug up from building the new synagogue; and came up with the “Chelmish” solution of digging out a hole and burying it. The ultimate result is necessarily and frustratingly understood.
An analogous “odd-ball” quality of distortion and reductionist logic maintained by the large horde of today’s MAGA-Trump supporters provided the dynamics of the present writing; meriting instructive reference to such near-sighted and reductionist, “Chelm-like” reasoning and resultant solution. The analogical reference concerns their paranoid ideation of a National liberal conspiracy as justification for their consequent support of Donald Trump for President. The MAGA’s reductive ignorance, as related below, can rationally and empirically be described as colossal, resulting in a solution far more illogical and bizarre than a typical Chelmish brainstorm; yet significantly worse in consequence.
The perverse MAGA ideation that the purportedly democratic Nation has secretly been run by a small, inner network of financially influential people (“The Deep State”) rather than the avowed rule by the people of the Nation is proximately responsible for their ubiquitous grievances and disappointing lives, will be ameliorated by the imperial rule of a single person dedicated to autocracy is far more than “Chelmish;” Indeed, it is mind-boggling and empirically dangerous.
-p.
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